IU basketball game day essentials: Hoosiers travel to Mackey for Purdue rematch

Game Day Essentials:

Indiana (17-9, 8-7) vs. No. 7 Purdue (21-5, 11-4)

• Tip Time: 8:00 p.m. Eastern, Friday
• Location: Mackey Arena (14,876), West Lafayette, Ind
• Television: FOX (Gus Johnson, Steve Smith, Allison Williams)
• Radio: IU Radio Network (Don Fischer, Errek Suhr, John Herrick)
• Stream: Fox Sports
• Point Spread:  Purdue is around a 10.5-point favorite
• KenPom Projected Score:  Purdue 80  Indiana 70
• History: Indiana trails, 94-126
• Last Meeting:  IU 72, PUR 67 on Jan. 27, 2026, in Bloomington
• Tickets (via our StubHub affiliate link)

Three keys from last matchup

1. Massive late first half response.  Indiana appeared to be in a little trouble in the first half.  Purdue went on a 12-5 run and put IU in a 23-19 hole.  Sensing the momentum swing, IU coach Darian DeVries called a timeout.  The Hoosiers came out of the timeout on fire, outscoring the Boilers 21-6 the rest of the half.  Indiana kept the momentum going into the second half, stretching the lead to as much as 14.  That was enough to survive a late Purdue surge fueled in large part by IU missed free throws.

2. Nick Dorn erupts — again.  Once could be a fluke.  Twice is a pattern.  Nick Dorn had another massive game for Indiana, pouring in 18 points on 6 of 11 shooting from the field including 4 of 9 from three.  Dorn started for the second straight game and played 32 minutes.  When Purdue did a better job in the second half of hugging up on Dorn and taking away his perimeter shot, he finished a pair of key drives to the rim against Fletcher Loyer.  He also secured two key defensive rebounds in the final four minutes of the game.

3. Hoosiers solid on the glass, take care of the ball.  The rebounding battle was a major area of concern coming into this one, as the Boilers are quite a bit bigger than IU.  Purdue outrebounded the Hoosiers 33-28 and the Boilers had nine offensive rebounds, but the rebounding never got away from the Hoosiers to the point it defined the game.  And IU had just eight turnovers on the night against 14 assists.  The Hoosiers did have a couple turnovers in the final three minutes, but they made enough plays in pressure packed possessions to hang on.

HIGHLIGHTS

FINAL STATS

Purdue’s results and roster

Purdue’s game notes (via Purdue Athletics)

BOILERBALL TEAM FAST FACTS

• Purdue has scored at least 78 points in four of its last five games, with three games of 80 or more points (4-1 record).
• After going 11-of-20 (.550) from the free throw line in an overtime win against Nebraska, Purdue is 34-of-40 (.850) from the free throw line in the last two games.
• Purdue is 38-of-120 (.317) from 3-point range in the last four games.
• Purdue is averaging 5.5 turnovers per game over the last two outings.
• Purdue has shot 20 or more free throws in each of the last five games. In the season’s first 21 games, Purdue reached 20 free throw attempts just six times.
• In Purdue’s five losses, the Boilermakers are shooting 33-of-110 (.300) from 3-point range. Opponents are shooting 63-of-137 (.460) from long range.
• In Purdue’s 21 wins, Purdue is shooting 207-of-530 (.391) from 3-point range, while opponents are shooting 166-of-556 (.299) from long range.
• Purdue has been held under 40.0 percent shooting twice in the last three games (Nebraska, Michigan). In the season’s first 24 games, Purdue shot over 40.0 percent in every contest.

BOILERBALL INDIVIDUAL FAST FACTS

• Braden Smith needs 14 assists to become the fifth player in NCAA history with 1,000 career assists. When he gets there, he will be the first player in NCAA history with 1,500 points, 1,000 assists and 500 rebounds. He has 1,762 points, 986 assists and 635 rebounds.
• Braden Smith has 228 assists this season and now holds the first three spots on Purdue’s single-season assists list. Smith needs 22 assists to become the fourth player in NCAA history with three seasons of 250 assists (Bobby Hurley, Sherman Douglas, Danny
  Tarkanian).
• In conference games only, Gicarri Harris and C.J. Cox have combined for six turnovers in a combined 617 minutes played, boasting an assist-to-turnover ratio of 32-to-6.
• Fletcher Loyer made four 3-pointers in the win against Nebraska. When Loyer makes four or more 3-pointers in a game during his career, Purdue is 22-0. When he makes three trifectas in a game,
  Purdue is 39-3.
• Fletcher Loyer is now 18-of-41 (.439) from 3-point range in the lastfive games, having made at least three  3-pointers in three of the five games.
• Trey Kaufman-Renn scored a season-high 27 points against Michigan for his second 20-point game of the season. Purdue is now 0-2 when Kaufman-Renn goes for 20 points (Indiana, Michigan).
• Trey Kaufman-Renn is averaging 12.2 rebounds per game over the last five games (14.3 RPG over last three games). During his career, when Kaufman-Renn secures a double-double, Purdue is 12-1 (loss to Michigan).

No. 8 Purdue’s KenPom notable numbers:

(out of 365 teams)

Tempo – No. 297 (Offense No. 263 / Defense No. 288)

Offensive Efficiency – No. 2

• Purdue holds an effective field goal percentage of 57.3 percent on the year (No. 14). The Boilermakers are shooting 37.5 percent from three (No. 26) and 58.1 percent on 2s (No. 22).  They’ve been the most productive on 2s, for they account for 50.7% of their total point distribution (No. 128).  They don’t get to the free-throw line at a high rate.
• The Boilermakers haul in a good amount of offensive rebounds at a 35.8% rate (No. 37).
• They also take care of the ball well with a 13.7% turnover percentage (No. 16).
• Purdue assists at a high 64.8% rate (No. 8).

Defensive Efficiency – No. 27

• Opponents hold a 50.7 percent effective field goal percentage against Purdue (No. 145). Teams are shooting 33 percent from three (No. 124) and 51.6 percent on 2s (No. 179).
• One of Purdue’s biggest strengths is limiting the number of fouls they commit on shots. Opposing team free-throw attempts are just 25.4% of all field goal attempts (No. 9).
• They have given up offensive rebounds at a 26.6 percent rate (No. 28) and force turnovers at a 16.5% rate (No. 203).
• Opposing teams find the most success scoring from beyond the arc. 38 percent of opponent point distribution comes from beyond the three-point line (No. 14).

OG’s Pick

Overall: 17-7

Indiana has another chance for a high-caliber quad 1 win on Friday, and it’s against a team they’ve already beaten. Most bracket projections have IU in the tournament right now, but they could still use one more high-quality win for their resume.

The biggest factor for the Hoosiers in the first game was their shooting, especially in the first half. Nick Dorn was huge with a big night from beyond the arc. However, Dorn and Indiana have been in a slump in recent games, and they’re going to need their offense to show up in Mackey to have a chance. I think Purdue evens it up on Friday, but I do think it’s another close battle.

Pick: Indiana 68 – Purdue 74 

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