IU, Purdue set for 'Duel in the Dome'

An IU-Purdue basketball game has always meant a battle for bragging rights.\nThe level of play has always been intense and, on occasion, a player or two has lost his cool. Whether the game is at Assembly Hall or Mackey Arena, the fans are always rabid and the stadium is always packed.\nBut things will be a little different Saturday night when the No. 7 Hoosiers (7-0) face the Boilermakers (4-1) at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis. \nFor the first time in the match-up's 102 year history, the teams will meet in a non-conference regular season game on a neutral court.\nThe "Duel in the Dome" was scheduled this year because both the men's and women's teams will only meet once during conference play, which is something Purdue Coach Gene Keady said he would like to see changed after this season.\n"Rivalries like Purdue-Indiana, in my opinion, should be protected by the Big Ten," he said in a teleconference Monday. "There is no reason that games like this should not be played home-and-home each season. There has to be some way that a matchup like that can not be removed from the revolving schedule."\nThe Hoosiers are off to their best start in 13 years, but senior guard Kyle Hornsby said protecting their perfect record will not necessarily provide extra motivation tomorrow. That's not really needed.\n"You just don't want to lose to Purdue," he said. "Just like they don't want to lose to Indiana, we don't want to lose to them. That's the way the state built it up way before my time, and we're gonna try to keep it that way. We're gonna try to keep Indiana on top in the series."\nAfter struggling against Maryland and the University of Illinois-Chicago, Hornsby found his shot against Vanderbilt, connecting on four of his eight three-point attempts. He will join freshman Bracey Wright and Big Ten Player of the Week Tom Coverdale in the starting backcourt Saturday. \nWright, who is the Hoosiers leading scorer at 19.1 points per game, will look to follow up Monday's career performance in which he scored 31 against Vandy. He said he has heard a lot about the IU-Purdue tradition but is looking forward to experiencing it firsthand.\n"They say it's bigger than (the) Kentucky (game)," he said. "The Purdue-IU rivalry goes back a long time, and it'll be a good feeling for me to play in that game to see how the fans are."\nPurdue hosted the Boilermaker Invitational last weekend, in which they defeated Middle Tennessee 85-56 in the first round before blowing out San Diego 95-65 in the championship game. The team boasts a balanced attack in which four of the starting five are averaging double figures.\nThe Boilers struggled last season, going 5-11 in the Big Ten and 13-18 overall. But IU coach Mike Davis, who is 3-0 against Purdue, said he has been impressed with them this season. He cited a tight game against the University of Louisville that they won 86-84.\n"They're playing well," he said. "They beat Louisville. I watched them play, and coach Keady's team is definitely back. They're playing hard. It's gonna be a tough, physical game."\nThe Boilermakers are led by senior point guard Willie Deane, who is averaging 15.8 points per game and has scored twenty or more points in two of his last three games. Deane is joined in the backcourt by senior Darmetreis Kilgore (11.3 ppg) and junior Kenneth Lowe (13.2 ppg). \nPurdue's solid guard play beyond the arc has resulted in a 43.6 three point field-goal percentage, the best in the Big Ten. \nBut the Boiler's backcourt will be facing a Hoosier squad tomorrow that leads the Big Ten in three-pointers made and has held opponents to a dismal 21.6 three-point field goal percentage on the season. \nCoverdale said past statistics don't matter when it comes to the in-state battle, however.\n"Whenever it's Purdue-Indiana anything that's happened in the past, or even this season, can be thrown out," he said. "It's gonna be a war, just like every other time I've played them"