Mauled at Mackey: Hoosiers lose, 74-55

WEST LAFAYETTE — Regardless of the odds it faced in the past two seasons, this Hoosier squad never seemed intimidated.

That changed during the first trip to Mackey Arena in Tom Crean’s era as IU coach in a 74-55 loss Wednesday.

The performance didn’t hinge on the fans’ “IU sucks” screams or their “Boiler up” chants. This was not about the atmosphere.

A stronger Purdue team bullied IU and pushed it around the court on both ends of the floor.

“We’re a soft basketball team,” Crean said. “I don’t have any other way to put it. We’re not a physically aggressive team. We’ve got to grow up.”

IU was forced to start its sets from halfcourt and didn’t shoot a single free throw in the first half, signs of a stagnant and timid offense.

Purdue defenders picked IU’s guards up early in a full court man-to-man defense. They pushed, bumped and banged the younger Hoosiers.

Sophomore guard Verdell Jones, playing on a team that had 18 turnovers, led the Hoosiers with 15 points while throwing the ball away just once.

Jones said the tough defense that put IU on its heels is simply a formality in the conference.

“They were playing very physical and the refs were allowing them to play rough with us,” he said. “That’s part of the Big Ten. We gotta fight through it.”

But they didn’t.

An 11-to-25 ratio on fouls is usually a sign of bad officiating, but it wasn’t Wednesday.
Purdue went to the basket harder and was rewarded with 31 free throws. IU only shot five.

There were other signs pointing toward Purdue’s energy and grit outweighing IU’s.
Freshman forward Christian Watford could barely score a basket against Purdue’s Chris Kramer, even though he stood five inches taller.

IU’s second-leading scorer finished with 7 points, while Kramer, using the fadeaway as his favorite shot, dropped 18.

“With Kramer, I don’t think that there’s any matchup that he looses over a consistent period of time,” Crean said. “He’s too athletic and he’s just too tough and strong.”
Because of this listless effort, the empty possessions began to pile up for IU. And the shots it did get would not go down.

Everything just seemed easier for Purdue.

IU had to set and reset their offense to get an open shot. The Boilermakers, on the other hand, would sprint down the court and score before any Hoosier defender ever countered or could make any semblance of a defensive play.

Purdue got to the bucket with ease, allowing it to put together 16 assists and only eight misplays. IU had only seven assists to go with its double-digit turnover numbers.

The difference suggests that one team put up a fight on defense and made an effort to stay between the opposing offense and the rim.

“Our defensive rotations weren’t good enough today, at least in the beginning,” freshman guard Jordan Hulls said. “They had a lot of layups there early.”

When IU moved the ball and stopped handing it off near the middle of the court, it scored enough to mount a run and make it 48-36 in the second half.

That was as good as it got.
After the game ended, Crean talked about the physical aspects of the game. He said his team could not have had any advantage based on the foul discrepancy.

He went over the numbers, but later decided to go with a simpler sentence to end a long answer.

“I guess we’re not physical enough,” he said.