Indiana Rally Comes Up Just Short in 69-67 Loss to No. 8 Purdue

The battle of arch-rivals went down to the wire, but No. 8 Purdue held on to beat Indiana 69-67 on Saturday at Mackey Arena to close out the regular season for both schools.

Tom Brew | Mar 5, 2022

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Indiana's failure to finish games this season has been well documented, but the Hoosiers stood toe to toe with No. 8 Purdue on Saturday at Mackey Arena and slugged it out right to the last second

The Hoosiers had a shot as time wound down, but couldn't get it off. Indiana point guard Xavier Johnson tried to draw contact late on a final shot, but no call was made and Purdue held on for a 69-67 win.

"I wasn't trying to get contact, but he was holding me and there was nothing I could do but that,'' said Johnson, who had 18 points and a season-high 12 assists. "Sure, I would have rather gotten closer to the basket, but it didn't happen.''

The game lived up to that bitter in-state rivalry hype, with fans on their edge of their seats for the entire final 25 minutes of the game. Indiana (18-12, 9-11 in the Big Ten) trailed by as many as 13 points midway through the first half, but made a nice late run to get re-engaged.

It was a four-point game at the break, and Purdue went back ahead by eight at 48-40 when senior guard Sasha Stefanovic hit a three. Indiana made a run, though, led by Trayce Jackson-Davis and Rob Phinisee, who scored on a layup to cap an 11-0 run to put Indiana ahead 51-48.

It was a bad look for Purdue, who's been there before recently in one-possession losses at Michigan State and Wisconsin that knocked them out of the Big Ten race.

Neither team led by more than five the rest of the way and kept exchanging haymakers, and Purdue did a great job with grabbing the lead right back after losing.

Winning against their arch-rival, on Senior Day no less, was mandatory, and Purdue came through when they needed to.

"It's Senior Day, and you expect it to mean a little more,'' said Purdue senior center Trevion Williams, who had eight points and eight rebounds, including two offensive rebounds late that maintained possessions and led to baskets.''

Indiana rode Johnson and Trayce Jackson-Davis in the second half, getting great looks. Jackson-Davis, whose second-half struggles have been well documented recently, had 13 points in the half. Johnson had 10 points and nine assists in the second half alone, and Miller Kopp helped a bunch with three three-pointers.

The biggest of Williams' rebounds led to a put-back that put Purdue ahead 67-63 with 2:36 to go. Indiana turned it over on a bad pass from Johnson intended for Jackson-Davis in a crowded lane, but then Jackson-Davis blocked a Jaden Ivey shot on the other end.

Kopp hit a pull-up jumper along the right baseline at the 1:41 mark to get Indiana back within two. Purdue point guard Eric Hunter Jr., who finished with 17 points, five rebounds and five assists, missed a driving layup, but Johnson's shot was blocked on the other end. Parker Stewart had a wide open look for a three with 16 seconds to go, but it went wide. Indiana got the ball back though, after a Jackson-Davis offensive rebound.

Indiana's inbounds pass from Kopp to Jackson-Davis was stolen by Williams, and he was fouled right away with 12 seconds to go, and he make both free throws to make it 69-65.

"It was just understanding their personnel,'' Williams said. "Just realizing the time and situation, down two, I knew it was either going to Race (Thompson) or Trayce, so I just tried to stay in the paint and make a stop. It was film, instincts, scouting reports. It all plays a part. I was a big play. I know that''

It sure was,

"I probably threw that a half-second too late,'' Kopp said. It's something we work, and I thought it was there. He made a good play.''

Purdue fouled Johnson with eight seconds to go, and he made both. Indiana fouled right away and this time, Williams missed both shots with six seconds. Johnson pushed the ball up the floor quickly but couldn't get a good shot up.

Purdue is now 25-6 on the season and finishes with a 14-6 regular season record.

Indiana is locked into the 8-9 game in the Big Ten Tournament now, and their opponent will be determined after Sunday's six games. The most likely scenarios are Michigan or Michigan State, with top-seed Wisconsin in the the following round.

The Hoosiers likely need to win at least two games in the tournament to get an NCAA Tournament bid after dropping both games this week.''

Indiana guard Xavier Johnson (0) passes the ball to Indiana forward Trayce Jackson-Davis (23) during the first half Saturday at Purdue (USA TODAY Sports)

For Indiana, Johnson had 18 points, 12 assists and five rebounds and has averaged 19 points per game the past two-plus weeks. Jackson-Davis had 15 points and six rebounds, and Race Thompson had nine early points and 10 rebounds. Kopp's 14 points were his highest total since scoring 28 against Syracuse in late November.

Johnson's improved play give

"Our pick-and-roll offense tonight was probably the best it's been all season,'' Indiana coach Mike Woodson said. ''We didn't make a lot of threes out of it — (the Hoosiers were 5-for-20 from deep) — but we got a lot of good looks. I thought that play for Parker late was really good. He had a wide open look, but he just couldn't get it to go down. That's sort of the story of our season, really.''

Woodson's first regular season is over now, and now it's on to the postseason. The Hoosiers, despite their two losses this week, still feel confident they can make some noise.

"I feel like we can we beat anybody in the Big Ten, and I think we've proved that,'' Kopp said. "It all starts over now, 0-and-0. "But we're confident we can play well. We aren;'t done yet.''

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