Foul trouble, Purdue free throws put IU in hole

WEST LAFAYETTE -- When IU and Purdue met Jan. 27 in Bloomington, the Boilermakers only got to the foul line twice in the game and missed both. Saturday was a completely different story, as Purdue (16-8, 6-5 Big Ten) made a season-high 24 free throws on its way to a 71-56 win in Mackey Arena.\nThe Hoosiers (12-10, 6-5) made two more field goals than the Boilermakers did, but the disparity in free throws was the difference. Purdue was 24-31 for the game, while IU connected on just 6-13.\n"I just think that when we get on the road and the crowd is really into it, you start concentrating on playing hard and playing with intensity and playing smart, but you tend to foul and grab and hold," IU coach Mike Davis said. "No official is going to let you do that on the road."\nIU got into foul trouble early and ended the first half with 14 team fouls. Senior center George Leach and freshman forward Pat Ewing Jr. had two fouls apiece, while sophomore forward Sean Kline had three.\nPurdue coach Gene Keady said having key players out hurt IU and his team's game plan is to attack the interior.\n"Go inside, try to get their big guys into foul trouble if you can," Keady said. "Sure, we always try to do that with every team. Thirty-one free throws and a difference of two over there, that made it better for us."\nPurdue freshman forward Ije Nwankwo was the main beneficiary of the referee's whistle. Nwankwo scored a career-high 17 points, 13 of which came from the foul line. Entering the game, he had made only five on the year and was shooting 45 percent.\nNwankwo said he didn't know where the touch came from.\n"We've been practicing a lot lately, so I've been getting a lot of repetition," Nwankwo said. "I just got my form down, and they just kept going through."\nNwankwo was only 2-9 from the field but pulled down three offensive rebounds. He said when Leach went out of the game, he tried to assert himself a little more because of IU's lack of height.\n"They're not soft underneath, they just don't have much height up front," Nwankwo said. "When their taller guys foul out, it's pretty hard for them to control low-post players, and I think they've been struggling the last couple of games on post defense."\nIn the second half, Davis was issued a technical foul for arguing calls. IU ended the game with 26 fouls compared to Purdue's 15. The first time the two teams met in January, they combined for 25 fouls.\n"We fouled them. We definitely fouled them," Davis said. "The last time we played this team, they shot two free throws, and it was a three-point game. Tonight they shot 24-31. We fouled. If I'm the opposing team, I'd go inside against our guys too. Just go inside and get that foul."\n-- Contact staff writer Tyler V. Hoeppner at thoeppne@indiana.edu.