Indiana Basketball: No. 16 Purdue Boilermakers Game Preview – Round II
By Jordan Maly
Indiana Hoosiers head two hours north to West Lafayette to take on No. 16 Purdue Boilermakers at Mackey Arena.
The Indiana Hoosiers and the Purdue Boilermakers get ready to square off for the second time this season. The Hoosiers will be playing for far less than the Boilermakers. No. 16 Purdue is looking to clinch their first Big Ten regular-season title for the first time since 2010 and outright champions since 1996.
Indiana with far less to lose out on. The NCAA Tournament bid the Hoosiers were hoping for looks to have disappeared. The Hoosiers squeaked out a win against Northwestern on Saturday but still sit among the bottom four teams in the conference. The Hoosiers are looking to play spoilers against a long-standing in-state rival.
This will be the second time both teams face off this season with Purdue taking the first game at Assembly Hall. The game ended with a bizarre double foul call in the last 30 seconds, fouling out both Thomas Bryant and Caleb Swanigan. It was a call that shifted the momentum in a game that meant everything to the Hoosiers. You can imagine the atmosphere will be similar in Mackey Arena Tuesday. A chance to claim the conference regular season against your most hated rival.
The most interesting part of this game leans on the Hoosiers preparation. A game on the road against one of the best teams in the country, the top team in the conference, and the historical implications that this game holds. How will the Hoosiers respond? One thing the Hoosiers will not want to do is repeat a performance like the one in Ann Arbor.
More from Indiana Basketball
- Indiana Basketball: Which teams have the Hoosiers never beaten?
- Indiana Basketball: Examining the All-Time Bob Knight Team
- 10 biggest Indiana basketball NBA Draft busts of all time
- Kent State vs. Indiana prediction and odds for NCAA Tournament First Round
- FanDuel and DraftKings Promos Expire Sunday: Bet $25, Get $400 TODAY
Purdue is looking for nothing more than cap off their successful season by sealing the regular season title against Indiana. The Boilermakers are playing for seeding in the NCAA Tournament, hoping to get to as high as a No. 2 or 3 seed in March. A loss to the Hoosiers could put all of that in jeopardy.
Here are some of the key team statistics and projected starting lineups courtesy of the Big Ten Conference.
1st. Big Ten Conference Team Statistics and Position–Scoring: 80.7 (1st); Defense: 66.7 (4th); FG%: 48.1% (1st); 3 Pt. FG% 41.0% (1st); Rebound Margin: +7.9 (2nd). (23-6, 12-4). No. 20 NCAA RPI Ranking. NO. 16 PURDUE BOILERMAKERS
Projected Starting Lineup
P.J. Thompson (G): 7.4 PPG, 3.1 APG, 2.2 RPG, 45.3 FG%
Dakota Mathias (G): 9.7 PPG, 3.8 APG, 3.7 RPG, 48.0 FG%
Carsen Edwards (G): 10.6 PPG, 2.0 APG, 2.7 RPG, 38.7 FG%
Vince Edwards (F): 11.8 PPG, 3.1 APG, 4.7 RPG, 46.9 FG%
Caleb Swanigan (F): 18.6 PPG, 2.8 APG, 12.6 RPG, 54.7 FG%
Off The Bench
Isaac Haas (C): 13.2 PPG, 0.7 APG, 5.4 RPG, 58.7 FG%
10th. Big Ten Conference Statistics and Position — 80.1 (3rd); Defense: 72.2 (13th); FG%: 47.8% (2nd); 3 Pt. FG%: 37.2 (4th); Rebounding Margin: +8.0 (1st). (16-13, 6-10). No. 88 NCAA RPI Rankings. INDIANA HOOSIERS
Projected Starting Lineup
Josh Newkirk (G): 8.8 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 3.1 APG, 43.8 FG%
James Blackmon Jr. (G): 16.9 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 1.8 APG, 46.2 FG%
Robert Johnson (G): 13.1 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 2.4 APG, 45.9 FG%
De’Ron Davis (F): 6.2 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 0.9 APG, 51.8 FG%
Thomas Bryant (C): 13.0 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 1.5 APG, 52.7 FG%
Off The Bench
Juwan Morgan (F): 7.1 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 1.1 APG, 54.1 FG%
Nothing to lose could help Hoosiers…
It’s been a difficult season for the Hoosiers and you don’t need me to tell you that. The Hoosiers will likely be playing in the very first round of the Big Ten Tournament for the first time since the expansion. Essentially the Hoosiers have nothing to lose out on. Likely to miss the NCAA Tournament, the Purdue rivalry is really the only positive outcome to a less than successful conference record.
A win against the top team in the conference would help better the Hoosiers credibility as a team. The last thing this team wants to watch is their in-state rival celebrate an outright Big Ten regular season title on their home floor. The Hoosiers will need to come out with their best performance of the season to steal a win on the road.
The Hoosiers are 4-10 in games against teams in the Top-50 RPI this season and 7-12 against teams in the Top-100 RPI. Of those wins, two of the them coming against top teams in RPI. A win here will still not be enough to put the Hoosiers in the bubble conversation again. Indiana sealed their fate for the Tournament with a loss at Iowa in the final two minutes last week. A Big Ten Tournament Championship is really the only hope for the Hoosiers in the last week of regular season play.