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Indiana Basketball vs. Purdue: 3 matchups to watch

By Ryan Sullivan

BLOOMINGTON, IN - FEBRUARY 20: Head coach Matt Painter of the Purdue Boilermakers reacts after an Indiana Hoosiers score at Assembly Hall on February 20, 2016 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, IN - FEBRUARY 20: Head coach Matt Painter of the Purdue Boilermakers reacts after an Indiana Hoosiers score at Assembly Hall on February 20, 2016 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
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LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY – MARCH 28: Eric Hunter Jr. #2 of the Purdue Boilermakers in action against the Tennessee Volunteers during the first half of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament South Regional at the KFC YUM! Center on March 28, 2019 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY – MARCH 28: Eric Hunter Jr. #2 of the Purdue Boilermakers in action against the Tennessee Volunteers during the first half of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament South Regional at the KFC YUM! Center on March 28, 2019 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

Rob Phinisee vs. Eric Hunter Jr.

There are a lot of striking similarities between these two players. Both of these guys came out of Indiana high schools and both of them are really the primary playmaker for their respective teams.

Rob Phinisee leads the Hoosiers in assists at 3.2 per game. Eric Hunter leads Purdue in that department at 2.8 apg. Additionally, both of these guys can really shoot three-ball. Hunter is nailing 39.5 percent of his 3.7 tries a game from deep while Phinisee is not too far behind, hitting 37.2 percent of his 2.5 attempts a game, making 10-of-25 in the past seven games.

Hunter Jr. and Phinisee will likely be tasked with guarding each other for a significant portion of the game. Whichever guard is able to better take care of the ball and create shots for both himself and teammates will play a major factor in deciding the outcome of this game.

Indiana ranks near the bottom of the Big Ten in terms of turning over the ball. Against a team that plays as stringent a defense as Purdue, Indiana will have to be excellent in taking care of that category and that starts with Phinisee.

On the flip side, if Phinisee can hold Hunter Jr. to a modest offensive showing Indiana should feel good about their chances.

Purdue just does not have a lot of offensive firepower, and if its second-leading scorer struggles, it will be tough for them to compensate for it.

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