WEST LAFAYETTE – The Indiana Hoosiers (17-10, 8-8) just got waxed at Mackey Arena by No. 7 Purdue (22-5, 12-4). Purdue scored more than Indiana and let’s leave it at that.
Now forget it happened.
“We can't hang on to this one very long,” Indiana head coach Darian DeVries said postgame.
The players should, the staff, the fans, and whoever else is supporting Indiana should have the memory of a goldfish and forget it happened immediately.
“It's important for us to understand that we got some big four games coming up down the stretch, and we're playing for a lot right now,” senior Tucker DeVries said postgame.
Those four games left on Indiana’s schedule: chances at revenge versus both Minnesota and No. 15 Michigan State, paired with games versus Northwestern at home and Ohio State on the road.
Northwestern is the get right game for Indiana. The Wildcats are 1-7 on the road in the Big Ten with that win coming against USC by six thanks to a 15% shooting split by the Trojans from downtown.
The Wildcats roll into Assembly at an opportune time for the Hoosiers on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Eastern on FS1.
Indiana lost at Minnesota on Dec. 3 — it’s been over two months since IU played its first Big Ten game together. Indiana’s issue was not finishing after being tied a half. Something that’s seemingly changed in the last few weeks, especially in Assembly Hall. Please direct your attention to the Wisconsin game, the Purdue game and the UCLA game even though it was on the road.
Not to mention, Minnesota upset Iowa and MSU at home who are two ranked opponents. The Golden Gophers are 2-6 on the road with wins over Northwestern and Oregon. Obviously, IU has already handled Oregon this year.
Minnesota will be Indiana’s senior night on March 4, at 6:30 p.m. Eastern on BTN.
The other rematch Indiana has is Michigan State. A game IU was only down seven at half, on the road. That fell apart. IU was down seven at half, then beat themselves up to blow it all up in the second half.
With the Hoosier Faithful behind them, Indiana is much more composed. Look at the WIN versus Purdue compared to whatever happened on Friday. Now forget about Friday again.
The common denominator here is Indiana isn’t good on the road, at all. At home they are a different ball club entirely: 13-2 at home versus 3-7 on the road.
Breaking news: home crowds help, who knew. Right?
That news has the chance to gain more backing evidence when Indiana hosts No. 15 MSU on March 1, at 3:45 p.m. Eastern on CBS.
The issue is Indiana going to Ohio State. Except, Ohio State has been alternating game results for the last eight straight. Win, loss, win, loss, and so on for their last eight.
A shaky Ohio State team overall, who’s 5-3 at home versus the Big Ten is a positive matchup for Indiana. Funnily enough, their resume resembles Indiana to a point.
It just depends on which Ohio State team shows up on March 7, at 5:30 p.m. Eastern on FOX.
Four games to go for Indiana, forget about the last 27, and make a push to the Big Dance in March.
