Purdue Notes

February 21, 2005

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -  Indiana (12-11, 7-5 Big Ten) embarks on a two-game homestand beginning Feb. 22 when it hosts archrival Purdue (7-16, 3-9) at 7 p.m.

This game marks the final Branch McCracken Court at Assembly Hall Purdue coaching appearance for legendary Boilermaker mentor Gene Keady, who is in the midst of his 25th and final season in West Lafayette.

Just before tipoff, IU coach Mike Davis will present Keady with a special gift in honor of his prolific 25-year tenure at the helm of the Boilermaker program.

"Coach Keady's record at Purdue speaks for itself," Davis said. "He runs a first-class program in every way, and it is an honor to coach against him. As a young head coach, I admire the way he has built and maintained success at Purdue, and we would like to wish him the best in his future endeavors."

A six-time National Coach of the Year honoree, Keady has compiled a 512-265 (.659) record in West Lafayette. In addition to six Big Ten Conference championships, Keady has won Big Ten Coach of the Year honors seven times, and he ranks among the Big Ten's top three in career winning percentage (.659) and victories (512). He has directed Purdue to 22 postseason appearances and an average of 21.2 wins per season.

Each Indiana basketball game can be heard live on the IU Radio Network. WHCC (105.1 FM in Bloomington) is the flagship station for the network that has more than 50 stations broadcasting Hoosier basketball all season long. Don Fischer (play-by-play), former Indiana guard Todd Leary (color commentary) and Joe Smith (pregame, halftime and postgame host) call all of the action.

For the second of three consecutive Tuesdays, the game will be televised live by ESPN. Brent Musberger will call the play-by-play, with Steve Lavin providing color commentary and Erin Andrews serving as the sideline reporter.

Scouting Purdue
Purdue (7-16, 3-9 Big Ten) enters Branch McCracken Court at Assembly Hall looking to snap a four-game series losing streak in Bloomington. The Boilermakers are led by the league's leading scorer in junior forward Carl Landry (18.9 ppg). Landry is the only player in the Big Ten ranked among the league's top five in scoring, rebounding (fifth, 7.2) and field goal percentage (second, .614). He had 21 points and eight rebounds in Purdue's 75-73 double overtime loss to Indiana on Jan. 15 in West Lafayette.
Senior guard Brandon McKnight is seventh in the Big Ten in assists per game (3.74), while junior backcourt mate David Teague is fourth in the conference in three-point field goals per game (2.33).

The Series vs. Purdue
Purdue owns a 106-79 advantage in one of the most storied rivalries in college basketball. This is the 186th meeting between the two rivals, the most games Indiana has played against any opponent in the program's history. The teams have split the last four games, but the Hoosiers have won seven of the last nine dating back to 2000. Mike Davis has an all-time record of 6-2 against Purdue and is a perfect 4-0 in Bloomington. Starting in the next column is a look at a few facts between the two rivals:

Series Facts
Last Meeting: Indiana 75, Purdue 73 (2OT)
(West Lafayette on 1/15/05)
Indiana at Home: 56-35
Indiana at Purdue: 20-70
IU vs. PU on Neutral Court: 2-2
Last Indiana Win: 75-73 2OT (1/15/05)
Last IU Win At Purdue 75-73 2OT (1/15/05)
Last Purdue Win: 71-56 (2/14/04)
Last PU Win At Indiana: 86-81 (2/9/99)
Current Overall Streak: Indiana W1 (W4 at home)

Treyfecta
Three-pointers fueled Indiana's 70-63 victory at Michigan on Sunday afternoon. IU was a season-high 14-of-23 from beyond the arc against the Wolverines, its best single-game effort since the legendary 15-of-19 performance against Kent State in the 2002 NCAA Elite Eight.
Here is a look at where the 14 treys rank in Indiana single-game history. Thirteen of the top 14 single-game, three-point field goal efforts have occurred during the Mike Davis Era, and the Hoosiers are 11-2 in those contests.

Three-Pointers Made
1. 17 Illinois 2002
2. 16 at Alaska Anchorage 2001
3. 15 Kent State 2002
15 Southern Illinois 2000
5. 14 at Michigan 2005
14 Michigan State 2002
14 Wisconsin 2001
8. 13 Minnesota 2003
13 Northwestern 2003
13 Temple 2003
11. 12 Western Michigan 2001
12 Michigan 1996
12 Iowa 2004
12 at Michigan State 2004

Role Reversal
Entering the Feb. 20 Michigan game, Indiana was 335-of-745 (.449) from inside the three-point arc, compared to 114-of-378 (.302) from outside the arc. The Hoosiers' fortunes were reversed in Ann Arbor, as IU shot 14-of-23 (,609) from beyond the arc, compared 7-of-23 (.174) from inside the arc.
While Indiana enjoyed one of the most prolific three-point shooting performances in school history on Sunday, the Hoosiers are looking for Wright, one of the leagu'es top marksmen, to increase his three-point field goal production. After hitting 25-of-70 (.357) from beyond the arc in regular season play, he has hit 8-og-45 (.178) in Big Ten action.
By comparison, Wright hit 34 three-pointers in league play as a sophomore and 25 in league games as a freshman.

