The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame’s motto booms through the loudspeakers before each home game at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall: In 49 states, it’s just basketball — this is Indiana.
At 1:30 p.m. Sunday, the Hoosier state’s two most prominent men’s basketball programs — Indiana and No. 13 Purdue — face off in Assembly Hall. It marks the 221st meeting between the Hoosiers and Boilermakers.
This one comes under unusual circumstances.
Indiana, with head coach Mike Woodson poised to step down at season’s end, has lost six of its last seven games. The Hoosiers have lost four consecutive home games for the first time since February 2019.
Purdue, meanwhile, is slumping. The Boilermakers have dropped three straight games, their first such losing skid in five years. Two of those losses came on the road, though both were against ranked teams in No. 12 Michigan on Feb. 11 and No. 14 Michigan State on Tuesday.
The Hoosiers and Boilermakers have played higher profile games before, but with both sides desperately searching for a momentum-building win as March nears, matchup No. 221 is far from insignificant.
Meet the Boilermakers
In his 20th season at Purdue, head coach Matt Painter has his team at 19-8 overall and 11-5 in Big Ten play. Before their losing streak, the Boilermakers were in the race for their third straight regular season conference title.
Purdue has a trio of juniors spearheading its offensive attack, as forward Trey Kaufman-Renn and guards Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer are the only Boilermakers averaging double figures in points.
Kaufman-Renn, who made a go-ahead turnaround jump hook with 11 seconds remaining in Purdue’s 81-76 win over Indiana on Jan. 31, scores 19.6 points and grabs 6.2 rebounds per game. He’s tied for third in the conference in scoring, and he averages a Big Ten-best 7.9 field goals per game.
Smith, the preseason Big Ten Player of the Year, averages 16.1 points and 8.8 assists per game, which leads the conference by 1.5 assists. However, he also turns the ball over 2.9 times per game, the sixth most in the Big Ten.
One of the conference’s best shooters, Loyer scores 13.7 points per game while knocking down 45.8% of his 3-pointers, the third-best mark in the Big Ten among those who average at least one attempt per game.
Purdue’s biggest problem is simple: finding another consistent scorer. Apart from the trio of Kaufman-Renn, Smith and Loyer, no other Boilermaker averages more than 6.5 points per game.
Still, Purdue poses threats. The Boilermakers lead the Big Ten in shooting at 49.4% from the field and 37.7% from beyond the arc, though they rank ninth in the conference with 78 points per game.
In its first game against Indiana, Purdue went only 2-for-13 shooting from distance but shot 52.7% from the floor. Smith led the team with 24 points, followed closely by Kaufman-Renn with 23. Loyer added 15. No other Boilermaker reached double digits, though freshman guard Gicarri Harris tallied 9 points.
Woodson’s last gasp vs. Purdue?
When the Hoosiers hired Woodson in March of 2021, Purdue had won nine consecutive games. Woodson not only snapped that drought in his first try but led Indiana to three wins over its rival in two seasons, including a sweep in 2022-23.
Barring a matchup in the Big Ten Tournament, Sunday’s game will be the final time Woodson faces Purdue. As a player at Indiana from 1976-80, Woodson went 4-6 against the Boilermakers. He currently has a 3-4 record against Purdue as a coach. With a loss, Woodson will end his career as both a player and coach two games below .500 against Indiana’s top rival.
The Hoosiers enter Sunday fresh — their last game was a 72-68 loss to UCLA on Feb. 14. The nine-day gap was Indiana’s longest of the season, and it came at a time when the Hoosiers perhaps needed it most.
Between the emotions of Woodson’s looming departure and the frustrations of winning just two games in the past month, Indiana had little momentum or positive energy.
It’s unclear whether the extended break will change that, but the answer will be evident at 1:30 p.m. Sunday on Branch McCracken Court.
Series history
Purdue holds a 128-92 edge all-time, and the Boilermakers have won the past three matchups. Indiana’s last win over Purdue was Feb. 25, 2023. Before the Boilermakers’ win at Assembly Hall on Jan. 16, 2024, the Hoosiers won each of the previous two contests in Bloomington.
The odds say...
The Hoosiers have a 34.9% chance to win, according to ESPN Analytics.
Broadcast information
The game will be broadcast on CBS with Andrew Catalon handling play-by-play responsibilities alongside analyst Steve Lappas.
Follow reporters Daniel Flick (@ByDanielFlick) and Quinn Richards (@Quinn_richa) and columnist Mateo Fuentes-Rohwer (@mateo_frohwer) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s basketball season.
