The Indiana University Hoosiers trampled their rival Purdue University Boilermakers for the second time this season, with a final score of 83-55.
The last time the Hoosiers and the Boilermakers met was in late January at Purdue's home court. Even with the home court advantage, Purdue proved to be no match for the Hoosiers, who beat them 97-60.
Will Sheehey was a major contributor to the Hoosiers in Saturday's game. He was nine for nine in shooting, earning 22 points during the game. That earned him a career high and set a school record for his perfect field-goal percentage.
"It felt good," Sheehey said in a press conference after the game. "My teammates found me, and I played very good defense."
But another of IU's key players was injured. Victor Oladipo sprained his ankle in the last minutes of the first half. He came back into the area for the second half of the game but did not play, forcing the Hoosiers to shift around players to maintain the lead.
Sheehey said all of his teammates rose to the occasion, and IU Head Coach Tom Crean agreed.
"It was a hard fought game. They fought. We fought. It was a battle both ways," he says. "When you play against [Purdue] and coach against them, you have to have a great strategy against them, and our guys did that."
Indiana ended the game with a total of 39 rebounds, 16 assists and 14 turnovers. Purdue ended the game with 30 rebounds, seven assists, and 17 turnovers.
Game Summary
Winning the tip off, the Hoosiers began the game strong. Christian Watford was the the only Hoosier to score within the first five minutes of the game, earning two three-pointers and a basket. Jordan Hulls soon got on the board as well with a three-pointer. Seconds later, after stealing the ball from Purdue, Cody Zeller ran down the court to make a dunk, sending Assembly Hall to its feet.
Throughout the first half, Indiana kept a generous lead over their long-time rivals. Watford and Hulls led the Hoosiers in points scored during the first half. Watford ended the first half with 13 points and Hulls with nine. Zeller trailed with eight points for the Hoosiers. For the Boilermakers, Terone Johnson lead his team as the number one scorer, earning nine points.
At the half, Indiana ended with 18 rebounds and seven assists, but also had nine turnovers. Still, they also forced 11 turnovers by Purdue, who ended the half with 14 rebounds and six assists.
After a fast pace first half, with IU leading 41-29, the intensity in the arena only increased as the second half of the game got underway.
Indiana continued to play a tight man-to-man defense on Purdue for the remainder of the game, and the Hoosier offense helped the team to gain a generous lead over the Boilermakers in the last 20 minutes of the game. The closest the Boilermakers would come to the Hoosiers in the second half was 19 points.
Saturday's game is the second time this season Purdue has lost to IU, putting their record at 12-14 for the season and 5-8 in the Big Ten. Indiana ends the game with a record of 23-3 and 11-2 respectively, keeping their No. 1 rank.
