'Pretty Special': Darian DeVries Eyes First Taste of Indiana Basketball, Purdue Rivalry

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — On Darian DeVries' first day as Indiana basketball's head coach last March, a day full of greetings and handshakes, this — the Indiana-Purdue rivalry — needed little introduction.

"You understand the rivalry," DeVries told reporters Monday over Zoom. "When you're around college sports and stuff, you understand all the different rivalries across the country and there's a lot of good ones. This is certainly one of those that is a pretty special rivalry.

"Certainly excited for my first opportunity and our team's opportunity to be a part of it."

The opportunity comes at 9 p.m. Tuesday, when the Hoosiers (13-7, 4-5 Big Ten) host the No. 12 Boilermakers (17-3, 7-2 Big Ten) inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington.

Beyond a first taste of one of college basketball's most historic rivalries — Tuesday marks the 222nd meeting between the two — DeVries and his team have a chance to get their first marquee win this season, a fast-growing essential to an NCAA Tournament resume.

Opportunity also exists to build momentum in DeVries' first season. Tuesday is Indiana's first home game since the Hoosiers' football team won the national championship Jan. 19, meaning DeVries' program has Bloomington's brightest spotlight for the first time. On the heels of an 82-59 win at Rutgers on Jan. 23, Indiana has a chance to nab a season-changing win.

It's a big stage with big implications in a big rivalry, one that's new to DeVries — but there's a semblance of familiarity on the opposing bench.

DeVries crossed paths with Purdue coach Matt Painter, who's in his 21st season at the helm in West Lafayette, Ind., before the Big Ten entered the fold for either coach. In 2003-04, Painter led Southern Illinois to the Missouri Valley Conference Championship in his first year as head coach. DeVries was an assistant at Creighton, which finished fourth in the conference.

Creighton and Southern Illinois had a "good rivalry" within the league. Now, 22 years later, DeVries and Painter renew their rivalry under the bright lights shining from the Assembly Hall rafters.

"I've followed him for a long time," DeVries said Monday about Painter. "And he does such a great job. They used to be all defense and then their offense maybe lacked and now they're elite, elite offensively, and they run so much stuff.

"It's been from just a coach-to-coach standpoint, being able to follow his career and watch how he's continued to evolve at both ends of the floor. He just does a good job with everything."

Purdue enters Tuesday on a two-game losing streak. The Boilermakers lost 69-67 at UCLA on Jan. 20 before falling 88-82 to Illinois on Jan. 24. Before its skid, Purdue hadn't dropped a game since Dec. 6, when Iowa State took a decisive 81-58 victory in West Lafayette.

The Boilermakers are led by senior guard Braden Smith, the 2024-25 Big Ten Player of the Year who's averaging 15.2 points and 9.3 assists per game this season.

DeVries said Smith makes life "incredibly difficult" for opposing defenses. Nobody's been able to slow him down, DeVries, because he has an elite feel for reading coverages and understanding where the ball needs to go. He's fast, athletic and potent at making mid-range jump shots, contorting his 6-foot, 170-pound frame in a manner that makes it difficult for taller defenders to block his shots.

"The main facilitator of it all that gets it started is Smith," DeVries said. "And he's as good as there is in the country in terms of being able to play pick and roll and reads and finding ways to exploit your coverage. He's as good as I've seen out there in doing that and then such a competitor to go with it.

"He just has that unique knack to have a late decision-making pass, and it really stretches your defense in every way possible."

Purdue has a high-powered offense, averaging 84 points per game, which ranks No. 50 in Division I, behind an efficient attack. The Boilermakers shoot 51.3% from the floor, the eighth-best mark nationally, and they connect on 38.3% of their 3-pointers, the 22nd-best rate in the country. Led by Smith, Purdue averages 20.5 assists per game, third-best nationally.

Smith leads the Boilermakers in scoring, but he's joined in double figures by a trio of complementary pieces.

Senior guard Fletcher Loyer is averaging 12.7 points per game while shooting 37.4% from beyond the arc. Senior forward Trey Kaufman-Renn averages 12.5 points and a team-best 8.6 rebounds per game, and senior center Oscar Cluff notches 11.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per contest.

Indiana views Smith as the engine, but the Boilermakers have no shortage of playmakers.

"First of all, they got really good players across the board. I think they all understand their roles," DeVries said. "I feel like all their parts just really fit well together. They're able to play off (Smith), and they can go inside, outside. But I think a lot of their catch-and-shoots are what you want them to be.

"There are catch-and-shoots where (Smith is) able to generate some attention, get guys pulled over because they got a post-up opportunity or you got to stop the drive, and now, they're playing advantage basketball."

DeVries has oft acknowledged Indiana's lack of size — the Hoosiers rotate 6-foot-9, 240-pound senior Sam Alexis and 6-foot-10, 230-pound senior Reed Bailey at forward — dating back to the summer. On paper, Purdue will stress the Hoosiers' interior presence more than anyone.

Cluff, who measures 6-foot-11 and 255 pounds, pairs with the 6-foot-9, 240-pound Kaufman-Renn to give the Boilermakers one of the Big Ten's best paint duos. Purdue also brings 7-foot-4, 250-pound sophomore center Daniel Jacobsen off its bench for an average of 15.4 minutes per game.

"Their interiors, I mean, it's really good," DeVries said. "You got a four and a five that are just big, take up space and they can finish down there and they got lob threats coming off the bench. They present a lot of problems because of their physicality and ability to put you in some hard spots.

"And they know what they're doing. They know where they want to get their angles, they know where to get their space."

The Boilermakers average 11.2 offensive rebounds per game, which ranks a pedestrian 184th in Division I, but Cluff and Kaufman-Renn do their part. Cluff pulls down 3.6 offensive rebounds per game, tied for 17th nationally, while Kaufman-Renn nabs 3.2 offensive boards per contest, the 44th-best mark in the nation.

"Elite offensive rebounders — two of the best there are in the country right now," DeVries said. "So, even when you do a good job and you get them to miss, now you got to clean it up, with two guys down in there that they're posted up ready to go get it."

Defensively, Purdue ranks 64th nationally in scoring, holding opponents to 69.1 points per game. The Boilermakers have limited opponents to shooting 42.9% from the field and 32.3% from 3-point range, and they rarely put their opposition at the foul stripe — teams average just 13.3 free throw attempts per game.

Purdue poses a steep challenge for DeVries, who's trying to keep Indiana from losing its third consecutive home game. The Hoosiers have an opportunity to get their biggest win this season, not only because of the rivalry, not only because of their postseason resume, but also the semantics behind what a win means for DeVries in his pursuit to prove Indiana hired the right man last spring.

Among Indiana's 13 scholarship players, freshman forward Trent Sisley is the lone in-state product. But the other 12 shouldn't lack motivation Tuesday. The platform exists for Indiana to make a statement. The Hoosiers merely need to seize the moment — and turn a "pretty special rivalry" into a pretty special night.