In a rivalry game that was sure to be a hard fought, physical game, the Indiana Hoosiers held on down the stretch to defeat their rival, the Purdue Boilermakers.
There never seemed to be a dull moment Saturday night inside a raucous Assembly Hall, and the Hoosiers kept everyone on their toes as Purdue cut a 19-point deficit to just two with under a minute to go.
“I didn’t think it could be louder than Iowa from start to finish, and it was,” coach Tom Crean said.
Indiana Eases Their Way Into The Game
The Hoosiers have gotten out to a lot of fast starts at home this season, but Saturday, it took them a little longer to create some separation. It stayed close throughout most of the first half until Indiana started to turn it on behind Yogi Ferrell and Troy Williams.
It wasn’t until Purdue took a 15-12 lead with 13:47 to play in the first half that things started to change.
"We didn't force anything,” Ferrell said. “When we got in the paint, we got whatever we wanted."
All of a sudden what looked like was going to be a tight game, was blown out to a double digit Hoosiers lead behind a 20-5 run in the next seven minutes of game play. Indiana hit four 3-pointers in that stretch and behind some good team basketball, had a nice cushion.
It took the Hoosiers a few minutes to get going, but once they did, Purdue was in a bit of trouble. The Boilermakers did cut it to a seven-point deficit at halftime, but Indiana had all of the momentum.
Purdue Falls, But Gets Back Up
Once the Hoosiers took control, the crowd was loud and the Boilermakers just seemed to have no answers. They were turning the ball over, their shots weren’t falling, and the Hoosiers were making them pay.
Thomas Bryant came out for the second half ready to play and scored Indiana’s first seven points. Bryant finished with 10 points and five rebounds, but foul trouble late forced him to sit on the bench. Max Bielfeldt, however, stepped up in a big way as another senior leader on the floor.
"Max has been excellent,” Crean said. “We didn't need him to come in here and be a babysitter, we needed him to come here and be a leader."
Caleb Swanigan, AJ Hammons, and Isaac Haas were going to be some trouble for the Hoosiers, and they sure were. They each had 14, 13, and 12 respectively, but the Hoosiers ended up having the last laugh as foul trouble got the best of Hammons who was limited with four fouls.
It was a back and forth start to the second half as well, and much like the first half, the Hoosiers slowly but surely kept their comfortable lead. The Boilermakers had chances to stay within striking distance early in the second half, but failed to convert and the Hoosiers made them pay. That payment was a 12-0 run that put the Hoosiers out in front by 19, their biggest lead of the game, with 9:57 to play.
The Hoosiers’ lead was even as much as 16 with 6:57 to play, but when Indiana looked like they were poised to keep their big lead, Purdue finally had an answer.
Hoosiers Hold On Down The Stretch
The Hoosiers seemed comfortable up big, and Purdue had to change that somehow.
That change came in the form of a full-court press that gave Indiana some trouble and enabled Purdue to work their way back into the game.
"Purdue can beat you in so many different ways,” Crean said. “You just can't let them come down and be comfortable."
An 18-5 run down the stretch had Purdue right in the thick of things as the Hoosiers were holding onto a two-point lead with the ball.
The Hoosiers had to have a basket, and while the ball didn’t go in the hoop, Yogi Ferrell still got it to count as a goaltending call was made on AJ Hammons and that gave Indiana a four-point lead with just seven seconds to play.
"We really wanted the clear out [for Yogi],” Crean said. “We want it in his hands."
Behind a game high 19 points from Williams and 18 points from Ferrell, the Hoosiers were able to hold on. It wasn’t a pretty finish, and there was some fist clenching, but Indiana gutted it out down the stretch and got a win to end their three game losing streak to Purdue.
Turnovers, Turnovers, Turnovers
The Hoosiers had been struggling with turnovers for much of the season while Purdue was much better in that category than their opponents. However on Saturday night, those scripts were flipped.
It felt like Purdue could not hold onto the ball while Indiana was just making them pay. Purdue turned the ball over 13 times which turned into 20 points off of turnovers while Indiana turned it over a season low four times for which Purdue could only score three points.
“We created turnovers which is rare to do against Purdue,” Crean said. “And we took care of the ball, which is rare to do against Purdue.”
Turning the ball over is never a good thing, but unless you make a team pay for those turnovers, it isn’t all that important. The Hoosiers made the Boilermakers pay and that is why this was such a key factor in this game.
What's Next?
Indiana travels to Illinois on Thursday while Purdue hosts Maryland on Saturday.
As for Robert Johnson who finished with six points, he left with an injury, but “it is too early to tell what his status is,” Crean said.