After back to back years of fans storming the court at Assembly Hall, fans were storming the exits.
Indiana and Purdue, one of the most iconic rivalries in college basketball. Indiana swept the season series last year and had a 3-1 record against the Boilermakers in the Mike Woodson era — that is, until Tuesday night, losing 87-66.
Before the tip-off, the energy in Assembly Hall was high, but not much more than a typical Big Ten matchup. With students receiving assigned seating rather than lining up and waiting in the frigid air all day, the anxiety and anticipation was not pent up to the average IU-Purdue levels and was a telling sign of what was to come.
Foul Trouble Early
The Hoosiers hung around with No. 2 Purdue for the first five minutes of the game. Kel’el Ware efficiently guarded Zach Edey, forcing multiple errors and the Hoosiers were quick to rebound. Mackenzie Mgbako had the hot hand for Indiana with the team’s first seven points, but the two quickly racked up two fouls apiece and therefore were pulled from the game by Woodson.
“I probably should have played Mack a little more even with the two fouls, but I elected not to do that,” Woodson said. “That's hindsight. I hate coaching that way. Or thinking back to what I should have done.”
It did not take long for Gabe Cupps and Xavier Johnson to also accumulate two fouls. One of Johnson’s early fouls was ruled a Flagrant I, his second flagrant foul in three games.
“The first half, we get some dumb fouls and unnecessary fouling and stuff,” Trey Galloway said. “That's the difference between playing hard and not smart. I think we had some fouls and we had foul trouble and it got away from us a little bit.”
Purdue took full advantage of the handicapped Indiana team, racking up a halftime lead of 22 points.
Shooting Troubles
The Purdue defense did its film work. Indiana has struggled from deep all season, capitalizing on most of its points from down low and shooting 33.7% from 3 (10th in the conference). The Boilermakers stayed low and did not feel pressured to guard too close on the outside, focusing all energy down low on the big men.
“I thought in the first half we got some good looks,” Woodson said. “I charted, there were eight or nine open shots that we just didn't make. Those empty possessions that you leave on the table, and you come down and either we fouled or they scored, I mean, it wasn't a good combination for us the way we were playing.”
Ware, averaging almost 15 points a game, did not make his first basket until there were only 10 minutes left in the game. It will be hard for Indiana to convince the tournament committee that it is a threatening team when another team does not take it seriously from deep. Indiana only made 8 of 24 from 3.
Final Push
The Hoosiers brought a new spunky energy coming out of the half, refusing to accept the embarrassment of a 22-point deficit on their home court without putting up an inkling of a fight. Cupps punched in a jumper, followed by back-to-back 3s from Galloway. Galloway was the biggest hope for the Hoosiers, and led the team with 17 points. His offensive production, while not perfect, was better than anyone else on the court. Galloway applied speedy and forceful pressure on the defense that partially disrupted Purdue’s offensive scheme.
The short run revitalized the energy amongst the spectators filling the stands and brought back Indiana for a brief moment. The return of Ware and Mgbako contributed to this push, bringing back the strong defense and one of the most efficient shooters Indiana had on Tuesday night.
“It wasn't over, and that was our mindset going into the second half,” Galloway said. “I mean, like you said, we got it to under 10 but we just didn't have that next gear to really keep going, keep cutting into the lead.”
Once they cut the lead to single digits, things started to slip once again. Purdue, determined to prevent another Indiana comeback, finished off the Hoosiers once and for all.
What’s Next
Indiana heads to Madison where the team looks to get a win at the Kohl Center for the first time since 1998.
