Late Surge Not Enough As Hoosiers Fall to Purdue, 57-49

Thursday, February 27

West Lafayette, Ind.

7:00 PM

Indiana University

18-10,8-9Big Ten

Purdue

16-14,8-10Big Ten

Indiana

Purdue

Late Surge Not Enough As Hoosiers Fall to Purdue, 57-49

2/27/2020 9:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- The fight was there.

The offense wasn't.

Indiana paid the price.

The Hoosiers lost 57-49 Thursday night to Purdue at a raucous Mackey Arena. They tied their season low in points.

"I've got no problem with our effort," coach Archie Miller told Voice of the Hoosiers Don Fischer during his post-game radio shot. "I've got no problem with our attitude.

"We need to be a little better offensively. We need to shoot a little better. We need to finish around the basket better."

Indiana (18-10, 8-9) shot just 25.4 percent overall, 20.8 percent beyond the arc.

"You can't shoot 25 percent on the road," Miller told Fischer. "We needed a little bit more offense. We didn't have enough firepower behind the line."

Purdue (15-14, 8-10) had its own offensive misery, going 2-for-17 on three-pointers and shooting just 38 percent overall.

But its 34-20 scoring edge in the paint -- mostly because of forward Trevion Williams' 19 points -- helped it snap a four-game losing streak.

"We had a hard time defending Trevion Williams when it mattered the most," Miller told Fischer. "They were able to get him the ball in front of the rim. He got a few second chances to stick it back."

As for Indiana's inability to make shots within a foot of the rim, Miller added that, "We had some point-blank shots that have to go in. This time of year, you have to make those in this type of environment. You don't get any easy ones. The break-away layups you have to be able to convert."

The Hoosiers were on the brink of a blowout defeat, falling behind by as many as 16 points in the second half. But they ramped up the defense and got enough stops to give themselves a chance, found enough offense to close within five points.

It wasn't enough on this night, but it might be enough on future ones.

"I told them you have to have a great attitude this time of year," Miller told Fischer. "Guys playing with great effort is what you're looking for. We had both.

"Coming into the game we were playing really hard. We played really hard tonight. We competed. We had a great attitude. We had guys communicating.

"At the end of the day, we were continuing to fight through."

IU came in with victories in three of its last four games thanks to a renewed get-it-inside emphasis led by forward Trayce Jackson-Davis.

Purdue attacked that with inside double teams.

The result -- Jackson-Davis' run of double-doubles ended at two. He finished with six points and four rebounds. He took four shots in the first seven minutes, just three the rest of the game.

"Purdue does a good job of keeping the ball out of the post," Miller told Fischer. "They fight it hard. When it does come in, they hit you with some doubles.

"We needed to do a good job out of the doubles. We needed to continue to play inside-out regardless of whether they were doubling.

"At certain stretches in the first half, we stopped throwing the ball inside because of that."

Guard Devonte Green led IU with 11 points, but needed 15 shots to do it. Forward Race Thompson came off the bench for six points and eight rebounds. Guard Rob Phinissee had seven points.

"We made one run at it at the end of the second half," Miller said. "We made it a two-possession game.

"We stayed with it. Devonte finally made a couple. Rob stepped up and made a couple. At the end it became a slugfest."

Early brute-force basketball saw both teams start the game by going a combined for 0-for-19 shooting outside the paint. Green ended that perimeter drought with a three-pointer. By halftime, the teams were a combined 3-for-18 from three-point range.

IU's attack-inside approach led to plenty of Jackson-Davis and Joey Brunk opportunities in the first 11 minutes, but only nine points.

The good Hoosier news -- Purdue also only had nine points.

Indiana kept struggling to find offense. By halftime, it was just 6-for-28 from the field with eight turnovers against three assists.

Two of those turnovers helped the Boilers end the half on a 10-2 run for a 29-20 halftime lead.

"The turnovers at the end of the half put us in a tough spot," Miller told Fischer.

Purdue scored the first seven points of the second half for a 13-0 run and a 36-20 lead.

Phinisee ended a 10-minute Hoosier scoring drought with an inside basket. Green followed with a three-pointer. Thanks to fierce defense that held Purdue to a 1-for-10 shooting stretch, IU only trailed by 11.

A 7-point Phinisee run (his only points of the game) cut the lead to 38-30 with just over 10 minutes left.

Purdue pushed ahead by 13 points as the clock ticked under five minutes.

IU got a five-point possession on a De'Ron Davis free throw, a Purdue tech foul (Flagrant 1 on Evan Boudreaux) on Davis' missed second free throw that gave Justin Smith two free throws, and then a Thompson basket.

Add another Thompson basket off a rebound and the Hoosiers trailed just 48-42 with 2:49 left. They closed to 51-46 with less than a minute left, but the Boilers hit enough free throws to sweep the season series.

The Hoosiers play at Illinois on Sunday before ending the regular season next week with home games against Minnesota and Wisconsin.

"I got no problem with our team," Miller told Fischer. "I like the mentality. We have to get better."