The Hoosiers come home to take on in-state rival Purdue in hopes of avenging a loss suffered in West Lafayette nearly a month ago.
Now on a three game losing streak, and losing 10 out of 11, with a 21 point blowout loss to Minnesota, the Hoosiers will desperately need to defeat the now 12th ranked Purdue Boilermakers if they want to have any hopes of getting back in the conversation of making the NCAA tournament.
Purdue is currently one of the hottest teams in the country, having won 10 straight games in Big Ten play and are led by National Player of the Year candidate Carsen Edwards, a junior guard who is leading the team in scoring, averaging 24.4 points per game.
However, the Boilermakers are far from dependent on their star player. Purdue is a well balanced scoring team that currently has seven players scoring over five points a game.
Another Purdue player to watch out for is their 7-foot-3 sophomore center Matt Haarms, who is an active rebounder and a strong defensive presence in the paint. He took advantage of the much smaller and undersized IU team in their last meeting, chipping in 12 points in 24 minutes.
Expect to see more minutes from De’Ron Davis, Clifton Moore, and Race Thompson to help mitigate the team’s size disadvantage.
Keys to the Game
Being a much smaller team, Indiana will need to crash the boards hard on both ends of the court and limit the second chance opportunities allowed for the Boilermakers.
The Hoosiers will also need to close out on shooters at the three point line, in particular Purdue senior Ryan Cline, who is second on the team in scoring and is shooting 43 percent from deep.
While defense and rebounding are major keys for a struggling IU basketball team, they will also need the bench to provide energy and scoring punch to alleviate pressure from the Hoosiers’ starting five.
Lastly, and more important, Indiana needs to play with a chip on their shoulder and play inspired, and angry basketball, something they have lacked since the calendar turned to 2019.
Indiana will need to play with confidence and energy behind a raucous home crowd if they hope to finish strong and potentially turn the season around.
What you need to know
What? Purdue 18-7 (11-3) at Indiana 13-12 (4-10)
When? Tuesday February 19th, 2019 at 7pm EST
Where? Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall – Bloomington, Indiana
TV? ESPN2
Radio? Indiana Radio Network, Sirius XM 84
All-Time Series? Indiana leads the series 66-61
Prediction? Purdue 64, Indiana 56