IU missed a great opportunity against in-state rival No. 16 Purdue on Thursday night at home.
The Hoosiers are currently on the bubble of making the NCAA Tournament, according to ESPN’s bracketology, and a win against a quality Boilermakers squad would’ve benefited their struggling tournament résumé.
IU played well on defense and contained Purdue’s 3-point shooting and points in the paint for the most part, but the Hoosiers didn’t shoot the ball well either. In the end, IU didn’t execute on the little things and moved to 15-10 overall and 5-7 in Big Ten play after a 69-64 loss.
“We were never able to get over the hump offensively because we didn’t shoot it as well,” IU Coach Tom Crean said. “We played well around the rim, but we didn’t shoot it as well. A couple things late — we miss a block out, and it was a two-point game that goes to four — those things are monumental in a game that’s coming down to the wire.”
The Hoosiers had their chances to win Thursday night, and after trailing for the first 12 minutes of the game, they took the lead via a 3-pointer by junior guard Robert Johnson and carried a 36-32 lead into halftime.
The biggest concern for IU coming into the game was trying to contain Purdue’s Big Ten leading 3-point shooting, and IU did. The Boilermakers shot 28 percent from beyond the arc, and the Hoosiers even contained their rival in the paint as well.
The Purdue big men duo down low of 6-foot-9 Caleb Swanigan and 7-foot-2 Isaac Haas have terrorized opponents all year.
In the first half, sophomore forwards Thomas Bryant and Juwan Morgan with help from freshman forward De’Ron Davis off the bench limited the Purdue duo to 3 of 12 from the field.
“As good as Haas and Swanigan are, you have to defend the 3 at a very high level against them and in transition,” Crean said. “For the most part we did that, but so did they. We were eight-of-34 shooting with our three starting guards. That’s not good.”
No one in particular stood out on the offensive end of the floor for IU in the first half even after the Hoosiers were given an added boost in the return of leading scorer junior guard James Blackmon Jr. to the lineup. Blackmon had missed the past three games with a lower leg injury, and in his return he added just 11 points on 3-of-14 shooting.
The game turned with under 13 minutes left in the second half as the Hoosiers had a two-point lead. Davis drove to the bucket and was slapped in the face by Haas, and Davis immediately went down in pain.
With Davis still on the other end of the floor, Purdue took advantage of the four-on-five on the other end.
The Boilermakers missed a shot, grabbed the offensive rebound and kicked it out to Vince Edwards, who drained a 3-pointer to give Purdue its first lead since the eight-minute mark in the first half.
The referees didn’t stop play until after Purdue’s offensive possession, and Davis, who had been a key defensive stopper down low, was helped off the floor by and did not return to action for the remainder of the game.
“It was a little difficult, but that just means everyone has to step up around him,” Bryant said about playing without Davis. “Including me, James and everyone else on the team. We just have to step up that much more.”
After the injury, Bryant went on a tear on the offensive end of the court. He immediately hit a 3-pointer to give the Hoosiers the lead back and was five of five from the field to start the second half.
The little things haunted IU in this loss and with two minutes to play in a two-point game, Blackmon missed a box-out leading to an easy two points for Purdue, which put them up four.
Purdue controlled the rest of the game from that moment. With 44 seconds to play and IU down five, one official called a charge on Bryant in the paint while another called a block on Swanigan.
The officials talked it over and called it a double foul. Both Swanigan and Bryant fouled out and the Hoosiers were laid to rest missing out on a large opportunity at home.
“It’s definitely tough to swallow, but you know we have a lot of games left and we have to have a short memory,” Blackmon said. “We get a chance to play them again, we know their tendencies now, and we just have to come out with more wins.”
