Mike Woodson on IU-Purdue rivalry: 'It's just always been a battle over the years.'

Mike Woodson's college career ended with a loss to Purdue, and it's a defeat that will sting him always.

The current Indiana coach and then-Hoosiers wing had returned from back surgery to average 19.3 points per game in the 1979-80 season and was named an All-American and Big Ten Player of the Year despite playing in just 14 games. He helped guide an injury-plagued IU team to a Big Ten title and the No. 2 seed in the loaded Mideast Region of the NCAA tournament.

It was also lining up to be a dream end to Woodson's college career. The Indianapolis native was within striking distance of what was then Don Schlundt's all-time IU scoring record and he had a chance to play his final and most meaningful games at home.

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"if you recall back when I was a senior, there was a lot at stake that year for me personally," Woodson said on a Zoom call Wednesday previewing Indiana's home game against Purdue on Thursday. "The Final Four being in Indianapolis where I grew up, on my birthday to be exact, on March the 24th, and this being my last year, I mean, there was just a lot. There were a lot of accolades on the table in terms of scoring in the Big Ten, Indiana history scoring."

But IU and Woodson never got to Indy, their run ending in the Mideast Regional Semifinals in Lexington, Ky.. After a first-round bye (there were 48 teams in the tournament then) and a win over Virginia Tech, the Hoosiers were defeated 76-69 by a No. 3 seed Purdue team that would then beat No. 4 Duke and reach the Final Four. The Hoosiers limited Purdue star Joe Barry Carroll to 11 points with a constant double team, but Drake Morris and Keith Edmondson took advantage of that with 20 points each. Indiana's Isiah Thomas scored 30 points that night, but Woodson was held to 14 on 5-of-12 shooting and no one else on the roster scored more than six.

"To lose and go out the way we did, it was a tough day for me," Woodson said. "Again, I didn't have as much in the tank that I thought I had coming back from the back surgery. That was tough. And I played. I asked (Bob) Knight to play me; don't baby me. When I came back from the surgery, I think I averaged probably 36, 38 minutes all the way out. By the time we got to the Purdue game, there's no excuse, they were the better team that night in Lexington, there's no doubt about that, I just didn't have much left in the tank. To go out that way was tough because it's Purdue, you know? But hey, for me it was a hell of a run."

Woodson's playing career at Indiana coincided with one of the most interesting stretches in the IU-Purdue rivalry. The two programs have only met on a neutral site four times in their 213 meetings and in a postseason tournament three times. Woodson was in school for two of those three, as the Hoosiers defeated Purdue 53-52 in the finals of the 1979 NIT at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The only other postseason meeting came March 6, 1998 at Chicago in the Big Ten tournament.

Woodson finished his career with a 4-6 mark against Purdue and never won in West Lafayette.

"The games were a major battle," Woodson said. "Nobody wanted to give. Playing at Purdue was tough, and I'm sure they feel the same way when they come here. It's tough. We happened to meet the one year in the NIT championship, and it came down to a last-second shot. It's just always been a battle over the years."

It has, of course, been less of a battle in the past five years as Purdue has won nine straight games, last losing in 2016, and has won 12 of the past 13 games in the rivalry. Woodson steps back into it knowing it won't be easy for IU to end that streak, especially with the Boilermakers ranked No. 4 nationally and loaded.

"They've kind of had their way here of late, but hopefully we can make that change (Thursday) night," Woodson said. "We've got to just, like I said, commit ourselves for 40 minutes. It's not going to be something that's going to be hand-delivered to us. You've got to go get it."

Purdue has Woodson's respect, but Woodson also has Purdue's. Coach Matt Painter said when he was growing up in Muncie in the 1980s, Woodson was one of the players he looked up to and tried to emulate.

"That's awful nice of him to say something like that as a young kid," Woodson said. "You never know how young kids view you, but that's kind of some nice words.

"Listen, I've watched him coach over the years, and I've watched Purdue teams, and they've always been competitive. He's built his system the right way. I've got nothing but big respect for him. I know that this game (Thursday) means a lot to him, as well, but it means a lot to us as Indiana Hoosiers fans, as well, too."

Follow Herald-Times IU Insider Dustin Dopirak on Twitter at @DustinDopirak or email him at DDopirak@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Mike Woodson rejoins the IU-Purdue basketball rivalry from the sideline