Unrivaled history

IU guard Rod Wilmont summed up the Hoosiers' rivalry with the Purdue Boilermakers in one word Tuesday afternoon: pride.\nWilmont has taken part in the matchup for four years now, in which time the Hoosiers dominated the rivalry, winning four straight, including the last six games played in Bloomington.\nThe two teams face off at 7 p.m. today in Assembly Hall for the 189th time in the rivalry's history.\n"When I came here, people started telling me about it because I really didn't know about it," Wilmont, a Florida native, said. "It's going to be a tough game because there is going to be a lot of pride on the line."\nThis year's contest is different than those of the past and features new faces -- including IU coach Kelvin Sampson -- as well as new stakes involved. Both teams' coaches may be inexperienced in the rivalry, but both said they know the significance of it.\n"I think that's what makes college basketball great, though, is these rivalry games," Sampson said during a press conference Tuesday. "First and foremost is the rivalry game itself, and then second, it's a conference game. Those are the things that are important about (Wednesday) night."\nBesides the coaches, the players involved, such as IU junior forward D.J. White, acknowledge the game's significance.\n"I could tell it was big (my freshman year)," White said. "I'm not from here. At that time, I didn't really know the history of Purdue versus IU. Being here for three years, I know what this game means."\nIn previous decades, the IU-Purdue matchup see-sawed back and forth. The Boilermakers and Hoosiers split their 30 matches between 1970 and 1999 and competed for Big Ten titles and national championships.\nBut things have changed since then, Purdue coach Matt Painter said.\n"Well, you have to have national teams to have a national rivalry. In the past five years, we haven't had national teams," Painter said during a press conference Monday. "I think it's real simple. When you had that rivalry through the 1970s, '80s, and '90s and before then, you had two very good teams. ... You had two national programs butting heads. We do not have that right now. When that happens, that's when the rivalry will get back to its peak."\nThough the same luster may not exist in the rivalry as it once did, both IU and Purdue are in the beginning of a conference battle this season with 1-1 records in the Big Ten. The Boilermakers are 12-4 overall, while the Hoosiers hold a 10-4 record.\nRivalry aside, Sampson said both teams will be competing for more than just pride in tonight's game.\n"If you give someone a story and try to get them to play to the story, you're missing the point. The point is that you've got to play well," Sampson said. "You've got to defend, you've got to rebound, we have to execute and our kids have to compete. You can talk about the rivalry all you want, but that's all that's important"