When Indiana men’s basketball hosted Purdue just 24 days ago, the Hoosiers led for over 30 minutes of game time en route to an upset victory in front of an electric crowd inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington.
But when the Cream and Crimson went on the road for a rematch with the Boilermakers, they trailed for the entire game. No. 7 Purdue handled the Hoosiers, cruising to a 93-64 victory Friday night inside Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Indiana.
Purdue senior guards Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer each drilled 3-pointers to open scoring, and Indiana redshirt senior forward Tucker DeVries connected on an off-balance longball to score the Hoosiers’ first points just over two minutes into the game.
By the under-16 media timeout, the Boilermakers had extended their lead to seven points with free throws from Loyer and a layup from senior forward Trey Kaufman-Renn. DeVries hit another 3-pointer, but Indiana’s offense remained stagnant.
Purdue’s defenders were quick to contest at the 3-point line and eager to envelop any Hoosier that entered the paint. It took nearly eight minutes of action for a second Hoosier to score, as sixth-year senior guard Tayton Conerway drove and finished at the rim to make the score 13-8.
As the first half went on, Indiana’s offense slowly picked up while Purdue’s exploded. The Boilermaker trio of Smith, Loyer and Kaufman-Renn continuously gashed the Hoosiers, marking a stark contrast to the last time the two teams played.
For the rest of the half, the Cream and Crimson were able to find consistent looks on the interior, and senior forward Reed Bailey scored eight points in the final seven minutes. But the opening frame was marred by Indiana’s inability to find open looks and play clean defense.
Indiana committed seven turnovers and picked up 15 fouls in the first half, translating to six second-chance points and 15 free throw attempts for Purdue. Smith, Loyer and Kaufman-Renn each ended the half with double-digit points, while DeVries and Bailey led the Hoosiers with eight points each.
Fifth-year senior guard Lamar Wilkerson, who averages 21.2 points per game, scored just two points on three field goal attempts in the first half. Indiana never led in the first 20 minutes, and Purdue entered the break up 46-29.
To start the second half, Purdue picked up right where it left off. A series made up of a Kaufman-Renn interior bucket and back-to-back 3-pointers from Loyer led Indiana head coach Darian DeVries to call a timeout with 17:41 remaining in the game. DeVries called a second timeout not even two minutes later after Kaufman-Renn scored twice more.
With 15 minutes to play, Wilkerson came alive. The 6-foot-6 guard scored a layup and drilled a pair of mid-range jumpers and 3-pointers over a five-minute stretch, but it did little to quell Purdue’s offensive onslaught. The Boilermakers continued to attack, extending their lead to as many as 34 points.
Wilkerson scored 18 second-half points, but Purdue ran away with a dominant 29-point win to stave off a rivalry series sweep. Smith, Loyer and Kaufman-Renn combined for 53 points, and the Boilermakers shot 64.7% from the field. Purdue freshman guard Omer Mayer scored a career-high 18 points on four makes from beyond the arc.
After previously dropping a road contest Sunday to Illinois, Indiana has lost consecutive games for the first time since its four-game losing streak in mid-January.
The Hoosiers will look to bounce back as they return home for a Tuesday night matchup against Northwestern inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on FS1.
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames and jamesdm@iu.edu) and Nathan Shriberg (@NShriberg and naashri@iu.edu) and columnist Kasey Watkins (@KaseyWatki8773 and kaslwatk@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s basketball season.
