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Indiana head coach Mike Woodson wasted no time in his opening statement during the first-ever IU basketball media day.

"I've always felt as a coach, every season that I've gone in as a head coach, expectations are always high, no matter what," Woodson said. "I think that's a good thing."

Entering his second year at the helm, Woodson's IU squad faces one of the most anticipated seasons in Bloomington in recent memory. On the heels of a first NCAA tournament appearance since 2016 and a remarkable Big Ten Tournament run, they're now tabbed as a preseason Big Ten favorite and are on everyone's radar.

"We can't run from it," Woodson said. "It is what it is."

With the combined surplus of talent, veteran leadership, and strength of the non-conference opponents the Hoosiers have, it's easy to see why so many pundits have their eyes on Indiana this season, and are forecasting such high levels of success. That outside noise, while it's nice and all, doesn't mean much to Woodson at the end of the day.

"Hell, my senior year, we were ranked No. 1 in the nation. Didn't work out that well for me. I mean, we didn't win the national title," Woodson said. "Rankings are what they are. You've still got to play the game. That's what's important, what happened between these two lines."

Having experienced it as a player himself, Woodson's view of the situation is a unique testament that he can pass onto his players. As the leader in the locker room and on the sidelines, keeping their focus on the task at hand when outsiders have already handed it to them is something that he takes the responsibility for.

"It's going to be my job to get this team to play at a level every night and put them in a position to win every time they step out on the floor," Woodson said.

Yet, having expectations in the first place is something that IU still has to adjust to after the rollercoaster of last season's endeavors.

"We had our ups and downs last year, but I thought our ups outweighed our downs," Woodson said. "We played a lot of positive basketball. We were in a lot of basketball games. It's just going to be up to me to get them over the hump and get them to the next level because that's what it's all about."

While Indiana did play good stints of basketball last season, it's the lapsed moments of poor play that the Hoosiers want to improve on the most. In fact, that very aspect is something that Woodson has his eyes set on as an area of improvement.

Sure, the players' improvement on the court has been well-documented, but the adjustments he's had - and continues - to make in his efforts are just as important to the team's success in closing out games and playing more consistent basketball.

"I've got to get better," Woodson said. "I always put pressure on myself. I don't put it on the player. Yeah, the player has to play, but I've got to get better at finishing games, because I thought there were a number of games I left out there last season.

"We controlled games - I look at the Iowa game, coming down the stretch, four and a half minutes and we're up nine and we can't close that game out. For me, that's tough to swallow as a coach."

Many of those contests that Woodson is alluding to came in the gauntlet of the Big Ten schedule, one that is once again tough for IU this upcoming season. The difference, however, is Indiana will enter those games this year with a bevy of marquee matchups already under their belt during the non-conference portion of the schedule.

"I think our schedule that we've scheduled this year has put us somewhat in that light in terms of competition; really stiff competition, and then you've got to deal with the Big Ten, which is stiff every year, " Woodson said.

It's in those non-conference matchups where Indiana will not only see what they're made of, but will get to see the fruits of their labor play out in front of them.

""To win," Woodson answered swiftly when asked about his expectations of his team during the non-conference bouts. "That's the only thing I'm expecting. As soon as we start here with Marion in the practice game, that's when it starts to me. Whenever there's officials and we throw that ball up, I expect us to win.

"Yeah, we've got some stiff competition this year with Xavier and Carolina and Kansas and Arizona. Hey, it's what it is, man. Hey, we've just got to be ready to play and compete and win.

"I'm not pushing anything else. We cannot run from the schedule."

When it comes down to it, Indiana's basketball program is a prestigious one. With a recognizable figure at the head of it and a host of talented guys chomping at the bit to make their impact felt, expectations for Hoosier basketball are par for the course.

"Expectations are always going to be high," Woodson said. "When I came in here and took the job, expectations were high. This program is built that way, and it should be that way. It's what it is, man. I'm not going to run from it, and I'm not going to let my players run from it. There's a lot of big things that's got to happen this year for our ballclub, and I'm going to try to coach them up and push them in that direction."

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