The Minute After: Purdue

Photos from IU basketball’s 72-67 win against Purdue at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

Thoughts on a 72-67 win against the Boilermakers:

Finally.

Finally, in their seventh try, the Hoosiers picked up a win against a Quad 1 opponent.

It seemed like Indiana might win this one with ease. But things got tight late, and visions of another double-digit lead evaporating into a loss at home in the second half — just like against Nebraska earlier this month — came into view. The Hoosiers missed three straight front ends of 1-and-1 opportunities over the final 3:24 of the contest, leaving the door open for Purdue. Their 14-point lead dwindled to just two with 1:28 to play after Braden Smith stole the ball from Lamar Wilkerson, drove down the court and scored at the basket.

But Indiana hung on for the victory, doing enough down the stretch to avoid disaster. Conor Enright hit a huge 3-pointer after the Smith bucket to push the lead back out to five. And Enright and Wilkerson hit two free throws each over the final 23 seconds as Purdue had to foul, making sure the late-game free-throw issues would not continue.

Indiana 72, Purdue 67.

The Hoosiers are now 4-1 at home against the Boilermakers in their last five tries. The coaches and players may have changed in that time. But the wins have kept coming inside Assembly Hall, which was as full and as loud as it’s been all season long.

“The biggest key was that crowd out there,” Darian DeVries said after the game. “That was awesome. That’s what makes this place so special … I want to thank this crowd for their efforts tonight. That’s a huge deal in college basketball. When you’ve got a home court like we have, that’s a big advantage. When that place is loud and rocking like that, it’s a big, big deal for us.”

While Indiana didn’t quite put together a full 40 minutes tonight, it had great stretches on both sides of the ball. IU’s defense, especially in the first half, bothered the Boilermakers. Over the first 20 minutes, the Hoosiers applied tremendous ball pressure, physicality and effort. Purdue was flustered and turned it over on 23 percent of its possessions. Smith didn’t tally an assist, and Purdue scored just six paint points. It didn’t even crack a point per possession (.96).

But the Boilermakers, especially as they cut into Indiana’s lead in the second half, started figuring out more on offense, particularly in ball-screen action between Smith and Trey Kaufman-Renn. Kaufman-Renn scored 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting in the second half and led all scorers with 23 points. Purdue was also much surer with the ball, turning it over just three times over the final 20 minutes of the game. Still, Indiana held the Boilermakers to 1.09 points per possession, its third-lowest output of the season. Fletcher Loyer’s slump continued, as he went just 3-of-10 from the floor and scored eight points.

Indiana has struggled to get paint touches and get the defense in rotation against top-tier opponents this season. But from the jump, the Hoosiers had that figured out tonight, and it was a massive reason for the victory. Enright had seven first-half assists, finding multiple teammates for 3-point makes — Wilkerson, Tucker DeVries, Nick Dorn, Jasai Miles — and even added two assists to Reed Bailey to boot. In the game, IU had 16 assists on 23 made baskets, and it shot well enough — though not lights-out — from 3-point range (12-of-33, 36.4 percent) to aid the victory.

With Tayton Conerway again sidelined with his ankle injury, Dorn continues to come up huge in a starting role, as he scored 18 points for the game. Beyond another hot night from deep (4-of-9), he also got to the hole in the second half, scoring on a driving lay-up and getting fouled on another, making both free throws. DeVries continues to look like his old self, as he hit 3-of-6 from 3-point range in the first half. While he wasn’t as involved in the second half, DeVries did pick up a team-high 10 rebounds. Wilkerson’s 19 points on a 7-of-18 performance from the floor led IU.

It hasn’t been the best January for Indiana. But tonight showed that not all is lost. Can the Hoosiers find a way to keep it going and get a few more of these types of tournament-worthy wins before Selection Sunday?

See More: The Minute After, Purdue Boilermakers