Quick thoughts on a 79-59 loss at Purdue:
How it happened
Indiana was sharp offensively to start Saturday’s game at Purdue. The Hoosiers led 10-7 after the first four and a half minutes and hung with the Boilermakers through the first 12 minutes. An alley-oop finish by Kel’el Ware at the 8:23 mark had the Hoosiers within two at 20-18. But a lengthy offensive drought by IU and a 15-1 Purdue spurt pushed the Boilermakers to a 35-19 advantage by the 2:32 mark. Three straight buckets by Trey Galloway did give the Hoosiers some life late in the half as the teams went to the locker room with Purdue leading 37-25. While the Hoosiers did reasonably well defensively in holding Purdue to just 1.08 points per possession in the first half, Braden Smith had his way with 15 points in 20 minutes. And Indiana’s offense simply couldn’t keep up, managing just 11-for-27 shooting and 25 points by intermission.
The start of the half was riddled with fouls as Malik Reneau picked up his fourth (third of the half) at the 17:15 mark. And the first points of the second half for the Hoosiers didn’t come until a Kel’el Ware 3-pointer with 15:32 left. By the under-12 media timeout, Purdue’s lead was 55-35, as Zach Edey had already reached a double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds. A 3-pointer by Mason Gillis stretched the Purdue cushion to 26 points by the 9:48 mark, forcing Mike Woodson to use another timeout. The Boilermakers lead ballooned to 29 on an Edey 3-pointer with 6:35 to go. Indiana never got closer than 18 the rest of the way. The loss dropped the Hoosiers to 14-10 overall and 6-7 in Big Ten play.
Standout performers
CJ Gunn led the Hoosiers with 13 points off the bench, hitting 3-for-4 from distance. Ware added 11 points and eight rebounds and Mackenzie Mgbako had 12 points in 32 minutes.
Statistics that stand out
Indiana shot just 41.8 percent from the field, 25 percent on 3s and scored only .86 points per possession. The Boilermakers grabbed 37 percent of their missed shots and scored 12 second-chance points. Purdue also won the points off of turnovers battle 13-6 and outscored Indiana 21-9 from the free throw line.
Final IU individual statistics
Final tempo-free statistics
Assembly Call postgame show
Filed to: Purdue Boilermakers
Daniel Miller is a sports fanatic who lives and breathes athletics. His coverage spans from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis for sports enthusiasts.
