Darian DeVries embraces raucous Assembly Hall, earns first signature win against Purdue
- Josh Pos
- 1h ago
Sweat dripped down Darian DeVries’ face as the final seconds ticked away. When the buzzer sounded inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, he turned toward his bench and let out a roar before shaking Matt Painter’s hand near midcourt.
After he cleared the handshake line, DeVries bolted toward the Indiana student section, which remained in a frenzy in the immediate aftermath of Indiana’s 72–67 victory against No. 12 Purdue on Tuesday night in Bloomington.
He spent several seconds pumping his fists and pointing around the building, savoring his first signature win in front of a raucous crowd.
“That’s what this place is,” DeVries said postgame. “We love our hoops. And having that place full and rocking is a huge advantage for us as we continue to move forward.
“That effort by the crowd tonight was impressive.”
It was the moment the first-year coach had been building toward since his hiring in March.
In the months leading up to the season, DeVries, his staff and players made a point of connecting with the student body. They helped freshmen move into dorms in August and hosted “Hoosier Hoops on Kirkwood” outside The Upstairs Pub in October, laying the groundwork for student support once the season tipped off.
That momentum stalled as the football team surged toward a 16–0 national championship season.
While football finished its historic run, DeVries and the basketball program waited, eager for the spotlight to shift. The Hoosiers played their first dozen home games in front of smaller crowds than usual in Bloomington and dropped back-to-back Big Ten home games to ranked Nebraska and Iowa teams.
They needed a vintage Assembly Hall.
Tuesday night was that night.
It was the first time all season that a capacity crowd greeted DeVries and the Hoosiers. Curt Cignetti passed the proverbial torch to basketball season when he and a handful of players took the floor with the College Football Playoff trophy.
Shortly after, a wide-eyed DeVries took the floor for his “Welcome to Indiana basketball” moment in his first tilt with the in-state rival.
“There are not a lot of crowds — there’s some good ones out there, but this is really, really special when it’s like that,” DeVries said. “Tonight was as good as it gets in college basketball.”
Throughout the game, DeVries’ intensity prevented him from focusing on anything but the action on the court. But when he felt his team needed a jolt, he turned to the 17,222 fans for help.
As the crowd got louder, the veins in DeVries’ neck popped as his face turned bright red. When his team needed a defensive stop, DeVries motioned his arms in the air, imploring them for more noise.
The 7,080 students packed into the east-side sections responded, harassing Purdue players with unrelenting noise throughout. Triple-digit decibels met Boilermaker possessions in the final minutes, even as the lead shrank from 14 points to two.
Pandemonium ensued when Conor Enright nailed a left-wing 3-pointer in front of DeVries, who also leaped from his crouch in celebration.
“Every time we needed that crowd tonight, they were there,” DeVries said. “They never took a possession off either; so they also played 40 minutes tonight.”
DeVries’ players responded to the noise, too.
Enright, whose triple provided the loudest moment of the night, riled up the crowd after baskets and big defensive stops. His familiarity with the rivalry prepared him for the moment, but it exceeded even his lofty expectations.
“It’s really cool to see all the fans, packed house,” he said. “I think it’s huge because the crowd feeds off how we play.”
It culminated with the players sprinting toward the south end zone to thank the students for their support. High fives, hugs, and wide grins were everywhere as Indiana basketball shared a genuine connection with its student section.
The postgame scenes of DeVries and his team interacting with fans offered a glimpse of what his tenure could look like. His teams will be visible in the community off the court, easy to root for and capable of helping generate a consistently raucous Assembly Hall atmosphere.
“We want them to feel like they’re a huge part of it and have an impact on what happens out there,” DeVries said. “Because they do. And they brought it today.”
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