Purdue Wins Ugly to Complete Regular Season Sweep Over Indiana
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — It was not pretty by any means, but Purdue (15-14, 8-10 in the Big Ten) defeated Indiana (18-10, 8-9 in the Big Ten) 57-49 in a slugfest at Mackey Arena. The Boilermakers held the Hoosiers to their lowest shooting percentage, 25.4%, since January 18, 2014 and held them to their lowest point total this season.
How did Purdue coach Matt Painter respond to being told he held Indiana to their worst shooting night in over six years?
"Cool," he joked.
Indiana got off to a decent start, courtesy of four offensive rebounds, as they lead the Boilermakers 7-2 early, but Purdue responded with an 11-2 run and the Hoosiers never lead again. Indiana cut the Purdue lead to 23-20 with 1:01 left in the first half, but then the Boilermakers took control.
Purdue closed the first half on a 6-0 run, capitalized by an Eric Hunter Jr. dunk to conclude the first 20 minutes. Purdue held Indiana to 20 first half points on just 6-28 shooting and turned over the Hoosiers eight times.
"It was the game," Indiana Head Coach Archie Miller frankly stated. "Those turnovers, game over. You know, you can't give live ball turnovers on the road, in particular here (at Mackey Arena)."
It wasn't until 13:37 in the second half that Indiana scored another point, a scoreless drought that lasted over 10 minutes of actual game time dating back to the first half. Purdue's 13-0 run in that span allowed Purdue to control a 36-20 lead.
Trevion Williams and Eric Hunter Jr. lead the Boilermakers to their regular season sweep over the Hoosiers and seventh consecutive victory over their rival. Williams muscled in 19 points on 8-17 shooting, adding eight rebounds and Hunter Jr. paced Purdue with 17 points and seven boards of his own.
Along with the solid defensive effort, Purdue won the game inside by outscoring Indiana 34-20 in the paint. The Boilermakers held the three Indiana big men, including Trayce Jackson-Davis, Justin Smith and Joey Brunk, to just 6-for-23 shooting. Devonte Green was the leading scorer for the Hoosiers with just 11 points on 3-for-15 shooting.
Indiana coach Archie Miller praised the Purdue defensive effort.
"They trapped the post every single time that we caught the ball, they're physical around the basket when you do catch the ball, everything around the basket, even our uncontested ones were rushed and they made it hard on us. You've got to give those guys some credit."
Painter was not going to get beat inside tonight and game-planned against standout freshman Jackson-Davis, who scored 16 points against Purdue the first meeting in Bloomington on February 8th. Tonight, Jackson-Davis just had eight points on 2-7 shooting.
"Why other teams don't double him, I don't know, but we are going to double him," Painter emphasized. "I have a lot of respect for him and just tried to make someone else beat us, to be frank with you."
Painter and Purdue don't want to get complacent and know they still have a lot of work to do to their resume in order to receive a bid to the NCAA tournament.
"Winning a game, you haven't arrived," Painter said honestly. "Now, can you play well at this time of the year in back-to-back games and hope we string something together? You know, time will tell."
They have two opportunities left in the regular season, as they take on Iowa next Tuesday on the road and conclude with a date against Rutgers on Saturday, March 7, in the season finale at Mackey Arena.
