COLUMN: IU's more like Purdue than you think

I quote Avi Zaleon, the author of the IDS column that ran two years ago, which was the last time the Exponent and the IDS traded opinions in preparation for this rivalry game.

Purdue had recently earned a share of a Big Ten title and reached two Sweet Sixteens in three years, but Zaleon decided Indiana’s storied history and banners were more impressive.

For example, everyone knows you don’t make banners for Sweet Sixteen finishes.

“Well, Purdue wasn’t able to capture a banner,” Zaleon wrote. “Do they make banners for Sweet Sixteen finishes? If so, you can hang a pair in Mackey Arena for those two years.”

No, they don’t make banners for that. But apparently, in Bloomington, they forge rings to commemorate them. I’ll get to that later.

First, conference championships and Big Ten Tournament crowns should be a source of pride.

“Congrats. Now name me the teams that won either of those feats 15, 10 or five years ago,” Zaleon wrote. “Regular season accolades come and go, but national champions live forever. They are the reasons for reunions, they earn banners, they’re what history
remembers.”

I bring this up not to disparage Zaleon, but to illustrate the journey Indiana has taken during the past two years since our last column exchange.

For those unaware, Indiana earned another banner in our two years apart. No, not a national championship, but rather one of those silly Big Ten titles that no one will remember in five years.

In fact, seemingly realizing how forgettable the feat was, Indiana decided to create a separate banner for this Big Ten title instead of tacking it on to their existing conference banner.

Well, at least Indiana made it farther than the Sweet Sixteen during these past two years.

I distinctly remember reading a Sports Illustrated article declaring Indiana the best team in the country. I also remember them holding the No. 1 ranking for most of the year.

And now that I think about it, I’m pretty sure they had two players drafted in the first five picks in the NBA draft this season.

I mean, Purdue was able to reach back-to-back Sweet Sixteens after losing its best player in consecutive years to ACL injuries. With no bad injuries, what could possibly slow down the talented Hoosiers?

Oh, that’s right, a zone defense could.

But stop — I’m still having trouble figuring out how a No. 1 squad led by Cody Zeller, Victor Oladipo and the mystical powers of “the Movement” was only able to make it to back-to-back Sweet Sixteens.

When Purdue accomplished the same feat without their best player, Zaleon called it the “zenith” of recent Purdue basketball. He also added the Sweet Sixteen appearance was “the best Boilermaker team Coach Matt Painter is going to have in a long time, and it amounted to hardly anything.”

But when Indiana does the same thing, Terry Hutchens writes the book “Rising from the Ashes: The Return of Indiana University Basketball.” For such a supposed basketball powerhouse, discrediting Purdue’s Sweet Sixteens and then glorifying its own seem a bit hypocritical for Indiana.

Again, I don’t mean to discredit Zaleon or his bold proclamations, but I think it’s time to offer one of my own. I am positive last year’s Indiana team was the best squad Tom Crean will coach in a very, very long time.

What I’m not sure about, however, is how much the commemorative Sweet Sixteen rings Indiana commissioned will be worth in 40 years.

You can never underestimate how much Hoosier fans value reminiscing on events before they were born.

I now bring you to 2014. The Boilermaker and Hoosier seasons are in tailspins, with equal records at 14-10 (4-7). Neither team will make the NCAA tournament. Both teams will be fortunate to receive an invite to the National Invitation Tournament.

But, you could argue the two equal records are even more meaningful.

Their shared Big Ten losing record symbolizes how similar and equal these programs really are.

Yes, Indiana may have more national championship banners. Yes, Purdue may hold the all-time winning record.

But in the past decade, each program has seen very similar success. Both have won a Big Ten title. Both have reached the Sweet Sixteen in consecutive years. And both have felt the agony of failure.

And so, here we sit in 2014, with equal records and equal disdain on the season.
Back to square one to write the next 10 years of this historic rivalry of two teams that may just be too similar for some to admit.