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Indiana vs. Purdue: Best games from the last decade of the rivalry

By Joey Loose

WEST LAFAYETTE, IN - FEBRUARY 28: Vince Edwards #12 of the Purdue Boilermakers shoots the ball against Freddie McSwain Jr. #21 of the Indiana Hoosiers at Mackey Arena on February 28, 2017 in West Lafayette, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
WEST LAFAYETTE, IN - FEBRUARY 28: Vince Edwards #12 of the Purdue Boilermakers shoots the ball against Freddie McSwain Jr. #21 of the Indiana Hoosiers at Mackey Arena on February 28, 2017 in West Lafayette, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
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BLOOMINGTON, IN – JANUARY 28: Vincent Edwards #12 of the Purdue Boilermakers drives to the basket against Juwan Morgan #13 of the Indiana Hoosiers in the second half of a game at Assembly Hall on January 28, 2018 in Bloomington, Indiana. Purdue won 74-67. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, IN – JANUARY 28: Vincent Edwards #12 of the Purdue Boilermakers drives to the basket against Juwan Morgan #13 of the Indiana Hoosiers in the second half of a game at Assembly Hall on January 28, 2018 in Bloomington, Indiana. Purdue won 74-67. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

3. #3 Purdue 74, at Indiana 67 (January 28, 2018)

As these two teams prepared to meet up for their only match-up of 2018, this was a clear mismatch on paper. In their first year under Archie Miller, Indiana had played well at times, but the year had mostly been a struggle, entering the game at 12-9, 5-4 in Big Ten play. This was not the case for Purdue. The Boilermakers had struggled mightily at the Battle 4 Atlantis, but that was it; they traveled to Bloomington at 20-2, 9-0 in Big Ten play and riding a 16 game winning streak. Purdue made their long run of success look easy, but nothing’s easy about a trip to Bloomington.

Just like everyone expected, Indiana jumped to a ten-point lead early, though they couldn’t hold onto their early 14-4 advantage for long. Purdue took their first lead on a Carsen Edwards 3-pointer with five minutes left in the first half, igniting another game of back and forth play. It was the Hoosier’s lead at half, but it was the Boilermakers pulling out the win due to a late drought for Indiana. Freddie McSwain Jr. hit a lay-up with four minutes left to pull Indiana within 1, but four straight empty possessions helped Purdue pull away late. The Boilermakers grinded out the win, led by center Isaac Haas (26 points) while getting 19 from Vince Edwards. Indiana shot 50%, but Juwan Morgan’s 24 points and Robert Johnson’s 21 wasn’t enough on this afternoon.

Purdue would fall to Michigan in the Big Ten title game, but secured a 2-seed after a really solid season. Unfortunately, a Chris Beard-led team would end their run once more, as they fell to Texas Tech in the Sweet Sixteen, giving a disappointing end to a 30-win season. Indiana’s season ended at 16-15 and without postseason play, but Archie Miller will have the program spinning out wins given a few years to reload the program.

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