BLOOMINGTON, IN — The Hoosiers fall short once again, 46-48 at home, losing 10 of its last 11 games and pushing the losing streak to 3 games. Lids were installed on both rims as both teams struggled from the field.
Only one player on each team scored double figures. In particular, Purdue star Carsen Edwards ended up shooting 4-24 from the field, not hitting a single three.
This loss further derails IU’s tournament hopes in March.
Both teams started the game slow offensively, and that would continue until the final whistle of the game. Every possession was a battle, every possession was a struggle for the offense.
In the last 4 minutes of the first half, the Hoosiers took their first lead and, more importantly, kept it for an extended amount. Give the recent history of not being able to take leads, this was a breath of fresh air for Hoosier fans.
During the final four minutes of the half, the Hoosiers managed to tie game at 17 through Romeo Langford’s 4 free throws and tie the game at 20 through a Romeo long ball. The freshman would continue to
At the end of the first half, the game was knotted up at 20. First half leading scorers were Nojel Eastern (4 pts) and Romeo Langford (9 pts) for their respective teams. Players with two fouls on Purdue were Sasha Stefanovic, Ryan Cline, Grady Eifert, and Matt Haarms, while Robert Phinisee and Zach McRoberts each had two for IU.
Both teams shot less than 30% from the field overall, yet IU was better from beyond the arc. Surprisingly, Big Ten player of the year candidate Carsen Edwards was 1-11 from the field and 0-5 from downtown.
Now for players that are not familiar with bad offense, Indiana alumni Thomas Bryant, Jared Jeffries, and OG Anunoby were recognized during the break. With the NBA All-Star break, the trio returned back to see their Hoosiers play rival Purdue.
With Romeo Langford feeling ill to start the second half, Archie had to go with the set of Rob Phinisee, De’Ron Davis, Zach McRoberts, Juwan Morgan, and Al Durham.
With 13:36 left in the second half, Matt Haarms picked up his third foul, and got into a minor scrum with De’Ron Davis for the second time in the game. After further review, the referees gave Haarms a technical foul, leading to his fourth foul.
Purdue led IU 31-30 as both teams fell into a scoring drought once again. Juwan Morgan continued to struggle from the field and was 2-10 from the field, 0-4 from deep. Carsen Edwards was 2-16 from the field. With a little more than 8 minutes left, IU managed to tie the game briefly through a De’Ron Davis finish inside, until Ryan Cline immediately hit a deep 3 to regain the lead.
IU was 2 of its last 12 FG attempts, while Carsen Edwards still struggled to get going at the under 8. Phinisee had 4 personal fouls at this point as well. With a little over 6 minutes left, a De’Ron Davis tip in gave IU its first lead since the under 12 of the first half.
Both Robert Phinisee and Matt Haarms were in the game with a little less than 5 minutes even with foul trouble. Phinisee defense on Edwards forced a missed dunk into a Justin Smith layup, forcing Matt Painter to call timeout with 4:39 left. At this point, Edwards was 2-20 from the field, Purdue had a 3:14 scoring drought, and overall was 1 of its last 10. The Hoosiers were on a 6-0 run.
At the under 4, IU led 43-41, holding the lead since the 6-minute mark. The Hoosiers were up by 4 until Carsen Edwards hit a highly contested floater, quieting the loud Assembly Hall crowd. With 1:11 left, Archie Miller called timeout. During the previous 3 minutes, IU propelled its lead to 4 through Romeo Langford free throws.
However, Ryan Cline hit a clutch 3 that bounce and hung on the front iron before eventually dropping that cut the lead to 1. Matt Painter decided to call timeout with 44.6 seconds left.
Carsen Edwards hit a huge layup to take the lead with 38 seconds left, prompting coach Archie Miller to spend another timeout.
Time-running out, Langford was fouled by Nojel Eastern, sending him to the line for a one-and-one. After Langford hit the first free throw, coach Painter used his final timeout with the score tied at 46. Langford missed the second attempt, leading to a last shot situation for Purdue.
Edwards missed a mid-range jumper, yet Matt Haarms tipped the ball in with 3.1 seconds left to take a two-point lead.
Coach Miller used his final timeout to draw up the final set.
Rob Phinisee inbounded the ball cleanly to Justin Smith, who then passed to Morgan for a deep three-point attempt, which fell short. Purdue would prevail 48-46.
Leading scorers for each team were Ryan Cline (11 pts) and Romeo Langford (14 pts). Purdue ended up shooting 32% from the field to IU’s 27%.
The Boilermakers sweep the Hoosiers in the 2018-2019 season.
Ultimately Archie Miller was content with the team’s performance. The practices leading up to today showed positive momentum and despite the loss, the Hoosiers played with tenacity reminiscent of the game in East Lansing.
Many would argue that this drastic change came too late in the season. And it would be very difficult to debate them; however, Indiana has eyes on the Big Ten tournament and five regular season games between them.
Box Score
Next Up
Up next, IU rematches the Hawkeyes in Iowa City this Saturday at 9:00 pm EST, looking for revenge. If the Hoosiers still have even a slight chance at making the tournament, this is definitely a huge game. Look for a new scouting report on the Hawkeyes soon.