Indiana University Athletics
Tuesday, January 27
Bloomington, Ind.
9:00 PM
Indiana University
vs
Purdue
Rivalry Resumes – IU Seeks Consistency Against Purdue
1/27/2026 12:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Darian DeVries and these Indiana Hoosiers get their first crack at the Purdue rivalry Tuesday night at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, and the key challenge is clear despite the No. 12/12 Boilers' two-game losing streak: contain All-American point guard Braden Smith.
"They have really good players across the board who all understand their roles," DeVries said, "and the main facilitator who gets it started is Smith. He's as good as there is in the country in terms of playing the pick and roll, and finding ways to exploit your coverage. He's as good as I've seen out there, and he's such a competitor to go with it."
Smith leads Purdue (17-3 overall, 7-2 in the Big Ten) in scoring (15.2), assists (185), and steals (38). In Saturday's home loss to now No. 9/10 Illinois, he had 27 points and 12 assists.
Smith gets plenty of help from guard Fletcher Loyer, who averages 12.7 points and has a team-leading 46 made 3-pointers. Trey Kaufman-Renn, a 6-foot-9, 240-pound senior forward, averages 12.5 points and 8.6 rebounds. Oscar Cluff, a 6-foot-11, 255-pound center, averages 11.8 points and 7.8 rebounds.
"All their parts really fit well together," DeVries said. "They are able to play off of him. They can go inside, outside, but a lot of their catch and shoots are what you want them to be – catch and shoots. He's able to generate attention. Get guys pulled over for a post-up opportunity or stop the drive. Now, they're playing advantage basketball."
Handling the Boilers' frontcourt is critical, especially given IU' rebounding struggles.
"Their interior is really good," DeVries said. "They've got a 4 (Kaufman-Renn) and a 5 (Cluff) who are just big. They take up space and they can finish. They're elite offensive rebounders. They're two of the best in the country.
"They have lob threats coming off the bench. They present a lot of problems because of their physicality and ability to put you in some hard spots. They know what they're doing. They're a very balanced team."
Purdue had won nine straight games until losing at UCLA and then at home to Illinois last week. In both games, the Boilers lost leads in the closing minutes.
The Hoosiers (13-7, 4-5) are coming off a much-needed win at Rutgers that snapped a four-game losing streak. They have won three of the last four meetings with Purdue at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, including last February's 73-58 victory. The Boilers were ranked in each of those meetings.
"(The rivalry) is something that you understand on your first day on the job," DeVries said. "When you're around college sports. you understand all the rivalries around the country. There are a lot of good ones. This is certainly one of those, a special rivalry. We're excited for our first opportunity to be part of it."
The key, Darian DeVries adds, is consistency and sustaining strong play for a full 40 minutes.
"It's that consistency from game to game, and even within a game. In a few of our losses we've had some really good stretches for 25 to 30 minutes. Being able to sustain that in a high-level game is something we're still continuing to strive for.
"I believe it's in there. You see it in flashes. Some things continue to haunt us. We continue to prioritize and focus on those things -- turnovers and rebounding battle -- that have crippled us."
Against Rutgers, the Hoosiers offensively thrived as they haven't in recent games with crisp passing, cutting, and sharing the ball. The result was three players scoring 20-plus points in guards Lamar Wilkerson (27 points), Nick Dorn (23 points, six 3-pointers), and forward Tucker DeVries (22 points, plus 10 rebounds, and six assists).
Dorn, who was limited by injury early in the season, thrived in his first IU start. He replaced Tayton Conerway, who is recovering from an ankle injury, but who still was able to play against Rutgers.
"(Dorn) gives us that one more guy who can get three to four to five to six 3-pointers," DeVries said. "It spaces the floor. It gives some advantages for us to get more downhill.
"Having that extra shooter has been good for us. As he's continued to get healthy, you've seen what he can do."
As for Conerway, he battled through the ankle injury to play 15 minutes and scored six points.
"Everybody heals at their own pace," DeVries said. "(Against Rutgers), we got some very valuable minutes from him. He gave us a nice lift in the second half with those back-to-back baskets. It says a lot about his ability to compete. We want to get him healthy as soon as possible to get back to that full-time role."
Beating Purdue would go a long way in boosting IU's NCAA tourney prospects, although Darian DeVries says that's not the focus.
