Purdue Basketball: Why Boilermakers have been better than Indiana since 2000
By Matt Moore
Recently I was bantering back and forth on Twitter with Purdue Basketball fans. I must admit, it is a fun pass time. The argument of the day spawned from a silly Twitter poll Fox Sports was promoting, asking which Big Ten program has the best basketball venue. You guessed it, two of the choices were Assembly Hall in Bloomington and Mackey Arena in West Lafayette.
The answer to that question is purely subjective. We can argue back and forth all day, and no one can legitimately claim an upper hand. Indiana is 606-126 all-time at Assembly Hall, with a .828 win percentage. Purdue is 637-139 all-time at Mackey Arena, with a .821 win percentage. That is what you call a wash. Both programs have a huge competitive advantage when playing at home. Statistically, it is an almost dead-even advantage.
That twitter conversation with Boilermaker fans got me thinking though, how do Indiana and Purdue stack up against each other? Indiana fans are going to immediately go to our favorite argument—banners.
Indiana has five national championship banners, while Purdue has none. That tried and true argument is accurate Hoosier fans, but let’s be real–we haven’t sniffed a championship since 2002, and we haven’t won one since 1987. In basketball terms, that is ancient history. That means the kids you are recruiting now were not alive when any of that happened. Not good.
So, I decided to undertake what I assumed would be a painful process. I decided to put Indiana and Purdue side by side and take an honest look at how the two Big Ten stalwarts compare. However, much to the assumed chagrin of my Indiana brethren, I decided to make this a 21st Century affair. My comparison of the two programs would only include the seasons beginning with 2000-2001 through the present.
Indiana fans, the remainder of this article may be hazardous to your health. I want to get that out there right now, just in case you have a weak constitution. If you have a queazy stomach, this would be a great place to leave off and go visit Assembly Call and listen to a soothing Hoosier fan podcast. Reading this will not be as comforting as that will.