Purdue and Indiana men’s basketball meet for the only time in the regular season Sunday afternoon in Bloomington at Assembly Hall.
The Boilermakers are the heavy favorites entering the matchup and are seeking their 17th straight win---a school record.
A win on Sunday for Purdue would break the record set by the 1987-1988 Boilermakers, who won 16 straight at one point and went on to win the Big Ten.
When Purdue was going for its 17th straight victory in 1988, they had to go to Assembly Hall and play the Hoosiers. The Boilermakers lost.
Here’s what happened:
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Coming off a National Championship season, Indiana had been struggling to start 1988, but their rivals from West Lafayette were dominating.
Unranked Indiana was 10-6 and had lost four of its last six games while Purdue was undefeated in the conference and boasting the No. 2 ranking in the nation. Oh, and of course going for their 17th straight victory.
Indiana started hot, leading 52-37 at halftime after having shot 63 percent in the first half. Purdue was just at 46 percent at the break.
The second half was a different story.
Purdue shot 85 percent in the first 17 minutes of the second half, Indiana struggled shooting just 35 percent. With the game tied at 76 and two minutes to play, Purdue’s Everette Stephens gave the Boilermakers a three-point lead with his fifth made three-pointer of the game.
After a few IU made free throws by Dean Garrett adding to his 31-point outing and making it a one-point game, Purdue was fouled on the other end and had to inbound the ball under its basket with 1:03 to play.
Gene Keady called a timeout, but that didn’t make a difference. IU’s Jay Edwards stole the inbound pass giving the Hoosiers a chance to take the lead. After milking the 45-second shot clock, Garrett put up a shot that was well short, and even Lydon Jones’ offensive rebound and put-back didn’t fall for IU.
With Indiana down one, Purdue senior Todd Mitchell and second leading scorer went to the free throw line for a one and one opportunity with 15 seconds to play.
Mitchell missed.
Indiana went down the floor; fed the post as Garrett backed down; turns around and knocks down a jumper with four seconds left putting IU up by one.
Now, Purdue still had a chance, all they had to do was inbound the ball properly and get a shot off.
With four seconds left, Purdue inbounded. Travel. Two seconds to play.
An electric shock went through Assembly Hall.
IU scored an easy bucket off its inbounds pass at the buzzer to beat Purdue 82-79, stopping the Boilermakers 16-game win streak and handing them their first loss in the Big Ten.
Will history repeat itself 30 years later?
The 2018, No. 3 Purdue Boilermakers are undefeated in the Big Ten and have won 16 games in a row, identical to the team from 30 years ago. Purdue still went on to the win the Big Ten at 16-2, finished the season 29-4 and made it to the Sweet Sixteen. They can still do that in 2018, but one of those four losses in 1988 happened in Assembly Hall.
It’s a long shot for Indiana to beat Purdue, but the 1988 Hoosiers finished fifth in the Big Ten that season, right around where IU is this year.
Purdue was favored 30 years ago, but couldn’t get out of Assembly Hall with the win. Indiana has a chance to stop Purdue from setting a school record just like they did back then.
Will Assembly Hall work its magic once again 30 years later?
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