Purdue vs. Indiana: 2019-20 college basketball preview, TV schedule

The Purdue Boilermakers put their pride on the line as they host the in-state Indiana Hoosiers, still playing for an NCAA Tournament bid.

TV Schedule: Thursday, February 27, 2020 at 7:00 PM ET, FS1

Location: Mackey Arena, West Lafayette, Indiana

Time is running out for the Purdue Boilermakers, if it hasn’t already. The promising metrics that have accompanied them through each step of this season have not been backed by wins lately, putting them in a perilous position.

Purdue is 14-14 this season and 0-4 in their last four games, all against teams who will likely find themselves in the Big Dance come March. That has helped keep their NET ranking at a solid 37, but a .500 record isn’t going to cut it for the Boilermakers. In our latest Bubble Watch, Purdue resides squarely outside of the field.

To win this game, Matt Painter’s team needs to clamp down on their 3-point defense. During the four-game losing streak, Purdue’s opponents have been averaging 10.5 field goals made from 3-point range, including a 14-of-26 performance from the Penn State Nittany Lions to get this boulder rolling. Indiana averages just 5.4 threes per game, so limiting the damage on the perimeter should be doable.

This is an Indiana team that has been feeling themselves lately, though, and they enter Thursday’s rivalry game with all the momentum. They seemed dead in the water after a four-game losing streak of their own, but the Hoosiers have won three of their last four, including convincing wins over ranked Iowa and Penn State teams to turn their season around. The Hoosiers now appear to be safely in the field.

Trayce Jackson-Davis remains infuriating at times, but he has saved his best for the most important moments. In a recent road game at Minnesota, the freshman forward had the best game of his career, scoring 27 points and grabbing 16 rebounds in a must-win game against the Golden Gophers.

The atmosphere of this game should differ wildly from the one that accompanied the last one, a 74-62 victory for Purdue at Assembly Hall. That’s the game where Bob Knight returned to Bloomington for the first time in two decades, only to see his Hoosiers look lackadaisical against their rivals. Notably, Purdue hasn’t won since that Feb. 8 game.

Still, this is a rivalry that has belonged to the Boilermakers in recent years. Indiana hasn’t secured a win over Purdue since February 2016. It’s been even longer since Indiana has won on the road against Purdue, with their last win at Mackey Arena coming all the way back in January 2013.

In that last meeting between the two teams, they were relatively even in all aspects except two: three-point shooting and fouls. The Boilermakers made half of their attempts, going 8-of-16 from three, while the Hoosiers made just a third of their attempts (7-of-21). Additionally, Indiana committed 22 fouls to Purdue’s 14, leading Purdue to make more free throws than Indiana even attempted.

Prior to the current losing streak, Purdue had just two losses at home this season – they’re up to four now. They hope that Mackey magic reigns supreme once again, this time against a rival.

Prediction: Purdue 71, Indiana 62