WEST LAFAYETTE, Indiana – As time ticked down on the shot clock with just over six minutes left of play Saturday, Braden Smith kicked it out to Zach Edey, who knocked down his first 3-pointer of his career, shutting the door on Indiana’s hopes of a second half comeback.
Along with Edey making history, the Boilermakers completed the season sweep defeating the Hoosiers 79-59 in Mackey Arena on Saturday night.
“I thought the difference was [Braden] Smith and [Zach Edey],” Indiana head coach Mike Woodson said postgame.
In the first half alone, Smith and Edey had combined for 27 of Purdue’s 37 points. As Trey Galloway had mentioned post game after IU’s home loss to Penn State, you can’t get anything going offensively if you aren’t getting any defensive stops, which happened to very much be the case in Indiana’s first half of play.
Galloway led the team with 10 points in the first half, including a span in the final minute and a half where he scored six straight to help cut Purdue’s lead to 12. Purdue entered the locker room with the 37-25 halftime advantage.
However, Galloway would not score a single point following, which would end up being one of the many indicators of Indiana’s fall to the Boilermakers.
“I thought we played well early,” Woodson said. “From the 10-minute mark going into the half, we just couldn't score, we threw the ball away and they gave them the cushion going in at halftime. But then we were so awful coming out of the second half, couldn’t make shots, and [Purdue] capitalized on it.”
The Boilermakers strongly maintained the advantage coming out of halftime. The Hoosiers went scoreless for the first four and a half minutes of the half, giving Purdue the easy opportunity to extend their lead to over 20 points.
From then on, Purdue showed why they are the No. 2 team in the nation, maintaining and controlling the hefty lead for the remainder of the game.
“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’s just how it is. You’ve got to be on point from the get-go and last that 40 minutes, and we didn’t.”
There were many issues apparent in the 20-point defeat, but the most glaring were Indiana’s fouling trouble and offensive rebounding. The two were the team’s primary focus heading into Saturday night’s primetime matchup, but it also ultimately led to their downfall.
Indiana standout forward Malik Reneau fouled out with seven minutes left in the game, finishing with six points, shooting 3-for-11, and committing three turnovers.
“I thought Malik tonight, he just wasn’t Malik,” Woodson said. “I think he was trying to do it himself and just looked out of character. I mean, he’s been pretty solid for us this season, but tonight, it just wasn’t his night.”
Reneau had led the team in offensive rebounds, however, with a total of two. The Hoosiers in total collected five offensive rebounds, compared to Purdue’s 15 offensive boards.
It seemed as though none of the Hoosiers had been quite themselves, as their 59 points scored were the second-lowest of the season, sitting behind their 66-57 loss to Rutgers.
Now sitting at 10 losses with seven games left, the Hoosiers possibly sit at one of their lowest points of the season. Although its tournament chances remain dwindling, the Hoosiers continue to stick together, persevere, and move forward.
“We’ve got seven games,” Galloway said postgame. “We know our season’s not over. It’s far from over. Obviously this one game hurts, it’s a rivalry, but seven more games. Take it one game at a time and try to win every one of them.”
The Hoosiers will now have eight days to look back at their good and their ugly, as the Hoosiers will next be back in action in Assembly Hall, with the Northwestern Wildcats heading to Bloomington next Sunday at 3 p.m.
