Boiler beatdown: IU defeats Purdue 77-68

Eric Gordon didn’t even want to think about it after the game. \nDespite an ESPN.com story that reported IU men’s basketball coach Kelvin Sampson “likely” will be suspended and then fired at the end of the University’s week-long investigation into recruiting violations, Gordon said it had not crossed his mind whether IU’s 77-68 win against Purdue would be his coach’s last game. \n“We don’t expect Coach to leave at any time,” Gordon said following IU’s win.\nSampson deflected most questions regarding his job security and said he has given little thought to the University’s investigation into the NCAA’s allegations of five major violations. \n“I expect to be back in here Tuesday night,” Sampson said in reference to IU’s next home game against Ohio State. \nEven though his Hoosiers had just beaten in-state rival Purdue, the No. 1 team in the Big Ten, nearly every question posed to Sampson after the win dealt with his future in Bloomington. \nSampson kept most of his answers simple. \n“I think the way our team is playing answers all the questions,” he said.\nFor the past two games, the No. 15 Hoosiers had a lot of answers. IU’s win Tuesday night was its second-straight against a top-15 team. \nFueled by a 16-rebound advantage, IU handled No. 14 Purdue in the rivals’ only regular-season matchup of the year. \n“We tried to dominate the boards,” Sampson said. “I thought we did a really good job at doing that.” \nSenior forward D.J. White pulled down 15 of IU’s 46 rebounds, despite a strained knee he suffered during IU’s 80-61 win against Michigan State on Saturday.\n“He’s a horse,” Sampson said of White, adding he thought he should be the Big Ten Player of the Year.\nIU had a 37-16 advantage on the defensive glass.\n“We are not a good rebounding team,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said after the game. \nDespite being outrebounded, the Boilers took 30 more shots than IU – a product of the Hoosiers’ 23 turnovers. \n“Sometimes you have to bring them in the huddle and remind them what color jersey they’re wearing,” Sampson said.\nAlso aiding the Hoosiers, Purdue shot 34.7 percent from the field, while IU made 47.6 percent of its shots from the field. \nAt the start of the game, it looked like Purdue would coast against its rival. The Boilers grabbed an early lead as their defense stifled IU. The Hoosiers scored four points in the first 8:27 and faced an early six-point deficit. Both White and Gordon shot poorly from the field in the opening minutes.\nSophomore guard Armon Bassett ignited the IU offense by hitting two 3-pointers in 34 seconds, and the Hoosiers’ offense began to take over.\nIU took its first lead of the night when White made a layup with 8:08 left in the first half. Purdue and IU played back and forth for the rest of the half, with IU taking a 32-29 lead into halftime.\nThe Hoosiers started the second half much quicker than they did the first. Two dunks in the first minute, one from White and another from junior forward Kyle Taber, gave IU a seven-point lead and command of the game. IU stretched its lead to as many as 12 points near the midway point of the second half. \nBut Purdue came crawling back. Boilermaker forward Robbie Hummel caught fire to help Purdue close the lead to two with less than seven minutes left. Hummel, who scored just two points in the first half, finished the game with 17 points. \nBut IU never relinquished the lead.\nThe Hoosiers made their way to the free-throw line to bury the Boilers. \nIU made 30 free throws on the night – \n17 of them after Purdue cut the lead to two. The Boilermakers made just 11 from the charity stripe.