Lack of intensity, energy hurt Indiana in 79-59 blowout loss at Purdue
Anthony Leal waved his arms around like a swarm of bugs was attacking him, but he was just trying to communicate with his teammates. Braden Smith blew a kiss to the Indiana bench after making a layup. Kel’el Ware looked frantically around as he stood near the basket, seemingly unsure of what play Indiana was running. Malik Reneau fouled out and Zach Edey made his first career 3-pointer.
Indiana versus No. 2 Purdue wasn’t short on big moments. Just because moments are big doesn’t mean they’re positive, though. And just because a game has big moments doesn’t mean it was competitive or compelling.
Saturday night’s rendition of what is supposed to be one of the best rivalries in college basketball was anything but. The Hoosiers fell to the Boilermakers at Mackey Arena by a score of 79-59 and were thereby swept by the Boilermakers in the 2023-24 regular season. The 20-point loss, combined with Purdue’s 87-66 win in Bloomington in January, marked the first time since 1933-34 that Indiana lost to Purdue by at least 20 points twice in the same season.
“They’re more experienced and they’ve got a lot of guys that really know what they’re doing, and know how to set up a run,” Trey Galloway said postgame. “You’ve got to give them a lot of credit because they play so well together, especially at home.”
The Hoosiers went into West Lafayette with redemption on their minds, and they started the game looking like they were ready to prove they were better than their previous outing against their in-state rival. Sharp ball movement, good shot selection and a willingness to play physically gave Indiana somewhat of an upper hand as Purdue’s initial offense was uncharacteristically flat. Neither team could make 3-pointers, but Ware was matching up well with Edey in the post and Indiana was finding ways to score.
That didn’t last, however, as Ware was called for his second foul with just over six minutes remaining in the first half. When he went to the bench, Edey and Purdue took advantage of the moment and ran with it, not looking back. The Boilermakers’ shots started falling more consistently and the Hoosiers couldn’t buy a bucket.
“That’s on us to remind each other to keep moving it with pace and keep doing the little things,” Galloway said about Indiana’s drop-off in energy and production.
Purdue went on multiple scoring runs, including a deflating 15-1 run, and Indiana went into halftime trailing 37-25. Galloway had 10 points to his name, but that was arguably the only thing the Hoosiers had going for them. Seven turnovers and 0-for-5 shooting from the perimeter showed a lack of concentration for Indiana — something they needed to change quickly.
That didn’t happen. It got worse.
In the first three minutes of the second half, Indiana was called for five team fouls and turned the ball over three times without scoring a single point. Three of those fouls came from Reneau, placing one of Indiana’s most physical players and leading point-scorer in major foul trouble.
“We just lost our intensity and our focus,” Galloway said. “I had a bad turnover to start the half and it kind of just spiraled.”
Indiana’s first bucket of the second half came at the 15:30 mark, at which point Purdue’s lead was in the 20s and not about to change. CJ Gunn, Anthony Walker, Mackenzie Mgbako and Ware tried to keep Indiana competitive — they were the only Hoosiers to score in the second half — but it was too little and far too late. Purdue was on a roll.
“We were so awful coming out in the second half, couldn’t make shots, and they capitalized,” Mike Woodson said.
Gunn’s team-high 13 points did little to slow down Edey and Smith’s ability to cut into Indiana’s defense. Ware’s 11 points and eight rebounds occasionally gave Indiana some momentum but not enough to overcome the environment in West Lafayette.
The understanding in the Big Ten is that it’s tough to win on the road, and Saturday was no exception. Backed by a raucous home crowd, Purdue seemed to simply want it more. The Boilermakers outrebounded the Hoosiers 46-31 while grabbing 15 second-chance rebounds and scoring 13 points off of 12 Hoosier turnovers. While the two teams both shot 42 percent from the field, Purdue made 21 free throws to Indiana’s nine in a testament to Indiana’s carelessness in guarding down the stretch.
Indiana will have an eight-day break before its next game on Feb. 18 to regroup and reset before the final stretch of the regular season.
“We’ve just got to continue to grow as a team,” Woodson said. “The season’s not over with. We still have seven more games to go, and anything can happen.”
Filed to: Purdue Boilermakers