Column: Hoosier blowout aided by Hammons’ foul trouble

Indiana’s ability to attack the basket in the opening minutes of Wednesday’s 97-60 victory over Purdue changed the course of the game because it put the Boilermakers’ big man, A.J. Hammons, in foul trouble.

From the opening possession, you could see the Hoosiers’ game plan was to work the ball through Christian Watford and Cody Zeller down low to find easy baskets in the paint or to create contact.

By the first media timeout at 15:59, Hammons, the impressive freshman forward, had already collected two fouls. Purdue Coach Matt Painter was forced to sit the freshman for long periods in the first half.

With Hammons on the bench, the Hoosiers capitalized with a 9-2 run between the 11:22 and 9:13 marks of the first half that put the Hoosiers up 27-17.

During that time, IU’s game plan, which was predicated around driving the ball and feeding it into Watford and Zeller, worked like a charm.

Zeller, who combined to score only 11 points in IU’s previous two games, poured in 13 points, collected nine rebounds and shot a perfect 7-of-7 from the free throw line in the first half.

He finished the game with 19 points and 11 rebounds, but could have duplicated his first half performance had the game not gotten out of hand.

Meanwhile, Watford was also able to take advantage of Purdue’s foul trouble and overaggressive defense by shooing 3-of-4 from the free throw line and 2-of-3 from behind the arc on his way to 11 first half points and 17 points total.

By themselves, Watford and Zeller (10-of-11) out-shot Purdue (2-of-4) at the free throw line by eight points and nearly combined to score as many as the Boilers in the first half.

This would not have been the case had Hammons been able to stay out of foul trouble.

Getting A.J. Hammons into foul trouble – he picked up his third foul with 4:18 left in the first – was crucial for IU early because Watford and Zeller’s first half performances would not have happened had Hammons been able to stay on the court.

Despite only playing 28 minutes, Hammons recorded five rebounds and five blocks, while leading the Boilermakers with 30 points.

Even when he was limited to ten minutes in the first half, the Gary, Ind. native shot 4-of-5 from the field and led the Boilermakers with nine first-half points.

Had Hammons been on the floor for more minutes in the first half, the Hoosiers probably would not have gone on the same 31-12 run that they finished the half on after leading 16-15 with 11:22 left in the period.

The fact of the matter is that Hammons isn’t the first and he won’t be the last opposing player that has helped IU out by fouling.

All season, IU has been the best team in the nation at getting to the free throw line. Wednesday’s game plan illustrated how paralyzed IU can leave an opponent when the Hoosiers begin to rack up foul calls.

By the end of the first half, the Hoosiers finished 16-of-17 from the free throw line, compared to Purdue’s 2-of-4 shooting from the charity stripe.

IU’s 14-point advantage at the free throw line in the first half helped propel the Hoosiers to a 20-point halftime lead Purdue could never overcome.

Now that the Purdue game is in the books, IU is set for an epic battle in Bloomington with an evenly matched Michigan team.

If the Hoosiers want to have the same success against the Wolverines as they did against the Boilermakers, IU should once again attack the basket because foul trouble can change the course of any game.