Indiana basketball fell to rival Purdue in a close game in West Lafayette. Read more for 3 takeaways.
It was an intense game in West Lafayette on Friday night as Indiana basketball fell to in-state rival Purdue with a final score of 81-76; although, the Hoosiers were up by one point with 25 seconds to play. A successful shot by Purdue’s Trey Kaufman-Renn and some solid defense allowed the Boilermakers to pull away in the final seconds of the game.
As this match-up is arguably the biggest rivalry in college basketball, it was to no surprise that the game was played in an incredible atmosphere. There were dedicated fans for both sides, with Purdue students lining up outside Mackey Arena over three hours before tip-off. As Indiana people like to say, in 49 states, it’s just basketball. Here are 3 takeaways:
Takeaway #1: Indiana may have found a connected lineup
One thing that Indiana basketball has continually struggled with this season is finding some chemistry on the court. In the past couple of weeks, it has not helped that injuries have limited playing time for some, but after watching the game against Purdue, there may be a group of five that really works. These five would be Galloway, Leal, Goode, Mgbako, and Ballo. This is very different than the lineup that head coach Mike Woodson has tried previously this season, as it excludes Myles Rice and Malik Reneau. That being said, there was something about these five that allowed the Hoosiers to see a lot of success on both ends of the court in the game against Purdue.
Mackenzie Mgbako had a standout performance for Indiana basketball, leading the way for the Hoosiers with 25 points and 5 rebounds. Also extremely notable were Trey Galloway with 15 points, 3 rebounds, and 5 assists, and Luke Goode with 13 points.
In a press conference after the game, Woodson acknowledged the success of this different lineup, but made it evident that fans shouldn’t count Myles Rice out after his performance against Purdue.
“Well I mean the group that was on the floor played well for us you know. I mean it’s no knock against Myles, he didn’t have it going early, and I elected to ride the guys that really finished the game. I mean Anthony Leal fouled out, but I elected to go that way,” said Woodson.
Takeaway #2: Turnovers played a role in Indiana’s loss
In games that end with such a close score, you can’t help but look at the little things that happened throughout the game and the thing that made the difference for Indiana in the game against Purdue was their number of turnovers.
Indiana basketball ended the night with 20 turnovers and the Boilermakers were able to score 26 points off of these. Six of these belonged to Trey Galloway and four to Anthony Leal. There is no doubt that the Hoosiers played hard on Friday night, with a lot of fight from beginning to end. However, playing with more focus throughout the game to allow for fewer turnovers, could be the turning point for Indiana.
Takeaway #3: Trey Kaufman-Renn made the most of his minutes
Purdue’s Trey Kaufman-Renn played only 26 minutes in the game against Indiana, but looking at his stats you would never guess it. Kaufman-Renn posted 23 points and 4 rebounds and was the one who turned the game around for the Boilermakers in the last seconds. Within the last 11 seconds, he had four points, one rebound, and one steal to seal the deal for the Boilermakers.
In a press conference after the game, Kaufman-Renn was asked about the final seconds and alluded to the fact that his performance at the end was something he has prepared for.
“I just knew that Ballo was you know a bigger defender so he’s going to be you know slower footed, so I knew I could get to my spin. That’s a shot that I practice, so I just took it,” said Kaufman-Renn.
The junior forward is currently leading the way in scoring for the Boilermakers, averaging 18.4 points a game.
Next up for Indiana basketball (14-8, 5-6): at Wisconsin (17-5, 7-4) – Feb. 4 at 9 p.m. EST
Next up for Purdue basketball (17-5, 9-2): at Iowa (13-8, 4-6) – Feb. 4 at 7 p.m. EST