Indiana's Huge Second Half Enough to Rout No. 13 Purdue at Home, 73-58

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — They had nine days between games, so it would have been easy for Indiana's basketball team to start packing it in during the tail end of this frustrating and wildly disappointing season.

But they didn't.

And on Sunday, they got punched in the mouth by archrival Purdue late in the first half, and went to the locker room trailing by 12. Again, another perfect time to call it a day — and a season — as a smattering of boos drizzled down from the student section.

But they didn't do that, either.

Playing with a defensive ferocity not seen all year and out-of-ordinary offensive efficiency, Indiana staged a dramatic second half rally Sunday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. They beat the No. 13 Boilers 73-58, outscoring Purdue by a whopping 27 points in the final period in front of a raucous fan base.

Only one word sums it up. Wow

"Tonight they refused to lose,'' Indiana coach Mike Woodson said. "It was a great second half. I didn't play very many people off the bench, and kind of rolled with the seniors. We've been in a lot of close games over the last month and a half, and I just haven't been able to get them over the hump.

"I thought the second half, we did everything from a defensive standpoint that we worked on these days that we had to practice. It was a nice carryover. I thought the second half, our defense really picked it up and we were able to get stops and we started to make shots.''

This was Woodson's fourth win over Purdue since he was hired in March of 2021. No one has beaten Matt Painter more than Woodson during this Boilermakers heyday, and only Wisconsin's Greg Gard (4) can match him.

"Since we've been here, we are 4-4 with Purdue and Painter is a hell of a coach,'' Woodson said. "It's always special when you beat Purdue.''

The two teams traded punches through the first 11 minutes, with Indiana leading 21-16 with 9:04 to go. Then Purdue's defense stiffened and they started to get some easy looks, going on a 21-4 run to take a 37-25 into the locker room at halftime.

"We couldn't make a shot the first half. I thought we got some decent looks,'' Woodson said. "We just couldn't make them, and they made shots.''

But the Hoosiers came out firing in the second half, forcing turnovers and quickly cutting into the Purdue 12-point lead. It was gone completely in just four and a half minutes, with the Hoosiers tying it at 39-39 on a Malik Reneau dunk.

It was his 10th point of the night, and he became the 55th Hoosier to reach the 1,000-point milestone. He finished the night with 15 points — giving him 1,005 for his career — along with six rebounds and four assists.

"He was great,'' said Galloway, who had 15 points, nine assists and four rebounds — and also made all four of his free throws. "I think him just being patient, because he knows he demands a double because of how good and how skilled he is. By opening things up for himself and making the right reads out of the double, and he did that all night. We knew by watching film and prepping all week that he was going to get a double.

"Like I said, nobody can guard him one-on-one. Just having that mindset of the willingness to pass shows the kind of teammate he is, and it's pretty special to see that. It's going to continue to happen. For us to continue to win, he's got to continue to do that for us and be big the rest of the year.''

The Hoosiers didn't stop from there, and that 14-2 run to start the half wasn't nearly enough. They added a 14-point outburst and were suddenly up 53-40 with 11:56 to go. Purdue, playing one of worst offensive halves in years, never got any closer than 10 points. Indiana shot 64 percent in the second half.

Purdue is now 19-9 overall and 11-6 in the Big Ten after their fourth straight loss. Indiana is 16-11, and 7-9 in the league.

Woodson stuck with a hot hand in the second half. Trey Galloway, Anthony Leal, Luke Goode and Myles Rice each played all 20 minutes, with only Oumar Ballo subbing some for Reneau at center, partly for rest but also because Reneau was in a bit of foul trouble.

Those nine days off helped Woodson's decision-making on leaving those guys on the floor. They had plenty of energy to close this one out.

"In the long run, we can't play those guys that many minutes the rest of the way. It was seniors that carried us tonight, and I refused to change up anything in the second half,'' Woodson said. "It was tremendous. You know, they are seniors, and this is their last go. They won't get another shot at Purdue unless it's in tournament play.

"Matt Painter is a hell of a coach, and he's had some nice players around his program that's helped him win a lot of games. So this was a big win for our program.''

It was very emotional, too, for Woodson. He was a big part of this rivalry as a player from 1976 to 1980, and his college career ended with a loss to Purdue in the NCAA Tournament in Lexington, Ky. After the game, the players surrounded him and gave him several hugs and cheers.

"It means a lot,'' Woodson said. "This is my fourth year here. Anthony and Gallo and Malik, they've been around me the longest and they know truly what I'm about. The new guys, maybe they've had a hard time figuring it out.

"But it was special, any time your players rally around you, because I do love them, and I'm sure they love me, as well.''

Indiana did a great job of slowing down Purdue's stars, point guard Braden Smith and forward Trey Kaufman-Renn. Smith, hounded all night by Rice, Leal and Galloway, only had eight points on 2-of-8 shooting, and he had six turnovers.

Kaufman-Renn, who is averaging 19.6 points per game, only had nine points, the first time all year he's failed to reach double digits.

Indiana's players haven't been available to the media since the school announced that Woodson wouldn't return next year. It's been hard on them, but they also still have their eyes on the prize. They want to play in the postseason, and that's still a possibility with four games to go, starting with a home game Wednesday against Penn State.

They also have a West Coast trip to Washington and Oregon, and close the season at home against Ohio State on March 8.

"We're all playing for each other because we're all in it together,'' Galloway said. "Obviously this is (Woodson's)oach's last year, and we want to make it special for him. We want to make it special for everyone.

"This team was assembled for a reason, and we have a chance to really keep competing down the stretch to win games and put ourselves in the right position. So I wouldn't say just for him but like I said, it's a collective unit and it's all together, and we're trying to do it for each other, including Coach and the rest of the coaching staff and all the players, and everybody.''