Indiana University Athletics
Indiana University
12-10, 5-5
Purdue
21-2, 10-0
Late Rally Pushes No. 3 Purdue Past Indiana
1/28/2018 5:39:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana played its way to the brink of an upset.
Victory over third-ranked Purdue was in sight on Sunday. The effort was there; the game plan was working; the shooting was strong; and the Assembly Hall advantage was in full-throttle affect.
The Boilers' 16-game winning streak was in jeopardy.
"We battled," coach Archie Miller said. "We gave ourselves a chance."
And then chance vanished in a 74-67 loss.
"We never got that one stop we needed to make a run," guard Robert Johnson said. "That's what it comes down to at the end of the game.
"It's disappointing we weren't able to get the win. We played well enough and hard enough. We have to find a way to get better and bounce back for the next one."
In the end, it was too much Isaac Haas and Vincent Edwards for Purdue, too many weapons from the Big Ten leader.
"That was a tough environment to come into," Miller said. "Good teams find a way to get the job done."
There is no time for regret or second guessing. Not with a trip to No. 13 Ohio State looming on Tuesday night.
"We competed," Miller said. "We're playing the best teams in conference now. The stage is big. We rose to the occasion. We're a team that understands what it has to do. That's the positive.
"Now we have to go into another gauntlet. We'll have little time to practice. We'll rely on film and energy."
On Sunday Indiana (12-10, 5-5 Big Ten) quickly blasted away any lingering inconsistency from the Illinois loss four days earlier. It scored the game's first points and kept the pressure on until the final two minutes.
It was that ending that bothered Miller the most.
"I'm very disappointed we didn't come through," he said. "Those last two minutes we squandered possessions. You can't do that against a team like that. They make you pay."
Then Miller looked into the mirror.
"Put it on me those last two minutes. I should have gotten a couple of timeouts. I needed to have our guys more organized to get a better shot. We didn't do that. That killed us."
IU got prime-time performances from Johnson (21 points, six rebounds, three assists) and Juwan Morgan (24 points, seven rebounds); a significant off-the-bench contribution from Freddie McSwain Jr. (eight points, 3-for-3 shooting).
The Hoosiers came close without senior swingman Collin Hartman, who didn't play with what Miller described as a lower leg injury suffered on Saturday.
"He had an awkward landing in practice on a catch," Miller said. "Hopefully it will not be more than a couple weeks. He'll be back."
IU officials ratcheted up the pre-game intensity by honoring ex-Hoosier All-America Victor Oladipo, now a NBA All-Star for the Indiana Pacers. Oladipo talked to the team before the game, and got a court-side seat during it.
"It's great when legends like him come back," Johnson said. "He talked to us before the game. It was exciting. We really enjoyed it."
Purdue (21-2, 10-0) got 19 points (13 in the second half) and seven rebounds from Vincent Edwards, and 26 points and five rebounds from the 7-2, 295-pound Haas.
"Vincent Edwards in the second half was more of a driver, more of a physical presence," Miller said. "He's maybe the player of the year in our league.
"The big fella (Haas) was the difference. He neutralized the game. He's so big. It was just catch and score. We knew that would be a problem."
IU kept Purdue off balance in the first half with strong shooting (57.7 percent) and solid guard play (seven assists, four turnovers), while defending the Boilers into three-point inconsistency (3-for-11).
"We knew that with our size disadvantage, we couldn't panic and foul them and give them three-point plays," Morgan said. "We wanted to wall (Haas) and make him shoot over us. Try to get him to miss and rebound."
Purdue's red-hot three-point shooting (58.5 percent over its previous two games) evaporated early. The Boilers missed their first five attempts in the opening minutes. IU took advantage behind Morgan and Johnson to jump to a 14-4 lead.
Purdue needed 15 minutes before hitting its first three-pointer, by P.J. Thompson, then hit its next one, this one by Carsen Edwards, to take its first lead at 24-23. IU came right back with a 5-0 run, and ended the half with a 37-35 lead courtesy of Johnson's second three-pointer.
Then it really got good.
The Boilers inched ahead by five. IU surged back with an 7-0 run behind Morgan and Johnson, and then went ahead 53-48 capped by Al Durham's three-point play A minute later, Purdue had a 56-53 lead behind consecutive Dakota Mathias three-pointers.
IU refused to let the deficit grow larger.
Finally, the Boilers returned to pounding it inside to Haas. He scored six straight points for a 69-64 Purdue edge.
The Hoosiers couldn't recover.
Now it's on to Ohio State
"It's short-term memory," Miller said. "We get on a plane (Monday) and go to Ohio State. We have to be ready to roll on the road. Ohio State is having a great year as well."
And then …
"We have to keep getting more guys playing their best ball at the right time," he said.
