IU outlasts pesky Purdue for share of Big Ten lead

Not since 1972 has the IU-Purdue rivalry been this one-sided. \nWith their 62-49 win against the Boilermakers Saturday, the Hoosiers have won six in a row and nine of the last 11 rivalry meetings. Purdue held a similar dominance over the series in the early 1970s, and the last time IU saw this much success was 1955.\nBut IU coach Mike Davis doesn't see the rivalry staying one-sided much longer.\n"I don't know another team in the country that can lose four starters and be able to compete," Davis said. "The scary part is that they are all coming back next year. Then you are looking at a Purdue team that could be in the top two or three in pre-conference (next year)." \nWithout those four starters, Purdue had to resort to a more hard-nosed, slugfest style of basketball Saturday that resulted in IU's lowest point total of the year. The Hoosiers' 62 points matched their season low, but Purdue's 49 marked the first time since March of 2003 that IU held a team below 50 points.\nIt was a prime night for IU's best defensive effort because the Hoosiers' 39 percent shooting effort marked their worst of the season. In the first half especially, IU needed its defense to get through the first seven minutes in which only four points were scored. \n"I'm not sure (why we started slowly), but defensively I thought we did enough to keep us in the game," Davis said. "We were just not ready to shoot the basketball."\nIU's prototypical prowess from range wasn't as evident Saturday as many Hoosiers hesitated on their shots and the usual 3-point leaders struggled to find a rhythm. Senior guard Marshall Strickland, sophomore forward Robert Vaden and junior guard Rod Wilmont combined to shoot 6-17 from the three.\n"This was the first time I saw guys kind of not ready to shoot the basketball," Davis said. "If we are wide open, I don't mind us taking 40 threes ... Our guys just looked a little gun shy."\nPurdue's plan of attack was no secret. Every time senior forward Marco Killingsworth touched the ball, he seemed to have two or three Boilermakers surround him. Davis said the Hoosiers generally feed well off of Marco's tendency to draw defenders, but they struggled Saturday. \nNonetheless, Killingsworth managed to score 18 points and grab 10 rebounds for his second-straight double-double. But an even greater surprise than beating the double teams might have been Killingsworth's successes at the free throw stripe. The senior transfer made eight of his nine attempts.\n"I've just been listening to coach (Donnie) Marsh," Killingsworth said. "He told me to just get a routine and take your mind off what happened. Shoot it in, don't think it in."\nBehind Killingsworth, the scoring was rather stagnant with Wilmont and Vaden chiming in with 14 apiece. Perhaps Saturday's true encouragement wasn't based in the scoring category, but rather in rebounding. For the second straight game IU won the battle of the boards -- pulling down 38 rebounds to Purdue's 31. Five Hoosiers had five or more rebounds led by Killingsworth's 10 and Vaden's eight.\n"I am not going to talk about rebounding because I may jinx us, but it is an effort," Davis said. "We may have set an all-time low in rebounds with 18 at Michigan State, but when you look at it, Marco has had 12 and 10 (rebounds). He is going after rebounds he wasn't going after earlier"