IU, Purdue hope to continue intense rivalry in future

WEST LAFAYETTE – IU has had its fair share of grudge matches this season.
 
The Hoosiers faced in-state foe Notre Dame and had border wars with both Kentucky and Illinois. 

But nothing compares to IU-Purdue.

The majority of the Hoosiers (6-20, 1-13) got their first taste of the rivalry Saturday when Purdue (21-6, 10-4) downed IU 81-67. 

The intensity level increased before tip-off. 

IU coach Tom Crean said even before his team made into the stadium, it was “welcomed” by the Purdue faithful. 

“We were serenaded by some of the students, 100 to 150 of them, singing the fight song when we pulled up,” Crean said. “That got our guys’ attention, I know that.”

The students were just getting warmed up. Derogatory chants rained on the Hoosiers throughout the game – ranging from “IU sucks” to yelling at Crean to get off the court.
 
The lone Hoosier who has experienced Mackey Arena before, Kyle Taber, said his freshman teammates can expect such treatment annually. 

“The student section, they were on us,” Taber said. “They wanted Purdue to kill us.”

Hoping to work his team into a frenzy and block out distractions, Crean called in three NFL coaches to give pep talks. 

Crean’s brother-in-law and Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh, Ravens offensive coordinator and former IU football coach Cam Cameron and Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy sat behind IU during the game after pumping up the Hoosiers beforehand. 

“They were great,” Crean said. “As good a speech as we had was (IU trainer) Tim Garl talking to the team last night.”

Even with Purdue second in the Big Ten and IU at the bottom, the game had its share of physicality.

IU freshman Tom Pritchard drew the ire of the Boilermaker crowd when he laid out Purdue sophomore star Robbie Hummel while setting a pick. Hummel left the game and did not return. 

Purdue coach Matt Painter called it a clean play, and Pritchard wished Hummel well after the game. 

“I set a pick, and he didn’t see me coming and ran into me,” Pritchard said. “I hope he’s OK.”

Both Crean and Painter complimented each other’s team, as well as the IU-Purdue rivalry. But Painter said the current matchup between the schools isn’t as intense as it was in the 1980s and ’90s.

“For us to have the same type of rivalry, you have to have consistency where head coaches stay in place for a long time,” Painter said. “And they both have to be competitive and battle for Big Ten Titles. And if those two things can happen this rivalry can grow and get back to where it was.”

Despite the boos, chants and final outcome on Saturday, Taber said his younger teammates will appreciate facing the Boilermakers in the future – and the outcome might be different the next time around. 

“They’re going to enjoy playing in this game every year,” Taber said. “It’s back to twice a year now for a while so that’s good for the rivalry, and I think we’ll be ready to go the next time we play.”