Milestone Victory
Indiana is approaching a milestone victory this week. The Hoosiers have 398 wins at Branch McCracken Court at Assembly Hall, and they hope to notch No.s 399 and 400 against Purdue and No. 10 Michigan State this week.

Steady Strickland
Marshall Strickland has nine assists and two turnovers in his last 70 minutes of action, compared to three assists and nine turnovers in the previous 75.
The Michigan game marked the 10th time in Strickland's career that he had at least five helpers, and Indiana is 7-3 in those games.
Michigan seems to bring out the best in Strickland, as the Hoosier junior has 21 assists and just 10 turnovers in his career against the Wolverines.

Scoring 70 or More
Indiana is 63-10 under Mike Davis when it scores 70 or more points, and the Hoosiers are 17-4 on the road under Davis in this scenario.
Indiana is looking for more consistency in its offense. The 70-63 victory at Michigan marked just the sixth time this season that IU has scored 70 points or more, compared to an average of 16 times each of the last two seasons.

Grand Thievery
Indiana has ranked among the league leaders in field goal percentage defense all season, and another gauge of the Hoosiers' defensive success is the number of steals. Indiana has 143 steals in 23 games this season, compared to 146 in 29 games last year and 147 in 34 games two years ago.

Keys to Victory
Michigan may have shot 12-of-24 from the floor in the second half of Sunday's game, but Indiana overcame a one-point halftime deficit by getting to the free throw line 18 times in the last 20 minutes and forcing nine Wolverine turnovers while committing just three miscues themselves.

Bracing Themselves
Indiana is certainly glad to have junior guard and All-American candidate Bracey Wright back in the lineup after he missed three games with an ankle injury. However, being forced to play without their leading scorer may have helped the Hoosiers. Wright's absence helped IU become less reliant on Wright's 18.5 ppg scoring average. Michigan held Wright to seven points on 1-of-8 shooting from the floor on Sunday, just the fifth time this season that Wright has been held under 10 points in a game. IU is 3-2 in such games, compared to 2-7 the last two years when Wright was held to single digits.

D.J. Delivers
Indiana's D.J. White showed a national television audience why he is a leading candidate for Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors. Due to two early fouls, White only played six minutes in the first half at Michigan. He returned to score all 10 of his points in the second half, including eight of those 10 in a six minute stretch that saw Indiana turn a two-point deficit into a decisive four-point advantage.

Errek the Energizer
Sophomore guard Errek Suhr came off the bench to score a career-high nine-points on a career-high 3-of-4 from three-point range. Suhr and A.J. Ratliff (11 points) fueled a Hoosier reserve effort that saw the bench score 21 points on 6-of-11 field goals and 5-of-7 three-pointers.

Freshman of the Year
As we approach the final two weeks of the regular season, let's take a look at why D.J. White is a leading candidate for Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors.
Among all players and all games, White is 17th in scoring at 13.4 ppg, eighth in field goal percentage(,559), 13th in free throw percentage (.766) and third in blocks (2.17 per game). He needs one more rejection to break Alan Henderson's school single-season record.
When you narrow the pool to freshman players only, White leads the league in scoring, is second in rebounding (5.0), leads in field goal percentage, is fourth in free throw percentage and leads in blocks.

Class Records
Here is a look at where D.J. White and Robert Vaden rank among IU freshmen single-season records.

Field Goal Percentage (100 Att. Minimum)
Brian Sloan 1984-85 0.637
Steve Alford 1983-84 0.592
D.J. White 2004-05 0.559

Three Pointers Made
Bracey Wright 2002-03 66
Jay Edwards 1987-88 59
A.J. Guyton 1996-97 56
Robert Vaden 2004-05 38

Blocks
DJ. White 2004-05 50
Alan Henderson 1991-92 50
Jeff Newton 1999-00 49

Last Five Minutes
Last 10 Games
When you look to the last five minutes and overtime of the last 10 Indiana games, here are some of the top Hoosiers performers:

Vaden 5-5 FG, 7-8 FT
Ratliff 9-11 FT
Strickland 3-4 FG, 9-10 FT
White 12-15 FG, 9-10 FT
Wright 16-20 FT

Indiana University Athletics

February 21, 2005

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A.J. Ratliff

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Marshall Strickland

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Errek Suhr

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Robert Vaden

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D.J. White

Bracey Wright

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