Indiana dropped another game against Purdue on Thursday after winning three of the previous four Big Ten games.
Archie Miller now drops to 0-6 all-time against the Boilermakers and more importantly it was another game in which IU's heart failed to matchup with that of Purdue.
Indiana now sits at 8-6 (3-4) on the season and has a week off until seeing action again, against No. 5 Iowa.
Here are the main takeaways from Indiana's 81-69 loss to Purdue.
'Losing to the same team gets old': That is the quote from Armaan Franklin after the loss. While it's the right thought to have, at the same time Indiana needs to quit speaking it and make it into reality. IU has now lost eight straight in the series and 11 of the last 12. More importantly, six of those 11 have been by double-digits. The Hoosiers have another shot in the season finale to figure it out.
Defense fails, struggling as of late: In the non-conference slate, IU's 3pt defense held opponents to 27.5% from deep. In the past five games, that has transitioned to opponents shooting 41.9% from three. Through 32 minutes, Purdue was connecting on 1.722 points per possession. With very little resistance, Purdue shot 53.2% from the field and connected on 11-of-17 from three.
IU starting backcourt completely outplayed: This has been a problem all season but as of late, Rob Phinisee and Al Durham had been playing very well. On Thursday, that duo combined for eight points on 3-of-10 shooting and eight fouls. With very little aggressiveness, the offense was extremely one dimensional. Purdue's starting backcourt combined for 19 points on 6-of-11 from the field. The matchup with the freshmen in the backcourt, Trey Galloway and PU's Brandon Newman, was one sided as well. Galloway had three points, three rebounds and four assists while Newman finished with 12 points and six rebounds.
Franklin returns, provides scoring boost: Franklin missed most of the past three games but returned to action on Thursday. He came off of the bench and played 33 minutes, scoring 14 points and finishing with seven rebounds. He shot just 5-of-14 from the field, but that's to be expected after missing some time. He also showed the only bit of aggressiveness and sense of urgency out of the IU guards.
Shooting issues return: Indiana had been on a decent kick from three and the field overall, but struggled to show any ability to hit an outside shot against Purdue. The Hoosiers were just 3-of-18 from three and 16-of-29 from the free throw line. Indiana continues to be able to finish around the rim, but sooner rather than later, teams are going to be fine with fouling anyone and everyone if IU is going to shoot just 55-60% from the line.
A week off is needed: IU was limping into that matchup with Purdue and coming off three games in the past week so now, with the Michigan State game getting postponed on Sunday, it gives the Hoosiers a week off until they get back on the court. Rest up, get some much needed PRACTICE in and figure some stuff out. Because the schedule isn't getting any easier, If they don't get better, they are going to really struggle to win a lot of games down the stretch.
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