It's Frustrating...Tonight did no Favors for Fans
Indiana lost to #2 Purdue by 20 points tonight. The Boilermakers were the bigger, faster, stronger, and more experienced team tonight -- just as they were the first time they played at Assembly Hall. Center Zack Edey was dominant again with another double-double. Some IU fans can look and see their favorite team lost to the second-ranked team in college basketball.
Edey is a senior. Guard Lance Jones is a fifth-year senior. Sophomores Fletcher Loyer, Mason Gillis, and Trey Kaufman-Renn either started or played heavy minutes as true freshmen. While you could argue that Indiana's sophomores haven't taken that leap, they weren't asked to shoulder a heavy burden as freshmen like Purdue's sophomores were.
Trey Galloway is a senior but did not play much until this season. Even with all this information, many fans have a sour taste because Indiana was swept by its rival for the seventh time in a decade. This rivalry hasn't been kind to the Hoosiers over the last ten years; they've only won four times since 2014.
Indiana fans are frustrated, and they have every right to be. Hoosier fans are astute, so they know what the university invests in the basketball program and the commitment it made to NIL. The Hoosiers haven't won a National Title in nearly 40 years (1987 was the last natty) and hasn't been a consistent contender since the late 90s.
It's difficult to preach patience, but there isn't much else to have in Bloomington.