This one was never really in doubt.
Purdue scored the first six points of the game, and extended the lead to double digits for good with 6:52 left in the first half. The Boilermaker lead would swell to 17 points at halftime, 22 points just over two minutes into the second half, and 32 points with 5:43 left in the game.
Let’s take a deeper look at how Indiana lost 93-64 in West Lafayette with our latest edition of The Report Card.
The Hoosiers (17-10, 8-8) will host Northwestern on Tuesday.
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OFFENSE (C+)
Indiana started the game like a deer in the headlights on the offensive end, perhaps overwhelmed by the noise in Mackey Arena. The Hoosiers had no movement in their offense, and no dribble penetration. The result was a bunch of late shot clock possessions that produced bad shots and turnovers.
Eventually IU started getting downhill and things opened up. After starting the game 4 of 15 from the field, IU went 20 of 31 (64.5%) the rest of the way. But in a tough environment against a good team, it was too little, too late.
How Indiana needed to attack from the jump wasn’t a surprise. The Hoosiers simply didn’t execute.
“We certainly came in with a game plan of doing that (getting the ball into the paint). We wanted to get paint touches, because even in our first game in the second half, they did a good job of limiting the amount of 3s that we got,” IU coach Darian DeVries said. “To come out ahead on that one, they still did a pretty good job defending us. So, we wanted to get more paint touches. I just thought they had us on our heels until we got going a little bit. Tayton got in there, was able to get downhill. We got more paint touches, opened it up.”
Indiana made 17 of 26 shots from two (65.4%).
IU compounded its first half problems with seven turnovers before halftime, and 11 for the game. And the Hoosiers had just one offensive rebound for the game. They took five less shots and 10 less free throws than the Boilermakers.
IU scored 1.01 points per possession. That’s not going to be enough to win against this Purdue team. And certainly not on a night when the Hoosiers defended so poorly…
DEFENSE (F)
Purdue carved IU up, and the Hoosiers appeared to be a step slow and physically overmatched all night.
Indiana gave up 1.47 points per possession, easily their worst performance of the season. Purdue’s 74.5 effective field goal percentage also marked a season-high for the IU defense, again by a wide margin — more than 14 percentage points more than the prior high.
Purdue only had seven turnovers, they got to the foul line for 25 attempts, and they were effective inside (69.7% from two) and out (55.6% from three). The Hoosiers routinely lost Fletcher Loyer for open threes, and he’s a player that won’t really beat you unless he gets open looks.
There’s really nothing you can point to that IU did particularly well on this end of the floor. And that tone was set right away, as IU attempted to double team the post and Trey Kaufman-Renn found open shooters for threes. And then IU abandoned doubling the post, and Kaufman-Renn scored again and again.
“I thought the biggest thing was their inside presence is something that with both their fours and fives, it is a challenge for us to either play one-on-one or make the decision to double,” DeVries said. “And it seemed like they had an answer for whatever we did. So, we doubled some, we didn’t double some. We came with different guys, and they seemed to have a solution for a lot of it.
“We just could never get them under control.”
Yeah, there were some suspect calls that led to 15 first half fouls on IU and 15 free throws for Purdue, compared to just six for the Hoosiers. But Indiana’s problems were so much deeper than the officiating or foul trouble.
If there’s a bright spot — Purdue only had six offensive rebounds. But a major part of that is because they weren’t missing shots.
SEE ALSO:
- IU men’s basketball ‘couldn’t get anything going’ in lopsided loss at Purdue
- Watch: Purdue’s Matt Painter and players discuss win over Indiana
- Watch: IU basketball’s Darian and Tucker DeVries talk loss at Purdue
- IU basketball: Indiana 64 Purdue 93 — Three keys, highlights, final stats
THE PLAYERS (*starters)
*Tucker DeVries (C-) He was the only thing IU had going offensively in the first half. But that production faded as Purdue forced him to win off the bounce. And DeVries struggled defensively to contain Kaufman-Renn and wasn’t productive on the glass.
*Lamar Wilkerson (C-) Wilkerson had about as cosmetic of a 20 point night as you can. The reality was he didn’t make a shot from the field until IU was down by more than 20 in the second half. That’s not all his fault of course. He only took four shots in the first 25 minutes of the game, as IU’s offense failed to create opportunities.
*Sam Alexis (D) Alexis seemed sped up and unsure when he got touches in the paint. He struggled with fouls, and didn’t rebound at a high rate. It wasn’t a good night against Purdue’s size on the road.
*Conor Enright (C-) He spent virtually the entire game in foul trouble. He had two in the first 10 minutes, and eventually fouled out. The calls against Enright seemed primarily to be 50/50 fouls the officials might let go at home. But he was of no use on the bench, and IU wasn’t really that good when he was in the game. He needed to lead the offense better in the first 10 minutes.
*Nick Dorn (F) The bottom line is Dorn needs to figure out how to impact the game when his perimeter shot is not falling. In 25 minutes he had one rebound. And the box score doesn’t show a wave of defensive mistakes.
Jasai Miles (C-) The staff clearly likes Miles as a perimeter defender. And the defense probably was a bit better with him out there. But it’s not clear he impacts the game in enough additional ways to substantiate his role with the team now healthier.
Reed Bailey (C+) Bailey was effective as a scorer in the paint, something IU desperately needed based on how Purdue was defending. But the rebounding wasn’t there, and he turned the ball over and fouled. It was still a step forward after some off games.
Tayton Conerway (B) Conerway was a lone bright spot, both because he appears to be back to full strength, and he was effective — finishing at the rim and finding his teammates. He showed the staff it at least has options as the Hoosiers hit the home stretch.
Trent Sisley and Aleksa Ristic saw limited action.
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Andrej Acimovic did not play — coaches decision.
Jason Drake and Josh Harris were out with injuries.
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