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Indiana's 2021-22 basketball season came to an abrupt end on Thursday night as the Hoosiers fell to the St. Mary's Gaels 82-53 in the Round of 64.

It was Indiana's worst postseason loss in program history.

But, despite the way the season ended, Indiana head coach Mike Woodson seems to have turned a corner with the program and has his eyes set on even better days ahead for Indiana basketball.

"It was a great run for our ball club this season getting back into the Big Dance, and now we've got to build on it for future," Woodson said. "That's what it's all about at this point."

After winning its First Four matchup against Wyoming, Indiana's run went head on against a tough St. Mary's team that was the much better team on the floor last night in every aspect of the game.

"I just think that overall they were a sharper team than us today. They hit their shots and ran their offense, and they were an overall better team," IU forward Trayce Jackson-Davis said. "...They had an excellent game plan, and they executed it very well. So it's props to them because they deserved to win that game."

The Hoosiers season ends with a 21-14 record as well as a 9-11 record in Big Ten regular season play. They made it back into the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016.

As Woodson's first season wraps up, he has now set the foundation of Indiana basketball under his watch and has reset what the expectations should be for the program moving onward.

Woodson's message all season about who needs to be in the spotlight was all about the players. Before every game. After every game. Between games. And on Thursday, it was no different.

"But it was all about these players," Woodson said. "They made a commitment to let me coach them, and that meant more to me than anything because going in blindly like I did, that wasn't the case. It was a lot of damage control that had to be done to get these guys on board, to give me an opportunity.

"So I have nothing but love for the 17 players that I coached this season because they put this program back in the fold in terms of being in the Big Dance.

"That's what it's about. You've got to give yourself an opportunity. You've got to get there and give yourself a chance, and I thought they did that for us this season."

One player who has been instrumental in the success of the program this year is All-Big Ten forward Trayce Jackson-Davis. The third-year player will have a decision to make this offseason on whether he will return to Indiana or pursue different options. While he may not be part of the future for Indiana, he definitely set the groundwork for the future players to come through Bloomington.

"Seeing the Hoosier hysteria around the state, it was a blessing to be a part of it. Just seeing the guys rally when adversity struck and being able to compete and clawing our way back in and making the Big Dance," Jackson-Davis said. "I know it's not how we wanted to go out, but it's an honor and blessing to be here. I'm proud of my guys for always fighting, and that's probably my favorite part."

So, after the success of this season, Woodson is ready to get back after it and continue building this program the best way he knows how.

"Again, a lot of it is they're going to have to take the off-season -- and I'm going to make every player watch every game that was played this year by the Hoosiers. That's one way you go back and you reflect and you learn," Woodson said. "I'll sit down, and I'll have a program in place, along with my trainer, Cliff, our strength coach, in terms of things I think that they need to work on to get better.

"So these guys are young, man, and they've got a lot to learn in terms of basketball and how I want to play and the style of play that I want. So it's going to be a work in progress, but that's what we all signed up for. We just got to get through that process and get better for next season.

"So, I mean, the pressure was really on this young team, and these guys stepped up, and they did what they had to do to get us to this day. So it's something to build on, man. It's all positive, I think, moving forward for our program, but we do have to get better."

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