It’s going to take a Big Ten Tournament run now. Indiana competed at a high level against a very good Purdue team in a very difficult environment. But it wasn’t enough.
Purdue dominated at the beginning and the end, running out to a 13 point first half lead and putting together a 17-9 run in the final six minutes. That was enough for the win and overshadowed a 36-19 run by the Hoosiers from 2:44 mark of the first half to the 6:52 mark of the second. IU had 9-0 and 11-0 runs in that stretch.
Let’s take a deeper look at how the Hoosiers lost with another edition of The Report Card.
IU (18-12, 9-11) will next play in the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis next week. The No. 9 seed Hoosiers will play either Michigan or Michigan State in the first game on Thursday.
OFFENSE (B-)
Indiana went through a first half stretch where it missed eight straight shots and 1-of-12, and that coincided with Purdue running out to its 13-point leads.
But then Indiana found holes in the Purdue defense that Xavier Johnson could exploit with the help of high ball screens.
“Our pick and roll offense tonight was probably the best it has been all season because we were able to spread the floor and get some good looks,” coach Mike Woodson said.
“The way that they play defense and tag from the back side of your pick-and-rolls, it kind of opens up things.”
Johnson had an elite stretch beginning in the late first half during which he had 11 assists with no turnovers, and he was making shots inside the arc as well. He excelled at reading the defense, finding both rollers to the lane and shooters on the perimeter. Purdue never really had an answer, but IU missed too many open looks and got careless with the ball late.
The Hoosiers not named Miller Kopp made just 1-of-14 from three, and as a team they were still just 5-of-20, or 25 percent from deep.
Indiana had no second half turnovers until the 2:24 mark of the second half, but they made three from there to close the game.
Did the officials miss calls or were the Boilermakers fundamentally sound on defense? Indiana’s 16.7 percent free throw rate was its lowest of the season.
They could have benefited from more trips to the line because Indiana knocked down all 10 free throw attempts. IU last converted 100% of their free throw attempts on double-digit attempts at Maryland (16-of-16) on Jan. 11, 2019.
Indiana had 1.025 points per possession, their fourth straight game over one after previously having six straight below one. It was just the second time the Hoosiers have had 1.02 or more points per possession in a game and lost.
DEFENSE (B+)
Indiana held the KenPom No. 1 ranked offense to its lowest field goal percentage of the season (39.7 percent). That was a major accomplishment. Purdue was more than 10 percentage points below their season average, and they only shot 41 percent from 2-point range.
But Indiana couldn’t corral all of those misses. Purdue’s 14 offensive rebounds led to 15 second chance points, clearly a major factor in the 2-point game. Purdue’s 35.5 percent offensive rebounding rate was the fifth highest allowed by IU this season.
“I thought they got all the 50/50 balls, they out-toughed us in that area,” Woodson said.
Indiana was effective at slowing day Jaden Ivey, who shot 2-of-11 with three turnovers, and his 10 points were seven under his average. Parker Stewart took on the primary assignment, and he had a lot of help.
“They did a great job of loading up on him (Ivey) and making it difficult,” Purdue’s Matt Painter said.
And IU did a reasonable job of limiting Zach Edey’s touches in close, and making life as difficult as you can for someone his size when he got it. He made just 5-of-11 shots.
Purdue’s offense was effective early. They made 6-of-11 shots to open the game. But they made just 17-of-47 the rest of the way (36.1 percent) as Indiana’s defense made everything difficult.
“We were just more aggressive, putting pressure on their ball handlers and just getting into them,” IU’s Miller Kopp said.
But the offensive rebounds gave the Boilermakers extra possessions, and often had IU’s defense scrambling to reset. That was part of Purdue’s 9-of-24 day from beyond-the-arc, another key factor in the outcome.
The Hoosiers forced 11 turnovers and capitalized with 15 points off of them.
Purdue scored 1.05 points per possession.
MORE GAME COVERAGE
- Final box score, highlights, keys to the game and specialty stats
- Woodson post-game
- Johnson and Kopp post-game
- Matt Painter post-game
- Xavier Johnson puts IU on his back before it all goes wrong late
- Long form highlights:
THE PLAYERS
Trayce Jackson-Davis (B) He battled Edey on the defensive end, was effective on rolls and dives to the basket, and posted another game with multiple blocks. But Indiana needed more than six rebounds. Jackson-Davis struggled to score with his back to the basket against Edey, but that was a spot he should not have been put in.
Race Thompson (B) Thompson battled for 10 rebounds in 27 minutes as he dealt with foul trouble. Interestingly, he had nine points in the first six minutes of the game — and never scored again, including misses on his last three attempts from long range.
Xavier Johnson (A-) Indiana would not have been remotely close in this game without Johnson’s elite stretch of play from the late first half to the late second half. In total, his overall play on both ends was spectacular, but it is impossible to ignore his two late turnovers and poor-decision making on IU’s final possession.
Miller Kopp (B+) This is who IU has needed Kopp to be all season, but unfortunately these games have been few and far between. His defensive assignment against Stefanovic is a good fit, as Kopp is a better chaser than on-ball defender. His late turnover on a bad inbounds pass cost IU a chance to tie or win in the final seconds.
Parker Stewart (C) Stewart might have had his best defensive game of the season. But it was another poor shooting day, and his technical/flagrant fouls have become a problematic trend.
Rob Phinisee (B-) He played well on the defensive end but couldn’t come close to matching his offensive play against Purdue in Bloomington, and he wasn’t given a chance to hit another game-winner.
Tamar Bates (C) Bates played six minutes — all in the first half and was unable to get into any kind of rhythym during one of IU’s worst stretches of the game.
Jordan Geronimo (C) Geronimo got a chance with Thompson in minor foul trouble, but he failed to make an impact in this one — not even on the glass with one rebound in 13 minutes.
Michael Durr (B) Durr’s size is an asset against Purdue and the matchups are relatively good for him. And much like the first meeting there was no major drop off with him in the game.
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Logan Duncomb and Anthony Leal did not play. Trey Galloway and Khristian Lander were dressed but presumably still out with injuries.
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