BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Zach Edey was already sitting on a 31-point, 14-rebound double-double. Tuesday night’s contest, although not much of one, was far past decided.
Braden Smith, who scored just five points on 2-of-14 shooting Tuesday evening, drove right and drew the attention of both CJ Gunn and Kel’el Ware. In the process, the 7-foot-4 catalyst to the Boilermakers’ success was left wide open.
An easy flush followed a simple dump-off pass. The Purdue advantage rose to 17. Points 32 and 33 for Edey.
A sold-out audience of 17,222 began to dwindle. First trickling then en masse, impatient for even the game’s final media timeout, Indiana fans who braved the brutal cold in capacity were venturing out early. Those still on hand then saw a play that, in so many facets, defined an entire result.
The ball squirmed away from CJ Gunn toward the top of the perimeter, where Edey and Ware stood. The two giants, far from the low blocks which had evolved into the sparring ring possession by possession, began for the ball. Ware’s hands got to it first.
But Edey, the All-American, reigning Player of the Year and frontrunner to repeat the honor, would lay out across Branch McCracken court and secure the ball away. He passed off to running mate Lance Jones, streaking away with the final nail in a coffin built by the Hoosiers’ consistent lack of fortitude this Tuesday evening.
Purdue head coach Matt Painter called the play his favorite of the evening, given it was instinctual. Game situation carried zero value at that moment. “Not where you had to – ‘Oh I guess I’ve got to do this,’” Painter said, “he instinctually dove and got us a loose ball and got the possession back.”
The Boilermakers toted an AP top 10 ranking for the fifth consecutive time into this matchup. Decided by an average score of just 4.5 points and 18 points total in the previous four contests, the Boilermakers’ 88-67 victory was the largest defeat Indiana’s suffered on its home floor in the series’ modern history.
“I thought they were tougher,” Indiana head coach Mike Woodson said in defeat. “Yeah there were a lot of fouls called against us, but they set the tone.”
After 18 games this season, that’s a tough pill of reality that the Hoosiers are forced to swallow. That to this point in the year, Indiana is capable of being out-hustled, emerging out of a contest as the team that displayed less effort as a cohesive unit. “Especially, when it’s a big game like this,” senior guard Trey Galloway said, “you’ve got to find ways to fight and be tough.”
The recency of the final buzzer didn’t represent the long-settled defeat his vocal tone lended. There was no opposing Woodson’s assessment of the Hoosiers’ lack of resistance displayed.
Before the contest, on his weekly radio spot with Don Fischer, Woodson wouldn’t divulge into his gameplan for how he’d try to defend Edey any further than prayer and hoping “like hell you can keep him down.” One could reasonably assume that the execution of said devised scheme, however, was amiss.
Trey Galloway called the fouls IU surrendered against Edey and the Boilermakers “dumb” and “unnecessary,” with the share of minutes for Ware on the floor limited to just eight in the game’s first half. A matchup unlike most are able to toss at the Purdue big due to his combination of size, athleticism and mobility, Ware’s two fouls in quick succession earned him a trip to the bench and free reign for the usual matchup advantage the Boilermakers make emphasis of every outing.
“That’s the difference between playing hard and not smart,” Galloway said. “You have to stick to your game plan, and I mean, obviously they are a physical team, and have a very big post presence down low.
“Just going out there, competing, and finding ways to get stops, that’s the biggest thing. We didn’t do that.”
Ware, harped upon to exhaustion for a low motor coming into this season as a transfer from Oregon, has come a long way from when he first entered the Indiana program. Getting him to understand how to consistently apply himself defensively and stay engaged has been amongst the challenges Indiana’s attacked with him on the roster. That’s an ongoing process that, as the matchup with the Boilermakers showcased, is still ongoing in Woodson’s view.
“I think Ware could have done a better job in battling [Edey] but he didn’t,” Woodson said. “It’s something to learn from.”
The same sentiment applied to Malik Reneau, who finished with three of his own fouls in attempts to contain Edey.
“Trayce and Race, they are not here,” Woodson said. “I’ve got to get my two bigs a little more tougher. That’s got to help. I didn't think we played tough enough, and Edey kind of had his way.”
Together, both Reneau and Ware combined for just one more total rebound than Edey grabbed for the night. Painter said postgame Reneau was the focus of the Purdue scouting report. In limiting him to just eight points on 10 attempts from the field, you’d call that success in what’s typically a hostile road environment.
Yet on this night, it was more than success. For Purdue, it was triumph.
Indiana handed the second-ranked Boilermakers the shovel it then utilized to further dig the Hoosiers’ hole it would reside in. A 51-point first half and 22-point advantage saw Indiana booed off the floor. Purdue players took the liberty to boast all over the silenced Hall, and why wouldn’t they. Victories like this, in this rivalry, are uncharted and absent from this matchup’s history save a few outlying tilts.
Indiana’s effort to save face in the return later this season will surely be fueled by the lingering feeling this one offers, and it must reluctantly accept that.
It certainly won’t be accepted to repeat a performance of this caliber, though.
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