WATCH: Purdue Coach Matt Painter Previews Rematch Against Indiana
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — After nearly a week between games, No. 5 Purdue basketball returns to the floor in a rematch with its in-state rival Indiana, which enters the meeting as the No. 17-ranked team in the country.
The Boilermakers will take on the Hoosiers at Mackey Arena on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET. The team lost the first meeting of the season between the two programs 79-74 on Feb. 4 in Bloomington. Ahead of the game, head coach Matt Painter met with the media to break down the matchup.
"You're going to have some similarities in a game when you play the first time, and you're going to have some differences. You're not always going to have the same game," Painter said. "I think in the previous game if you didn't turn the ball over and you made your free throws, you would have put yourself in a much better position."
Purdue turned the ball over 11 times in the first half at Assembly Hall and trailed 50-35 at halftime. The team finished with 16 turnovers in the game and went 10-of-17 from the foul line.
In the second half, the Boilermakers were able to erase the deficit and get to within one point but never took the lead. Junior center Zach Edey paved the way for the comeback attempt, scoring a game-high 33 points on 15-of-19 shooting.
Indiana was paced by star center Trayce Jackson-Davis, who scored 18 of his team-high 25 points in the first half.
"He runs out on the break so well, he's so fast that you have to pick him up and not get that run-out dunk or layup at that time," Painter said. "So I think everybody will have a chance at him and be able to guard him, but that's a team deal.
"When you have a player as great as Trayce Jackson-Davis, that's your whole team approach. Being able to stop him, but not at the expense of other people just getting wide-open looks. If you overdo it, he'll make you pay with his passing. If you don't do enough, he'll steamroll you like he did in the first half against us."
Starting with its loss to Indiana, Purdue was defeated three times during a four-game stretch but got back on the right foot with a dominant 82-55 win over Ohio State. The Boilermakers can clinch a share of the Big Ten regular-season title with a win over the Hoosiers on Saturday night.
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D.J. Fezler is a staff writer for BoilermakersCountry.com. Hailing from The Region, he is from Cedar Lake in Northwest Indiana and has spent the last two years covering Purdue football and basketball.