Purdue Beat Down By Indiana’s 2nd-Half Blitz

When fans of Purdue basketball get asked who their two favorite teams are, their answers almost always remain unvaried. Most Boilermakers supporters would reply, “Purdue and whoever plays Indiana.”

The same team filled both spots on Sunday as the Boilers traveled to Bloomington to face the Hoosiers, their bitter in-state rivals. Sunday’s game marked the 40th anniversary of Bob Knight’s infamous “chair throw” on February 23, 1985, which resulted in the coach’s ejection and Purdue bliss.

However, those who root for the black and gold were sorely disappointed after this game.

Indiana outscored Purdue 48-21 in the second half and won going away, 73-58. The loss was the fourth in a row for the Boilermakers, who fell to 11-6 in the Big 10 and 19-9 overall. It also placed them in fifth place, one spot out of the all-important top four; the first four places earn a double-bye in the conference tournament next month.

The Hoosiers improved their March Madness resume by notching their seventh conference win and first home victory since beating USC on January 8.

First Half Run Put Purdue Up Comfortably At The Break

Early in the 221st all-time meeting between the two schools, it looked as if Indiana’s height would be their ticket to success. Seven-footer Oumar Ballo was having his way with Purdue’s front line; 6’10” Caleb Furst and 6’9″ Trey Kaufman-Renn seemed overwhelmed with stopping the Hoosiers’ bigs. Rarely-used 7’2″ Will Berg tried to help, but he committed two fouls and allowed a massive Ballo dunk in his two minutes of court time.

Indiana sprinted to a 19-13 lead with 11:34 remaining in the half. After that, however, Purdue found a way to limit the Hoosiers’ effectiveness down low. They forced Indiana to settle for outside shots, and the Hoosiers ended the half by missing ten of their 11 three-point attempts.

Even though 20 of Indiana’s first 25 points were scored from the paint, Purdue’s offense heated up. Kaufman-Renn’s basket with 4:46 to go in the half capped a 12-0 Boilermaker run, making it 28-21 favor of Purdue.

The half ended on a 21-4 Purdue run, aided by nailing six of their last seven attempts from distance, and the Boilers led 37-25 at the break.

Unfortunately, Indiana did not get the message that they were supposed to lay down and let the Boilers hammer away.

Hoosiers’ Defense Stifles The Boilermakers In The Second Half

Not to be outdone by Purdue’s first-half spurt to end the first half, Indiana went on a remarkable 28-3 roll in the first eight minutes of the second half. The Hoosiers hit 12 of their first 14 shots after halftime during that stretch, forcing more turnovers (six) than points allowed (three).

After committing just five turnovers in the first half, Purdue coughed up the ball 11 times in the final 20 minutes. Six of those 16 turnovers were pinned on point guard Braden Smith, twice the amount he averages per game.

Boilermakers head coach Matt Painter vented to reporters following the game about his team’s second-half performance, citing many self-inflicted wounds.

“Just a total lack of concentration, more than anything, on our end,” said Painter. “The first play (of the half), we get them to miss defensively and they get an offensive rebound and end up getting a three. Then, we just start turning the basketball over. We had just played a half of basketball where their pressure didn’t bother us at all. It was like Purdue beating Purdue.

“They’re not a prolific three-point shooting team. So, now, they make a couple and then our guys act like Reggie Miller hit 10 threes. They overreact. Then all of a sudden, they play the out and now they get dive dunks or dive layups or dive offensive rebounds.”

Painter did not limit his airing of grievances to just his defense, calling out his All-American candidate, Smith.

“(W)e didn’t get good point guard play. We started to turn the basketball over there. We just have to have better leadership in those areas. Just make simple plays, move the basketball — if they want to take something away, whatever they give you just take it.”

Although junior Fletcher Loyer scored 20 points, the other two Boiler stars struggled. Kaufman-Renn was held below ten points for the first time this season, scoring only nine. Smith, needing eight assists to break the school record, dished out only five helpers while scoring eight points.

End Of Purdue Rant: The Boilers Are At A Crossroads

While coming out of the gates going 19-5 and vaulting into first place in the Big 10, Purdue’s current four-game losing streak has sprouted more questions than answers. Most notably, how do the Boilers compete with bigger teams down low?

Considering Indiana’s offensive dominance near the basket, Painter was left searching for solutions, too.

“They didn’t get that many offensive rebounds, but to be able to get 44 points in the paint and score 23 points off of turnovers just killed us.”

Finding ways to solve that and other issues, such as ending their four-game slide, begins Friday night at Mackey Arena. Purdue welcomes UCLA into West Lafayette for a nationally televised tilt scheduled to tip off at 8 p.m. ET.