Happy Anniversary! It's Been 2,000 Days Since Indiana Has Beaten Purdue in Basketball

Purdue fans went to social media to celebrate an anniversary of sorts on Thursday, Aug. 12. It's now been 2,000 days since the Boilermakers have lost to bitter in-state arch-rival Indiana, winning nine games in a row, the second-longest streak in the history of the rivalry.

Tom Brew | Aug 12, 2021

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Sasha Stefanovic tried to think back to Feb. 20, 2016, but it was all a little fuzzy for him. He was a junior at Crown Point High School at the time, and he remembered beating arch-rival Lake Central the night before more than he remembered Indiana's 77-73 win over Purdue on the 20th.

That's understandable, because it was a long time ago. And if you were wondering why you were hearing champagne corks popping all over town on Thursday, that's because it was an anniversary of sorts. That 2016 win by the Hoosiers was the last time that Purdue has lost in the rivalry.

A mere 2,000 days ago.

Since that fateful February night in Bloomington – when Barack Obama was still president and Tom Crean was still coaching Indiana – Purdue has won nine straight games in the bitter in-state war, the second-longest winning streak in the rivalry.

Players have come and gone at Indiana wearing the collar, never experiencing a win. And it's just the opposite at Purdue. Stefanovic has witnessed seven straight wins since he arrived in the fall of 2017. The streak was already two games old when he got there.

And he's loved every minute of it. Everyone has, Purdue fans and players alike. And it's contributed to two coaches – Tom Crean and Archie Miller – getting fired at Indiana.

"We've had some success here of late the last few years against them,'' Stefanovic said during a Zoom call on Thursday. "But every single time you play against Indiana, you know it's going to be a war, you know it's going to be a battle.

"It's one of the games I really look forward to. It's such a unique rivalry, and it's so much fun to go into Assembly and hearing their fans. They don't like us. It's a great environment, and it's a really fun thing to be a part of it. I'm really glad that we have a lot of guys from Indiana and they do as well, and I think it's great that we all get to experience that rivalry together.''

The fan experience makes it special, too, whether the game is at Assembly Hall in Bloomington or Mackey Arena in West Lafayette. Indiana fans are tough on the Purdue players down south, and Stefanovic said they get amped up a little more at Mackey thanks to the fans.

"A little bit, and that comes with any major rival that you have,'' Stefanovic said of the fan boost. "It's such a unique game. There's so much more energy around it, and so much history behind it. Whether we're playing at home or away, you know it's going to be a great crowd that's wild and everybody's screaming and you know you're going to get a great game every time.''

Purdue won twice last year, and both games were played with no fans in the stands outside of family and friends because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"That was definitely different, both times that we played them where you only had a few hundred people in the stands,'' Stefanovic said. "It's not the norm, that's for sure.

"I'm really looking forward to having stadiums full again and having 100 percent capacity again and really experience that rivalry for what it is.''

The 2021-22 season should be a big one for the Boilermakers, who are a likely top-10 team when the season starts. They have many lofty goals, including chasing some championships, but beating Indiana twice once again also ranks right up there.

"No doubt,'' Stefanovic said. "We're looking forward to those few games coming up. It's going to be good. It always is''

Here's your refresher course on the lopsided rivalry in the past 2,000 days.

The last IU win: Indiana 77, Purdue 73

When: Feb. 20, 2016
Where: Simon Skodjt Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Ind.
Top Purdue scorers: Caleb Swanigan had 14 points and A.J. Hammons 13. Three others were in double figures, Vincent Edwards (12), Isaac Haas (12) and P.J. Thompson (11).
Top Indiana scorers: Troy Williams had 19 points, and Yogi Ferrell had 18. Thomas Bryant and Max Bielfeldt had 10 each.
The skinny: Indiana had a double-digit lead in the second half, but the Boilermakers came storming back. Purdue's Dakota Mathias hit a three-pointer with 39 seconds left to make it 75-73, but Yogi Ferrell sealed the deal for the Hoosiers with a basket with seven seconds to go.

Purdue win No. 1: Purdue 69, Indiana 64

When: Feb. 9, 2017
Where: Simon Skodjt Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Ind.
Top Purdue scorers: Vincent Edwards was on fire, scoring 26 points in the Purdue win. Swanigan had 16 and Carsen Edwards scored 13.
Top Indiana scorers: Thomas Bryant had 23 points and James Blackmon Jr., added 11.
The skinny: Vincent Edwards' 26 points were a career high, and a crazy reversal of a call in the final minute made this a memorable win for the Boilers. Indiana fans cried bloody murder that the referees stole this one from them in the final minute.

Purdue win No. 2: Purdue 86, Indiana 75

When: Feb. 28, 2017
Where: Mackey Arena, West Lafayette, Ind.
Top Purdue scorers: Swanigan had 21 points thanks to 11-of-12 shooting from the free throw line and Mathias had 19. Vincent Edwards added 15.
Top Indiana scorers: Blackmon had 16 points, and Josh Newkirk and freshman Devonte Green added 13
The skinny: Purdue clinched a share of the Big Ten title with the win, building a 15-point lead in the first half and fending off a couple of Indiana rallies in the second half.