"It's about trying to win that next game and stacking as many wins as we can. That's the only thing you can control. Every night is an opportunity to improve your resume. We want to take advantage of every opportunity we can to put ourselves in a good spot."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Darian DeVries and these Indiana Hoosiers get their first crack at the Purdue rivalry Tuesday night at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, and the key challenge is clear despite the No. 12/12 Boilers' two-game losing streak: contain All-American point guard Braden Smith.
"They have really good players across the board who all understand their roles," DeVries said, "and the main facilitator who gets it started is Smith. He's as good as there is in the country in terms of playing the pick and roll, and finding ways to exploit your coverage. He's as good as I've seen out there, and he's such a competitor to go with it."
Smith leads Purdue (17-3 overall, 7-2 in the Big Ten) in scoring (15.2), assists (185), and steals (38). In Saturday's home loss to now No. 9/10 Illinois, he had 27 points and 12 assists.
Smith gets plenty of help from guard Fletcher Loyer, who averages 12.7 points and has a team-leading 46 made 3-pointers. Trey Kaufman-Renn, a 6-foot-9, 240-pound senior forward, averages 12.5 points and 8.6 rebounds. Oscar Cluff, a 6-foot-11, 255-pound center, averages 11.8 points and 7.8 rebounds.
"All their parts really fit well together," DeVries said. "They are able to play off of him. They can go inside, outside, but a lot of their catch and shoots are what you want them to be – catch and shoots. He's able to generate attention. Get guys pulled over for a post-up opportunity or stop the drive. Now, they're playing advantage basketball."
Handling the Boilers' frontcourt is critical, especially given IU' rebounding struggles.
"Their interior is really good," DeVries said. "They've got a 4 (Kaufman-Renn) and a 5 (Cluff) who are just big. They take up space and they can finish. They're elite offensive rebounders. They're two of the best in the country.
"They have lob threats coming off the bench. They present a lot of problems because of their physicality and ability to put you in some hard spots. They know what they're doing. They're a very balanced team."
Purdue had won nine straight games until losing at UCLA and then at home to Illinois last week. In both games, the Boilers lost leads in the closing minutes.
The Hoosiers (13-7, 4-5) are coming off a much-needed win at Rutgers that snapped a four-game losing streak. They have won three of the last four meetings with Purdue at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, including last February's 73-58 victory. The Boilers were ranked in each of those meetings.
"(The rivalry) is something that you understand on your first day on the job," DeVries said. "When you're around college sports. you understand all the rivalries around the country. There are a lot of good ones. This is certainly one of those, a special rivalry. We're excited for our first opportunity to be part of it."
The key, Darian DeVries adds, is consistency and sustaining strong play for a full 40 minutes.
"It's that consistency from game to game, and even within a game. In a few of our losses we've had some really good stretches for 25 to 30 minutes. Being able to sustain that in a high-level game is something we're still continuing to strive for.
"I believe it's in there. You see it in flashes. Some things continue to haunt us. We continue to prioritize and focus on those things -- turnovers and rebounding battle -- that have crippled us."
Against Rutgers, the Hoosiers offensively thrived as they haven't in recent games with crisp passing, cutting, and sharing the ball. The result was three players scoring 20-plus points in guards Lamar Wilkerson (27 points), Nick Dorn (23 points, six 3-pointers), and forward Tucker DeVries (22 points, plus 10 rebounds, and six assists).
Dorn, who was limited by injury early in the season, thrived in his first IU start. He replaced Tayton Conerway, who is recovering from an ankle injury, but who still was able to play against Rutgers.
"(Dorn) gives us that one more guy who can get three to four to five to six 3-pointers," DeVries said. "It spaces the floor. It gives some advantages for us to get more downhill.
"Having that extra shooter has been good for us. As he's continued to get healthy, you've seen what he can do."
As for Conerway, he battled through the ankle injury to play 15 minutes and scored six points.
"Everybody heals at their own pace," DeVries said. "(Against Rutgers), we got some very valuable minutes from him. He gave us a nice lift in the second half with those back-to-back baskets. It says a lot about his ability to compete. We want to get him healthy as soon as possible to get back to that full-time role."
Beating Purdue would go a long way in boosting IU's NCAA tourney prospects, although Darian DeVries says that's not the focus.
"It's about trying to win that next game and stacking as many wins as we can. That's the only thing you can control. Every night is an opportunity to improve your resume. We want to take advantage of every opportunity we can to put ourselves in a good spot."
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's BasketballInside IU Basketball
Monday, January 26
IUBB Pregame Press Conference
Monday, January 26
IUWBB Postgame at Purdue
Monday, January 26
IUBB v RUT Highlights
Friday, January 23