Last season heading into the Big Ten Tournament, IU was in the same position it is in now as a four seed.
However, the Hoosiers ended up losing that first game to 12-seed Northwestern.
Instead of taking two consecutive days off in the days leading up to the game, IU Coach Teri Moren changed up the week of prep in order to avoid a similar result to last year.
IU will look to advance to the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament when they face the Purdue Boilermakers on Friday in a Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
“I think it’s been on our minds,” senior center Jenn Anderson said of last year’s result. “Knowing last year we were the four seed, we went up there, and we really didn’t show up. We have to put in more preparation now just to know we have to go up there and we have to play and we have to be ready to play because it’s a one and done.”
After IU’s win against Illinois last Saturday to close out the Big Ten regular season, it looked as if it would be the five-seed. After Nebraska pulled a stunning upset of Michigan State, IU slid up to the four seed.
Because of that, the Hoosiers earned the vital double-bye. In order to stay fresh, Moren said the team is getting up a lot of shots to avoid a let down on the offensive end.
Because of the uncertainty of whom IU will be playing in its first game earlier in the week, the Hoosiers ran through offensive motions for each of the three potential opponents.
After Purdue knocked off Illinois, 72-58, IU is shifting its attention squarely to Purdue, whom IU beat in their lone meeting this season.
The opponent will be waiting for IU in Indianapolis, but Moren is honing in on the mental preparation as well.
“It was just a short year ago where we were in the same scenario in that double bye and didn’t play very well against Northwestern,” Moren said. “We are trying to do everything to make sure that doesn’t happen to us. A lot of that is about our mental preparation and our focus.”
In the first matchup between the Hoosiers and Boilermakers, IU, behind a big fourth quarter, was able to hold off Purdue.
A big factor in the January game was IU sophomore forward Kym Royster, who ended with 14 points off the bench. It was Royster and the IU defense that were the difference in getting that win.
This time around, the Hoosiers should have a similar game plan.
Senior point guard Ashley Morissette, who averages 16 points a game, leads Purdue and was the only player in double figures for the Boilermakers with 17 points in the first meeting.
For Anderson, a Sheridan, Indiana, native, playing at Bankers Life against an in-state rival will be a really good experience, she said.
“You don’t get to do it a lot in an arena like that,” Anderson said. “It’s kind of special. “I think we’ll have a really good crowd even if we do play Purdue. It will be two Indiana schools. I know I have a lot of family coming, so I think everyone will be ready.”
IU still has some work to do in order to cement its place in the NCAA Tournament.
A loss means the Hoosiers could be sweating out selection Monday. A win and they might feel just a bit more comfortable.
IU, however, does not have plans for coming back to Bloomington after just one game in the Big Ten Tournament.
“The great thing is we’re going to be at home,” Moren said. “I don’t know if there is anything in particular that makes a difference other than the fact that — two things — it’s tournament play. If you want to stay there and enjoy the tournament and to me that’s the biggest motivator, and the fact that we’re still playing for something.”
