De’Ron Davis refused to back down.
When IU’s tank of a junior center tangled arms with Purdue sophomore center Matt Haarms in the first half of the Hoosiers’ home game Tuesday night, the two tussled for the loose ball. With Haarms’ arm hooked around Davis’ bicep, Davis slung him to the ground like a lanky 7-foot-3-inch rag doll.
As Haarms laid on the ground, Davis stood over him and stared down at him like a prized fighter would his opponent after knocking him out.
The message had been sent.
Unlike their previous few games, the Hoosiers were going to fight.
Even though the No. 15 Boilermakers came away with a 48-46 win over their arch-rival, it wasn’t without a valiant effort from IU.
In fact, it was the Hoosiers’ most commendable effort of the entire Big Ten conference season.
In what was probably the most physical game IU had been a part of all season, it didn’t cower to contact like it did during its streak of losing 10 of its last 11 contests leading into Tuesday.
Instead, the Hoosiers embraced the physicality that the Boilermakers brought all night and, for the most part, out-toughed them.
IU played fierce defense, especially on high-scoring junior guard Carsen Edwards, as a Rolodex of perimeter defenders consisting of sophomore guard Al Durham, freshman guard Romeo Langford and senior guard Zach McRoberts held him to an abhorrent 4-24 shooting.
The Hoosiers also out-rebounded Purdue 47-38 and even though it was a putback by Haarms that ultimately doomed IU with just seconds remaining, the Hoosiers had four more offensive rebounds than the Boilermakers.
“It's probably as physical of a basketball game that I've ever been a part of,” IU Coach Archie Miller said. “For us, just proud of our effort level. I was proud of our togetherness, and that's the one thing that we have to hold on to right now.”
The toughness and resiliency that IU exhibited was even more important in a game that was a painful offensive outing from both teams. In what was the rivalry’s lowest scoring game since 1950, the two teams looked like two squads straight out of the 1940s, combining to shoot 34-115 from the field.
Yet that seems like the kind of game the Hoosiers are thriving in nowadays.
It’s obvious the offense can't carry IU to wins. Tuesday night proved that when the Hoosiers get to show their defensive potential and determination to play with physicality and toughness, it conceivably has a chance to win any game in the conference.
The only problem is the Hoosiers haven’t shown up with that kind of mindset during this low point in the season, but Tuesday night was finally a little different.
That’s why a guy like Davis, who Miller said has been one of the lone bright spots for his team as of late, has been so important in the last few games.
Davis is a brute whose bread and butter comes when he’s down low in the post, beating, banging and battling with other big men.
Against Purdue, he did his finest job yet, using that knack for creating contact to burrow his way into the head of a guy like Haarms. With a little help from the incessant booing and jeers from the home crowd, Davis got into multiple dust-ups with Haarms and forced him into some untimely emotional outbursts.
“He's been a very positive force,” Miller said. “I thought tonight he did a really good job actually, offense and defensive rebound for us, gave us a low-post presence we could throw it to.”
The kind of chippy, confrontational play Davis exhibited Tuesday might be the key for IU’s entire roster if it wants to contend with the top teams in the conference like it did against Purdue.
A little more nastiness and toughness out of this team would be a pleasant surprise.
The Hoosiers can learn from a promising performance like this, and avoid this season from ending as a complete loss.
They just have to prove they’ll never back down again.
