WEST LAFAYETTE, Indiana – Heading into Saturday night’s rivalry game in Mackey Arena, Indiana’s focus was on staying out of foul trouble and controlling the rebounding battle. Very little went according to plan for the Hoosiers, en route to a 79-59 defeat to the No. 2 Purdue Boilermakers, getting swept in the season series by 20 or more points for the first time in 90 years.
Coming off an impressive 18-point comeback victory against Ohio State, Indiana had the momentum it was looking for to potentially pull off a victory that would re-shape the course of its season.
Instead, Indiana entered the half down 37-25, and three minutes out of the break, Malik Reneau picked up three straight fouls leading to Indiana’s largest deficit of the game.
“I thought Malik tonight, he just wasn’t Malik,” head coach Mike Woodson said. “They had a lot to do with that from a defensive standpoint and I think he was trying to do it himself.”
Reneau ended up fouling out with just six points in 23 minutes, prompting Woodson to say this was out of character for their leading scorer who has been solid for the team all season.
Captain Trey Galloway, who did not score in the second half, says the team lost its intensity and focus after the first 20 minutes.
“I had a bad turnover to start the half and that kind of just spiraled down the line with all of us and it showed,” Galloway said. “But we got to take care of the ball on the road. Obviously there’s very little room for error and that’s what happened and we couldn’t bounce back.”
Kel’el Ware also got in foul trouble and played less time than he was accustomed to, leading to Payton Sparks getting 11 minutes of action, though Woodson believes the 7-foot big man played “a hell of a game.”
“Some of that’s on me, I gotta play smarter, but it is what it is,” Ware said.
Ware added that he “can’t control the fouling” as it’s ultimately the referee’s decision.
With Ware and Reneau off the floor for a good portion of the match, Purdue was able to out-rebound Indiana 46-31, including 15 offensive boards that led to 12 second-chance points.
“They got a lot of guys that really know what they’re doing and know how to settle a run,” Galloway said. “You gotta give them a lot of credit because they play so well together, especially at home, so like I said you can’t dig yourself a hole like we did because you’re not going to be able to come back against these guys.”
Galloway said that the team needs to “be on point from the get-go” and have it last for 40 minutes, in a game where they only completed half of that task.
Despite falling to 14-10, Woodson said that he is not disappointed with his team’s performance on the season as they have been able to play well in spurts, but need to do a better job playing hard throughout the entirety of games like they have before.
“We have a young team that’s still trying to figure each other out,” Woodson said.
He added that Indiana is also missing captain Xavier Johnson’s on-court leadership, who is out indefinitely with a left elbow injury.
Indiana will have eight days of rest before defending home court against Northwestern on Feb. 18 at 3 p.m. With only seven regular season games remaining, the Hoosiers need as many wins as possible for any hope at a postseason tournament run.