Purdue win No. 3: Purdue 74, Indiana 67

When: Jan. 28, 2018
Where: Simon Skodjt Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Ind.
Top Purdue scorers: Isaac Haas had 26 points, Vincent Edwards and 19 and Carsen Edwards had 10.
Top Indiana scorers: Juwan Morgan had 24 points and Robert Johnson added 21
The skinny: The two teams only met once in the 2018 season, and the Boilermakers won by continually pounding the ball inside to Haas. Purdue was ranked No. 3 in the country at the time, and had won 17 games in a row.

Purdue win No. 4: Purdue 70, Indiana 55

When: Jan. 19, 2019
Where: Mackey Arena, West Lafayette, Ind.
Top Purdue scorers: Carsen Edwards led the way with 20 points. Matt Haarms had 12 and Nojel Eastern added 10.
Top Indiana scorers: Justin Smith had 15, and Juwan Morgan had 14.
The skinny: Eastern had a double-double for Purdue, but his biggest contributions might have been on the defensive end, where he shut down heralded Indiana freshman Romeo Langford. The five-star recruit had only four points on 2-for-10 shooting, and missed all four of his free throw attempts. Purdue fans chanted ''overrated'' throughout the game.

Purdue win No. 5: Purdue 48, Indiana 46

When: Feb. 19, 2019
Where: Simon Skodjt Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Ind.
Top Purdue scorers: Ryan Cline was the only Boilermaker in double figures, scoring 11 points.
Top Indiana scorers: Romeo Langford led the Hoosiers with 14 points.
The skinny: The Boilermakers defense was stifling in this ugly victory, holding Indiana to just 27.3 percent shooting from the field. Indiana made only 15 field goals the entire game. It was Carsen Edwards' worst game as a Boilermaker. He was just 4-for-24 from the field and 0-for-10 from three-point range.

Purdue win No. 6: Purdue 74, Indiana 62

When: Feb. 8, 2020
Where: Simon Skodjt Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Ind.
Top Purdue scorers: Eric Hunter Jr. led the Boilermakers with 12 points, and Aaron Wheeler (11) and Sasha Stefanovic (10) were also in double figures.
Top Indiana scorers: Trayce Jackson-Davis had 16 points for Indiana, while Justin Smith added 11 and Jerome Hunter had 10.
The skinny: This might be the only game in this storied rivalry that ever took a back seat to the halftime entertainment. It was the day that former Indiana legend Bob Knight returned to Assembly Hall for this first time since his firing 20 years earlier. Former Purdue great Gene Keady was in attendance as well. Purdue won easily, and Archie Miller's Hoosiers didn't show much effort, which stunned Indiana fans on such an important night.

Purdue win No. 7: Purdue 57, Indiana 49

When: Feb. 27, 2020
Where: Mackey Arena, West Lafayette, Ind.
Top Purdue scorers: Trevion Williams scored 19 points and Eric Hunter Jr. added 17.
Top Indiana scorers: Devonte Green had 11 points off the bench for the Hoosiers. Indiana's five starters scored only 27 points, and shot just 25 percent from the field
The skinny: Purdue's defense continued to dominate once again, holding Indiana under 50 points for the second time in two years.

Purdue win No. 8: Purdue 81, Indiana 69

When: Jan. 14, 2021
Where: Simon Skodjt Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Ind.
Top Purdue scorers: Trevion Williams had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Jaden Ivey (13), Brandon Newman (12) and Eric Hunter Jr. (11) were all in double figures.
Top Indiana scorers: Trayce Jackson-Davis had 25 points in a losing effort, while Armaan Franklin had 14 and Race Thompson added 13.
The skinny: Purdue won this game from the three-point line, making 11 of 17 three-pointers to blow out the Hoosiers. Newman, Hunter, Stefanovic and Ivey all hit multiple long balls.

Purdue win No. 9: Purdue 67, Indiana 58

When: March 6, 2021
Where: Mackey Arena, West Lafayette, Ind.
Top Purdue scorers: Freshman Zach Edey had 20 points off the bench, and Jaden Ivey added 17.
Top Indiana scorers: Indiana had four players in double figures, led by Al Durham with 14 points, Trayce Jackson-Davis and Jerome Hunter with 12 and Rob Phinisee with 10
The skinny: Indiana coach Archie Miller will be fired two weeks later, and the fact that he went 0-7 against Purdue had a lot to do with that. The ninth-straight win is now the second-longest winning streak for Purdue in the rivalry. The record is 12, set in 1908 through 1914.

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Published Aug 12, 2021

TOM BREW

Tom Brew is an award-winning journalist who's worked at some America's finest newspapers, including the Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and the Indianapolis Star. He also owns the book publishing company, Hilltop30 Publishing Group, and he has written four books and published 16 others.