Hoosiers eye season sweep of rival Boilermakers

Junior Dane Fife sported a cherry-red mark on the side of his neck Thursday. \n"Yeah. Kyle (Hornsby) gave it to me," Fife said jokingly.\nIf Fife has his way, Purdue will be kissing something else when the Hoosiers meet the Boilermakers at 8 p.m. Saturday in Mackey Arena.\nBut defeating Purdue on its home floor isn't as easy as telling a joke. The fans are crude, rude, insensitive and can make playing in Mackey Arena a difficult task for opposing teams.\n"But they don't shoot the ball, or block a shot," interim head coach Mike Davis said. "It would mean a lot to beat Purdue twice in the same season. Those are two games that the Indiana fans want you to win. I think our guys are used to playing road games."\nMany words could describe how the Hoosiers (18-11, 9-6 Big Ten) are feeling these days, but only two are needed: confident and relaxed.\n"Their minds are free and they're having fun," Davis said. "At the beginning of the season, there was so much pressure -- every game, every possession, every shot. I think we're a totally different team than what we were one week ago."\nApparently, that's what winning by 30 points in one game, and 35 in the next, will do for a team.\n"We're pretty confident," sophomore guard Tom Coverdale said. "It's been a lot of fun lately, especially when you're winning by 30." \nIU defeated Purdue 66-55 Jan. 23 in Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers haven't defeated the Boilermakers twice in the same season since the 1992-93 season.\n"It would be huge for this program," Fife, a guard, said. "We're really fighting for a better seed. If we can get this game, we're looking at moving up a few seeds in the NCAA tournament."\nWith 18 wins, Davis said he is almost 100-percent positive the Hoosiers are in the tournament.\n"I told our guys after the game we're playing for a seed right now," Davis said. "I think the highest we can get would be a No. 5 or No. 6 seed. We're playing for that right now."\nDavis said he likes what he's seen out of his new starting lineup, which has Hornsby inserted instead of sophomore forward Jeffrey Newton.\n"Hornsby gives us another shooter on the court and you have five guys -- Fife can shoot it if he's open -- on the court that can shoot the basketball," Davis said.\nBut this is an IU-Purdue game -- the Boilermakers will be ready and waiting, Fife and Coverdale said. Defeating IU could be the highlight of Purdue's year. With a losing record in the Big Ten, Purdue is on the outside looking in on the NCAA tournament. \n"Coach (Gene) Keady is going to have his guys ready," Fife said. "And they're going to be hungry. They came here, and we beat them pretty good"