1/20/2022 basketball Edit

Rob Phinisee's career-high, game-winner lifts Indiana

Alec Lasley • TheHoosier

Senior Writer

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Indiana came into Thursday's matchup with Purdue as losers of nine straight games in the series.

Rob Phinisee, a West Lafayette native, had been very vocal about what this game meant to him this season and throughout his career. Tonight, he used a career-high performance and a game-winner to lift the Hoosiers to a 68-65 win.

The fourth-year guard earned the name 'Big Shot Rob' for some of his heroics early in his career and he lived up to that nickname on Thursday.

"Great," Phinisee said postgame on how he felt. "Every time I go home, people always talk trash to me. I just finally needed to get one. Yeah, that was huge for us."

Rob Phinisee's career-high and game-winner lifted Indiana to a win over No. 4 Purdue. (IU Athletics)

After a 13-point outing against Minnesota, Phinisee was just 1-of-8 for two total points in the last two games. He was also 0-of-6 from three.

He had also been averaging just 6.5 points on 16-of-47 from the floor and 5-of-26 from three in six career games against Purdue.

In the first half on Thursday, however, Phinisee had 17 points on 7-of-10 from the field and was 3-of-5 from three.

"Honestly, no, not really. In the first half I felt like every time I shot the ball it was going to go in," Phinisee said. "Coach Woodson, from the jump he knew I struggled last year. He has been saying all the time that he's going to keep believing in me and keep instilling confidence in me. I played my heart out today, played with the heart on my sleeve tonight."

After a hot first half, Phinisee made just one field goal in the final 20 minutes. it was a big one, however.

Indiana was down two with 16.9 seconds left and Phinisee came off of a screen on an inbounds play. He squared up and drilled a three, his only three points in the second half, to give Indiana a one-point lead.

"The play before I told coach I wanted to shoot the ball," Phinisee said. "Race set a really good screen for me."

"I came out of the one time-out, and he said, 'hey, give me the ball. Run a play for me,' and we ran the play out of the first time-out, and he was wide open on the three that he missed, and I told him if he came around, if you are open, shoot it," Woodson said. "The next play we just put in a new underneath out of bounds play today, and it worked. He came off. Trayce was wide open as well, but Gallo decided to throw it to Rob, and Rob let it go and he made it."

Phinisee finished with a career-high 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting and 4-of-7 from three.

Mike Woodson has been in Phinisee's corner all year long and it was a pregame talk with the senior point guard that led to this performance.

"I would say just having faith, faith in myself no matter what happens. I actually had a talk with Coach Woodson before shoot-around today, and he told me just if no one else in your corner that he is in my corner. We had a really good talk before shoot-around, and that just really boosted my spirits," Phinisee said. "Finally. We finally beat Purdue. That was, what, 0-6? We just needed this win. We needed this win bad.

"He's had his ups and downs... I told him what happened in the past is in the past... it's okay to be good, it's okay to great," Woodson added. "I told him tonight in the locker room no matter what anyone says, I'll always be in your corner."

Phinisee has had his ups and downs and been a player to receive a lot of criticism. But, on a day like Thursday and a shot like he hit, all of that criticism has gone away.

"I'll tell you that. No, just something I won't ever forget. Just these fans, they've supported me through everything, so I just want to say thank you," Phinisee said. "The crowd tonight was huge. They really boosted us. That moment is a moment I will never forget."

After the buzzer went off and the crowd stormed the court, there was one player in the middle -- Rob Phinisee.

"I was trying to make my way through the crowd to my teammates, and then once we got all in a circle, I think it was X actually who started it," Phinisee said of being lifted up in the middle of the crowd. "X tried to pick me up and Trayce picked me up, and all the teammates picked me up.

"Just a surreal experience I won't forget. I just love my teammates, and I love Indiana University."