IU loses another heartbreaker to Purdue

All signs pointed to a win: a halftime lead, an aggressive defense and a strong offense.

But as a prayer shot clanked off and the buzzer rang, the Hoosiers lost to their in-state rival Purdue, 78-75.

Like their Saturday loss at Illinois, the Hoosiers couldn’t shake off their opponent.
Purdue was looking for its fifth consecutive win, and unlike Saturday’s last-second defeat, IU couldn’t hit the free-throws needed down the stretch.

With IU down by five with 11 seconds left, sophomore guard Verdell Jones hit a 3-pointer to make it 77-75. Purdue forward Robbie Hummel got his team up by three with one free throw, forcing a last-second heave from Jones.

But the game didn’t have to come down to the final shot for the Hoosiers. IU missed
three free throws and four field goals in the final five minutes.

Coming into the game, IU had little reason to be optimistic. Based on numbers, IU should have folded over easily into Purdue’s waiting hands.

Whether it was the homecourt advantage or sophomore forward Tom Pritchard’s 13 first-half points – his season high – the Hoosiers came into the second half with a two-point lead.

“He was T-bone tonight,” junior guard Jeremiah Rivers said of his roommate Pritchard.

With 5:22 left in the first half, Pritchard scored a layup to give IU an eight-point lead, its largest of the night. The staccato rhythm from fans pounding on the seats, railings and floor escalated into a pounding that rivaled the horns of the Big Red pep band.

And about 20 minutes later, IU led the Boilermakers by three.

But No. 8 Purdue, a team in the Top 25 all season, managed to retain its dominance in the end.

While Pritchard had his best game of the season, one of his teammates continued to struggle. Freshman forward Christian Watford had his third bad shooting game in a row. In the past three games – all IU losses – he has shot 7-of-33.  

“He settled too much tonight,” Crean said of Watford. “He doesn’t need to take turn-arounds. He needs to impose his will.”

When the boos started, so did the smiles. Just as the IU players thrive off a rowdy Assembly Hall crowd, the Boilermakers seemed to thrive off the fans’ hatred. As they walked off the court, Purdue guard Chris Kramer and Hummel reveled in the insults fans threw their way.

The two teams have a little less than a month until their rematch at Purdue on March 3. But at that time, IU will have to face a boisterous Boiler crowd, no less loyal than what Purdue saw Thursday.

And even though IU has another chance to beat Purdue this season, for Jones, it was the possible home win that he wanted more.

“The first thing that went through my mind was Devan, Tijan, Steven, Brett Finkelmeier, they’ll never get another chance to play Purdue in here again,” Jones said. “For us to be so close to a ‘W,’ I’m hurting right now for them.”