Indiana Basketball Defeats Purdue in Assembly Hall, 73-58: 3 Takeaways

Indiana basketball flys by rival Purdue in a Sunday afternoon thriller. Here are three takeaways:

It had been over a week since Indiana basketball stepped foot on the court. Not only that, but they were sitting on a 72-68 loss to conference opponent UCLA. As always, there was a lot of attention drawn to the game against Purdue as it is, and historically has been, one of the biggest rivalries in college sports. Despite it being a chilly Sunday afternoon, Indiana basketball fans still showed out and were not disappointed by the Hoosiers’ performance. Read more for three takeaways:

Takeaway #1: Braden Smith’s scoring is vital for Purdue

The loss to Indiana marked the fourth loss in a row for the Purdue Boilermakers. Over the course of this losing streak, junior guard Braden Smith has scored in the single digits in two of them. Ever since Smith’s freshman year with Purdue, he has been vital when it comes to getting points and when he scores below his average it shows. He is currently averaging 15.8 points this season, but Indiana basketball managed to hold him to eight. Thanks to Indiana’s defense, Smith, who is known for his 3-point shooting, could barely get a shot off, going 1-3 from behind the arc. His 6 turnovers were also something that hurt the Boilermakers, with the team finishing with a total of 16. That’s not to say that Smith didn’t make an impact for the Boilermakers elsewhere as he did provide five assists.

Smith is currently one of the best point guards in college basketball and has had an huge impact on the Purdue basketball program. It’s no surprise that teams such as Indiana have focused in on shutting him down on the offense. Smith and the Boilermakers will need to learn how to adjust and get past this with the conference and NCAA tournament on the horizon.

Takeaway #2: Indiana’s new starting five has incredible chemistry

This whole season has felt like head coach Mike Woodson and his coaching staff trying to solve a puzzle. When you look at Indiana basketball’s roster, it is evident that you have all the pieces, so the question becomes how to put them in place. There has been many changes to the starting five and rotation throughout this season, with no player starting every game so far. However, there was something special about the five that Woodson put out on the court first on Sunday afternoon.

Those five were: Myles Rice, Malik Reneau, Trey Galloway, Anthony Leal, and Luke Goode. There were definitely some questions that came up when the starters were announced in Assembly Hall. Why Myles Rice? He seems to have been in a slump these past few games. Where is Mackenzie Mgbako? He is one of Indiana’s more consistent players. What about Oumar Ballo? You know, the one who is leading the Hoosiers in points, rebounds, and blocks. These are all valid questions, especially since Indiana basketball went into the second half down by 12 points. However, after halftime they came out hot and managed to score 48 points in the second half to lead them to a 15-point victory. Malik Reneau and Trey Galloway were tied for leading scorer, both finishing with 15 points. Anthony Leal had a stellar performance on the defensive end, finishing with five defensive rebounds, three steals, and some incredible man-to-man defense.

Something else notable about this lineup is how shallow of a rotation Woodson kept during the game, with only three players coming off of the bench. Those three players were Mackenzie Mgbako, Oumar Ballo, and Kanaan Carlyle. Ballo was tied with Rice for second-leading scorer, with both of them finishing with 12 points.

The thing that is possibly most significant about this lineup is the amount of turnovers they had. They managed to give up only 7 turnovers, compared to Purdue’s 16. Turnovers is something that this Indiana basketball team has struggled with recently and has been the cause of their demise multiple times over the past couple of weeks. If this is the lineup and rotation that has the least amount of turnovers, then there is no question that this is what Woodson and the rest of the coaching staff need to stick with going into postseason play.

Takeaway #3: Indiana really wanted this win

The public will never know what was said in the locker room at halftime of the game on Sunday, but whatever it was lit a fire under the Indiana basketball squad. The amount of heart, effort, and determination that was on display in Assembly Hall coming from the Hoosiers was incredible. From diving for loose balls to getting their teammates hyped up in between plays, Indiana’s attitude undoubtedly made a significant impact in their success against the Boilermakers. Now, this drive is not something that they have shown consistently throughout the season. Fans can only hope that this attitude will stick around going into these next couple of weeks as it is evidently vital to their success.

During a post-game interview, the Indiana players all came over to cheer around Mike Woodson. Seeing them support their head coach, who has gotten a lot of hate throughout this season and has just recently announced his retirement, was an incredible display of the character that can be found throughout the Indiana squad. The team has something to rally around and that is helping their head coach end his career on a positive note. That may the push this squad needs to play up to the potential fans have been wanting and waiting for.

Next up for Indiana basketball (16-11, 7-9): vs. Penn State (15-13, 5-12) – Feb. 26 at 8:30 pm EST

Next up for Purdue basketball (19-9, 11-6): vs. UCLA (20-8, 11-6) – Feb. 28 at 8 pm EST