No. 21 Indiana Knocks Off No. 1 Purdue With Big Plays Down the Stretch
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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — When Indiana went to the locker room with a 15-point lead on Saturday, the Hoosiers knew with full certainty that there was a long 20 minutes to go. They were going to get No. 1-ranked Purdue's best shot in the second half, and they never once doubted that.
They took every haymaker that Purdue could muster, too, including 18 second-half points from 7-foot-4 center Zach Edey, but the Hoosiers hung on with one key play after another in the final minute to win 79-74. Trayce Jackson-Davis led the Hoosiers with 25 points — passing Alana Henderson for No. 7 on Indiana's all-time scoring list in the process — and guards Jalen Hood-Schifino and Trey Galloway added 14 and 11, respectively.
The Hoosiers might have been wobbled a bit, but they stood tall at the end, beating their arch-rivals inside Assembly Hall for the second year in a row.
"We made the plays that we needed to make coming home,'' Indiana coach Mike Woodson said. "At the end of the day, we answered the bell. I told the guys they could celebrate for an hour. We've got to get ready for Rutgers (on Tuesday night).
That's going to be one heck of a fun hour, because this was a very satisfying win for the Hoosiers. It's always special to beat Purdue, but they're also the No. 1 team in the nation. Indiana is now 16-7 overall and 7-5 in the Big Ten. Purdue fell to 22-2 and 11-2 in the league and still has a two-game lead over Rutgers, the only other team that's beaten them this season.
Rutgers comes to Indiana on Tuesday. The Hoosiers are tied for third in the standings, sharing the spot with Iowa and Illinois.
This was Indiana’s first victory over a No. 1-ranked team since it beat Michigan 81-73 on Feb. 2, 2013 at Assembly Hall. It was Indiana’s eighth win in program history against a No. 1 team.
Indiana has lost at least a dozen games like this in the past six or seven years, where they could have folded when Purdue came roaring back. But this Hoosiers team is different — Jackson-Davis even said so afterward — and they actually made the plays they had to down the stretch.
Purdue never led the second half, but they got it to one a few times, the last time coming with 2:02 to go when freshman guard Braden Smith scored on a layup to make it 71-70.
On the next Indiana possession, Jackson-Davis had a shot blocked at the rim by Edey, but Race Thompson got the rebound and was fouled. He made two free throws to make it 73-70 with 1:36 to go.
Purdue tried to tie it on a Mason Gillis three-point attempt — he made nine on Wednesday in a win over Penn State — but he missed. Purdue got the rebound however — they had 17 offensive rebounds on the day — but Thompson came up with a huge steal and Indiana called timeout with 41.4 to go.
During the timeout, Woodson said that Hood-Schifino, his freshman point guard who just shot 1-for-14 in a loss at Maryland on Tuesday, wanted the ball on that final possession. He worked off a screen and then drove hard down the lane, with Edey and his long arms not far away. But he beat him to a spot and scored, putting Indiana up by five.
“I told coach, ‘I’m gonna get this last bucket,’” Hood-Schifino. Woodson obliged.
"He asked for the ball coming down the stretch and drew up two plays to get it to him, and he delivered,'' Woodson said.
Edey scored quickly for Purdue, and then they fouled Galloway with 12 seconds left and he made both free throws. Indiana was 15-for-18 from the line on the day, a solid 83.3 percent.
Edey, who finished with 33 points, scored again with four seconds to go and the Boilermakers pressed. Thompson couldn't get the ball in and called timeout. The Hoosiers drew up another play, and Hood-Schifino released downcourt. Thompson hit him with a perfect pass and he scored as time was expiring to seal the deal.
“It's all about toughness, to be honest. I've played on teams before that weren't tough,'' Jackson-Davis said. "We’ve played with a chip on our shoulder since we got punked by Rutgers earlier in the year, and that’s the way we have to play the rest of the year.”
The first half might have been Indiana's best defensive effort of the year. It was imperative that Indiana's guards outplayed Purdue's backcourt of freshmen Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer.
They did exactly that, pressuring them with tight ball defense, and making entry passes difficult. The pair had just two first-half baskets. The defensive effort changed the game, forcing 10 Purdue turnovers in the first half.
"I thought that played a major role,'' Woodson said of Indiana's defensive effort. "(Loyer and Smith) have been playing well and they are extremely good players. I thought we did a great job on their guards. Our pressure early put us in a different place defensively. They rarely turn it over. But I thought the game plan was perfect.''
Edey and Jackson-Davis were the headliners, of course, and they did not disappoint. Edey finished with 33 points and 18 rebounds. Jackson-Davis had 25 points, seven rebounds and five blocks — plus a victory. It was the fifth time Jackson-Davis, Indiana's all-time leading shot blocker, had five or more blocks in a game this season.
"Edey and Trayce are two of the best players in the country, and they showed that tonight,'' Woodson said. "I thought out supporting cast played a little better than theirs did. Everybody that played contributed. The supporting cast definitely did their part tonight.
"Our game plan of doubling the post, it worked great,'' Jackson-Davis said of their defensive intensity in the first half. "And Jalen, he lives for these big moments. I kind of carried the load in the first half, butn the second half, he was carrying the load, and that's something we can do.
Woodson and Jackson-Davis both said the raucous sellout crowd contributed to the win, too.
"We've got the best fans in college basketball and they were fantastic,'' Woodson said.
The Hoosiers shot 52.6 percent from the field, and were 4-for-10 from three-point range. Their 79 points snapped Purdue’s streak of 24-straight games with holding opponents to under 70 points. It was the longest active streak in the country.
Indiana’s 79 points were the most scored by a Purdue opponent this season.
Related stories on Indiana basketball
- WATCH JACKSON-DAVIS DUNK: Jalen Hood-Schifino connected with Trayce Jackson-Davis for a massive alley-oop in the first half against Purdue. Watch it here. CLICK HERE
- WATCH JACKSON-DAVIS BLOCK LOYER: Indiana star forward Trayce Jackson-Davis rejected Fletcher Loyer's layup attempt early in the first half against Purdue on Saturday. Watch it here. CLICK HERE
- DICK VITALE AT ASSEMBLY HALL: Dick Vitale is on the call for ESPN on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET when Indiana takes on No. 1 Purdue. The Indiana student section gave him a warm welcome. CLICK HERE
- GERONIMO WARMING UP: Indiana junior forward Jordan Geronimo is in uniform and warming up prior to Saturday's game against Purdue at 4 p.m. ET at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Geronimo missed the last two games with a calf strain. CLICK HERE
