WEST LAFAYTTE (Indiana) On Saturday, Indiana brought something new to Mackey Arena – a win over Purdue. Next, the goal was to win its first West Lafayette victory since Jan. 30, 2013.
The odds were against the Hoosiers who had lost six of their eight previous games before facing No. 8 Purdue on enemy territory.
Purdue had the home court advantage in Indiana’s regular season finale. This was evident from the ruckus crowd to the signs in the student section cheering on the Hoosiers. One sign was particularly important to remind Indiana who is winning the rivalry series.
One rain does not end a drought.
One win against Purdue looked like it could quickly turn into two. Indiana led for five minutes, but fell 69-67.
It’s not easy, Miller Kopp said. You want to win every single game. You want to win every single game.
Although the Hoosiers’ performance was not without faults, it was not a reflection of Mike Woodson’s team that has failed to overcome the hump.
The team fought down to the final possession, even though the fans thought it was over. This was in the hope of ending a six-game losing streak at Mackey Arena. Indiana played with energy that showed they were trying to get back on the right side in the NCAA tournament bubble.
Indiana found the answers to double-digit Purdue run statistics. It didn’t succeed in an easy place.
The Hoosiers shot 100 percent from the free-throw line for the first time this season. Indiana made all of its 10 attempts in front of a rowdy student section screaming and flailing to get them to miss. They didn’t.
Parker Stewart was standing at the line to shoot three when NIT chants fell on him. He was unaffected and made it through all three attempts.
Miller Kopp made three-pointers in transition that were so relaxed and in rhythm that the team hadn’t seen in a while. He attempted four 3-pointers on 75 percent shooting distance.
Xavier Johnson continued his hot streak. He played with confidence that helped him stay calm. He was able to find the right shots, and when they weren’t there, he found his team. He scored 18 points and had 12 assists to make it a double-double.
Xavier Johnson is very shifty. He’s good. Matt Painter commented after the game that he can take good shots and really puts you in a tight spot.
It was not just about offense. On its senior day, Indiana held Purdue down to its lowest field goal percentage of the season. Jaden Ivey missed just two of 11 attempts to score a substandard 10-pointer.
Woodson stated that we gave ourselves the chance to win in a hostile environment. This was a difficult building to win and I felt we were very competitive.
Despite doing many right, the Hoosiers failed to protect the defensive glass. They allowed 14 offensive rebounds to which the Boilermakers turned 15 second-chance point.
The second half saw Indiana win more foul calls than the Hoosiers. The Hoosiers had twelve foul calls, while the Boilermakers had seven. Four of those fouls were made in the last 30 seconds.
Kopp however stated that the referees were irrelevant at the end.
You can’t put any blame on the refs, they don’t come in and get offensive rebound. Kopp stated that we had to box out.
It was still not enough after the 40 minutes. Despite being Indiana’s closest loss in eight years at Mackey it doesn’t make any difference to their record. The drought continues.
Our record does nothing to show our identity as an organization. Johnson stated that we know we are a strong team and will bring it to the postseason.
Filed to Purdue Boilermakers