Indiana played really well against Purdue for a long time on the road, but it wasn't enough. The eighth-placed Boilers outplayed their state rivals 69–67, trailing 17 points and receiving five assists from senior point guard Eric Hunter Jr. Indiana held on to four points after coming out of a 33–20 first-half deficit. The lead with less than seven minutes to go, but the Hoosiers came up a little short. Xavier Johnson's potentially game-winner was away in the closing seconds, but Indiana was expecting a foul.
Johnson had one of the best games of his Indiana career, scoring 18 points, 12 assists, and five rebounds. He tortured Purdue's pick-n'-roll defense overnight. Trace Jackson-Davis scored 15 points, while Miller Kopp added 14 points. Race Thompson conceded nine points and 10 rebounds.
Indiana really bottled up Purdue's Big Three of Jaden Ivey (10 points, three turnovers), Zach Eddie (10 points) and Travian Williams (eight points, three turnovers), but Hunter was excellent and Sasha Stefanovic scored three 3- Pointers separated and ended up with 15 points.
Indiana's NCAA could desperately use a win over Purdue to restart the tournament. But the Hoosiers are now forced to move to the Big Ten tournament to realize they have a chance at selection Sunday.
On the last game in regulation:
"Obviously, there was no contact. The referee said it wasn't a foul. All you can do at that particular time is get the ball to the floor and try to take a shot. Hopefully, one on the defensive. There's a breakdown and you can pass it on and take a shot. There's not a lot of time."
On the game that Purdue stole in the last minute:
"I don't think there's anything risky. That's not the word to use. He was open and Miller [Kopp] made a bad pass. Normally we've finished that pass and he's on that play." Some good things have happened. It was a big drama."
What led to the return of Indiana:
"Okay, our pick-'n'-roll offense tonight was probably the best it's been this season because we were able to spread the floor and get some good looks. We didn't make our three, but we got a bunch of good at it Looks. I thought the Parker [Stewart] three that could have put us up... It couldn't have been more wide open. He just didn't make it. The other night he made a bigger one. It kind of It's been the same throughout the season in terms of ball shooting. But I'm happy with the way we competed. We gave ourselves a chance to win a game in an adverse situation. It's a tough building to win, And I thought we were very, very competitive."
On the defense of Indiana:
"We've been good defensively all year long. Basically we've set the table in terms of the kind of weather we've had. We've seen our ups and downs offensively, but defensively it makes us compete Puts you in a position to play and be in the game every night. But it's hard to come out on the road and lose a game like this. I thought they got all 50-50 balls, and it was a big buzz before the game You're on the road. You've gotta win the 50-50 game, and they outclassed us in that area tonight."
On Xavier Johnson's injury:
"He pulled it as he started reaching for it. When I saw what I thought was a kind of hamstring, I pulled it. He wasn't out anyway, but it was a way to get him out." The reason was because I thought he must have hurt himself."
If Indiana is close to winning a few games in the Big Ten tournament and making it to the NCAA tournament:
"Only time will tell. Still going to have to take it one game at a time and see how it goes for us."
But if they practice late game situations:
"Of course we do... of course we do. We practice on full-court, and we practice on the side. There was a shot we had six, seven seconds. How do you like that? ? Parker [Stewart] was wide open, and he just missed wide-open three. Not much you can do with five, six seconds. You just have to get it on the floor, if someone breaks you Give them the ball and you shoot it. [Xavier Johnson] was trying to commit a foul at that particular time, and it went blank."
On Parker Stewart's defense on Jaden Ivy:
"When you think about the two games I played between Indiana and Purdue, those are the types of games you're going to get. No one wants to give up. [Jaden] Ivey thought in his own way, especially In the second half. He was huge. And tonight, I thought we did a great job. Parker [Stewart] was taking care of him very well tonight."
Why Trace Jackson-Davis had a strong other half:
"We just opened up the floor a little bit and [Xavier Johnson] had this going. The way they play defense and tag with the back side of your pick and roll, it opens things up. And it's not a knock against them." , they are a good defensive team. But I saw a few holes in it and I tried to take advantage of it a little bit and we were successful. X was going down, he was pulling up with his shot, and he passed getting the top behind my defense and getting that throwback where we were actually getting the shots. There are times teams play us where we can't play in the open because they just sit there, and tonight it's a little bit more was freely."