No. 21 Indiana Tops No. 16 Purdue

Saturday, February 20

Bloomington, IN

8:30 PM

Indiana University

22-6, 12-3

Purdue

21-7, 9-6

Purdue

Indiana

2/20/2016 9:59:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - What appeared to be a blowout after 35 minutes turned into a sweat-it-out win for Indiana against rival Purdue late Saturday night at Assembly Hall.

The No. 21 Hoosiers (22-6, 12-3) led by as many as 19 points midway through the second half and were seemingly in control until the closing stages of the game when the No. 16 Boilermakers (21-7, 9-6) hit seven of its final eight shots to nearly pull off the comeback.

Though the visitors made things a little too close for comfort for IU, the comeback effort fell short, 77-73.

"We stayed with it," senior guard Kevin "Yogi" Ferrell said. "I just feel that connectivity is there for us right now."

Purdue's AJ Hammons started the frantic finish when he hit a layup with just 48 seconds remaining to pull the Boilermakers within five points.

Five seconds later, PJ Thompson poked the ball out of Ferrell's hands and back into the Boilermakers' possession. Dakota Mathias nailed a 3-pointer in transition to suddenly pull Purdue within two points with 36 seconds left.

Ferrell took as much time off the clock as he could before driving down the left side of the lane and converting a bucket with just eight seconds left to put the Hoosiers up four points and seal the victory. Hammons appeared to block Ferrell's layup off the glass for a brief moment, but the referees ruled his hand hit the rim before the block, counting the basket as a goaltending violation.

"I was just going to take whatever the defense gave me," Ferrell said. "I felt like it was basically a one-on-one drive. I had someone in the corner, I can't remember. I felt like the lane was wide open for the layup, and I ended up getting it."

Ferrell finished with 18 points, second only to junior forward Troy Williams' 19 points. The two of them carried the Hoosier offense, particularly in the first half where they combined to score 28 points.

Indiana turnovers—or rather, a lack-there-of—allowed the Hoosiers to build the bulk of its lead through the first 35 minutes. IU coughed the ball up just four times for just the third time since the beginning of last season.

Purdue might have been able to overcome a 20-3 disadvantage in points off turnovers at the line but was unable to. The Boilermakers missed 6-of-16 free-throw attempts, including four tries from the charity stripe on the front end of one-and-one opportunities.

Turnovers have been a bugaboo of sorts for Indiana at times this season by nature of the pace head coach Tom Crean likes the play, but against one of the nation's least effective teams in terms of turning opponents over, the Hoosiers were in control throughout the night.

""We didn't force anything," Ferrell said.

Purdue's big men, who gave the Hoosiers fits last season, were mostly neutralized between the play of Indiana's own improved post players and almost constant double teams whenever the Boilermakers got the on the block.

Purdue's bigs got their numbers. There wasn't much doubt they would. But they were never able to consistently control the game as they did last season against the Hoosiers and held just a 28-26 rebounding advantage.

"That was the biggest key," Crean said. "For us to carry that out is probably one of the main reasons—that with the activity we had on defense—for the way we won the game."

Indiana is well into the point of the season where Big Ten Championship conversation has become a part of virtually every appearance in front of the media. The Hoosiers control their own destiny with three games left to play against Illinois and Iowa on the road before ending against Maryland.

Beating Purdue, a team Indiana couldn't overcome a year ago, is a benchmark along that path.

"We know we beat a really, really good team that is going to play for a long, long time," Crean said. "Obviously (Purdue) has the potential to play for a long time in the (NCAA) Tournament."

At this rate, the same may be said for Indiana.