IU played their best basketball of the season on Saturday night. Probably their best game in several seasons.
The Hoosiers got off to a slow start. They trailed 6-0 out of the gate, trailed by as much as seven, and never led in the first half despite keeping things reasonably close. But a 19-3 early second half IU run completely changed the complexion of the game. Indiana led 59-48 with 10:33 to go, and Purdue would never get closer than eight.
Indiana swept Purdue in a season series for the first time since the 2012-13 season. This was Indiana’s first win at Mackey Arena since Jan. 30, 2013, when Indiana won 97-60. Let’s take a deeper look at how the Hoosiers won 79-71 with another edition of The Report Card.
Indiana (20-9, 11-7) will next host Iowa at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday evening at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington.
OFFENSE (A-)
Purdue was dead set on taking away Trayce Jackson-Davis, and they did that for the first 28 minutes of the game. The IU All-American did not score his first points until 11:44 remained in the contest.
The emphasis on Jackson-Davis meant IU’s guards would have to rule the day, and Jalen Hood-Schifino was more than up to the task. He ran Purdue’s guards through a never-ending array of high ball screens, with IU more often than not using whoever Zach Edey was guarding as the screener. Purdue chose to drop Edey in coverage to prevent lobs, and that left the mid-range open for Hood-Schifino all night.
“We didn’t get a whole lot behind the defense where we got rolls for Race and Trayce and our bigs to make plays, but didn’t really need to because he was making shots coming over the screen, which was huge for our team tonight,” Woodson said.
Jackson-Davis said he was content to watch someone else dominate on this night.
“Coach was trying to get me shots and I said “not right now, we’re riding him right now,'” Jackson-Davis said. “When a guy is hot like that you got to just keep giving him the ball.”
Purdue coach Matt Painter said he thought his team could slow Hood-Schifino by making him go left, but instead learned a hard lesson.
“He sent a news flash that he can play off his left hand,” Painter said.
When the ball went into the post, Purdue doubled Jackson-Davis every time. And that led to the other way IU was able to pull off a massive road upset. Jackson-Davis expertly read the double-teams and delivered seven assists. Indiana made 7-of-15 from the 3-point line, with most of the makes coming from kick-outs from the post. A trio of early threes helped IU calm down and get in the game after a slow start.
“I’m just trying to impact the game at different levels,” Jackson-Davis said. ” I told Race that if they come from the big (for a double-team), to crack down on the guard that’s going to be guarding him, and he got two baskets from that, or telling Miller (Kopp) to not hide in the corner and come up a little bit so I can hit that swing pass for him.”
Indiana’s eight turnovers tied for the fewest turnovers committed by the Hoosiers in a game this season. Their 11.6 percent turnover rate was their second lowest of the season.
The Hoosiers scored 1.15 points per possession including 1.41 in the dominant second half. They shot 58.1 percent from the field after the break and went 6-of-6 from the free throw line to close out the game.
DEFENSE (A-)
A combination of good defense and Purdue simply missing open shots led to a rough shooting night from beyond-the-arc for the Boilermakers, who made just 5-of-23 from deep for the game, with two of the makes coming in the final minute.
Perhaps just as significant considering Purdue has Zach Edey, the Boilermakers made just 42.5 percent from two-point range. Indiana’s perimeter defense was also disruptive at times on Purdue’s young and smaller guards. That helped limit Edey’s touches and played a role in IU’s second half rally.
“I thought we came out and we answered the bell from the start with our defense (in the second half),” Woodson said. “Then we got out, got the ball out. Gallo(way) got out and put some pressure out early and got a couple steals, and then we were off and running.”
IU was particularly good defensively in the second half, when they limited Purdue to just 30.3 percent overall, and just 38.9 percent from two. Players not named Edey made just 25 percent in the second half, and IU did a good job making Edey earn his points at the free throw line.
Purdue’s 38.9 percent effective field goal percentage was their worst in a Big Ten game this season.
The Boilermakers scored 1.03 points per possession. And that was despite getting 33 free throw attempts — 18 more than IU — and 21 offensive rebounds that led to 25 second chance points.
Think of it this way — when IU didn’t send Purdue to the foul line and didn’t allow offensive rebounds, they gave up just 24 points for the entire game.
“Your defense will keep you in a lot of games. I’m telling you, if you just get stops,” Woodson said.
MORE GAME COVERAGE
- At a deafeningly loud Mackey Arena, Indiana rose to the occasion
- Watch: Matt Painter and Purdue players discuss home loss to IU
- Watch: Woodson, Jackson-Davis and Hood-Schifino discuss win over Purdue
- IU basketball: Indiana 79 Purdue 71 — Three keys | Highlights | Final stats
- Long form highlights:
THE PLAYERS
Trayce Jackson-Davis (A) Simply put Jackson-Davis played within himself. The superstar wasn’t frustrated because he wasn’t scoring, and instead made several great passes. And then he scored 10 points in the last 12 minutes to help seal the deal. Despite not scoring for the first 28 minutes, Jackson-Davis flirted with a triple-double.
Race Thompson (B) Thompson had much of the thankless job of guarding Edey. It’s a total size mismatch, but he battled. Scoring on the block against Purdue’s length was a challenge as well. Thompson has to find a way to get back to being a more productive rebounder.
Miller Kopp (A-) Purdue’s defensive strategy meant more open looks for Kopp, and he delivered. He even added a transition layup and a midrange shot. There’s little debate, he’s been a much improved player during Indiana’s run of 10 wins over their last 13 games.
Jalen Hood-Schifino (A) Hood-Schifino looked like an NBA point guard on Saturday night. None of his shots were easy, and he read the defense with precision. The opposition may have said it best. “He gets to his spots really well, and plays at his own pace,” Purdue’s Brandon Newman said. “”Very few people have rolled through here and done that, who was 19 years old,” Painter said.
Trey Galloway (A) While much has been made of Purdue’s freshman guards, Galloway was a man amongst boys. He was bigger and stronger on both ends. He pushed the pace, got where he wanted to go, and had five assists and no turnovers in 38 minutes. And he hounded Braden Smith into a bad game. It was the third straight game Galloway didn’t have a turnover while playing more than 30 minutes.
Tamar Bates (B-) Bates did not make an offensive impact, but he appeared to be making a concerted effort to play more aggressive on the defensive end.
Malik Reneau (B-) You guessed it — foul trouble kept Malik Reneau from having a significant impact — and most of the fouls were bad decisions. IU needed more minutes from Reneau because of his rebounding ability.
Jordan Geronimo and Kaleb Banks appeared in the game briefly.
—————
In total, Indiana had 10 scholarship players healthy and available. Anthony Leal was out with a lower leg injury. Logan Duncomb was out after having sinus surgery, and Xavier Johnson (foot) remains unavailable.
The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”
- Find us on Facebook: thedailyhoosier
- You can follow us on Twitter: @daily_hoosier
- Seven ways to support completely free IU coverage at no cost to you.
