By: Dakota Isgrigg | January 17th | @dakota_isgrigg | @BoilerInTexas

Purdue came into this week with two very important games on the docket for very different reasons. Today on January 17th, they welcomed the Penn State Nittany Lions to Mackey Arena as Purdue finished a 4-game road streak by finally returning to the friends confines of Mackey. The other game is the one we all look forward to from the jump. Our Boilermakers traveled down to Bloomington to take on the team we all love to hate, the Indiana Hoosiers.

Here is how those games went!

1/17/21 - Purdue 80 vs Penn State 72

Purdue came off their game against Indiana with some momentum and needed to take care of business with Penn State coming to West Lafayette. There was a weird snafu where Purdue was forced to change out of their home white uniforms into their home blacks because Penn State brought their road grey uniforms and that was a first for a lot of us. What followed over the course of the next 2.5 hours was a classic Big Ten rock fight.

It should have been obvious to everyone that there would rarely be a night where you can check out of a game because the other team gave up. Penn State surely didn’t ever give up and gave Purdue fits down the stretch. This game had all the makings of a classic trap game with Purdue coming off their (Spoilers) win over Indiana on Thursday. The first half ended with Purdue up 1, 33-32, after a last second 3 from Mason Gillis.

The second half, Purdue managed to build a lead on the back of defense and shot making. They held the Nittany Lions scoreless for the first 3-minutes of the second half to build a double-digit lead. Purdue held PSU at arms length before a bit of stress towards the final few minutes where Penn State began to find success pressuring Purdue full court. That said, Purdue made the plays necessary to win and walked out with a W.

Stats:

Purdue found all 5 starters in double figures for a balanced scoring attack. They did struggle from deep today but found success from the free throw line.

• Eric Hunter Jr: 4-8 FG (0-3 3PT) / 6-6 FT / 14pts / 4reb / 5ast

• Brandon Newman: 4-10 FG (1-5 3PT) / 4-4 FT / 13pts / 5reb / 1ast / 3blk

• Sasha Stefanovic: 5-12 FG ( 3-10 3PT) / 2-3 FT / 15pts / 6reb / 2ast/ 1stl

• Mason Gillis: 2-7 FG (2-6 3PT) / 6-6 FT / 12pts / 5reb / 1ast / 2stl

• Trevion Williams: 6-10 FG / 1-6 FT / 13pts / 11reb / 1ast / 1stl

Team Stats:

• FG: 40.3% - Solid

• 3PT%: 18.8% - Yikes

• FT: 24-33 (72.7%) - Good

• Turnovers: 12

Penn State POTG:

• Myreon Jones: 23pts / 9-22 FG (5-13 3PT)

  • Jones kept PSU in it late with some long distant threes that kept Purdue from pushing the lead further.

Final Thoughts

I think many fans will look at the last few minutes and worry about this team, but I will choose to look at it the other way. This team continues to face adversity and tough situations. Earlier in the year this team really never overcame those games and lost. Now we have the Michigan State game as well as this one to point to and go, “see they never gave up and even though Penn State was giving them all they could handle, Purdue held on.”

These are the games where you just have to focus on the positives and look forward to the next one. A win is a win and the good guys got the win in this one!

Finish with the favorite result!

1/14/21 - Purdue 81 at Indiana 69

Boy, this was on my mind literally all day on Thursday! I knew that this was going to be interesting for both teams with no fans being allowed inside Assembly Hall. Normally the crowd would be so hostile you could feel the hatred through the TV. But this time it was quiet, calm, and you could hear every word uttered on the floor. Weird.

The Hoosiers had no answer for Trevion Williams, that much was obvious as T-Will asserted his dominance all night long early and often. It wasn’t just in the paint where the Boilermakers found success as they shot 11-17 from deep to bury the Hoosiers. Eric Hunter Jr. knocked down 3 threes along with Jaden Ivey, Sasha Stefanovic, and Brandon Newman also contributing 2 each.

Indiana only found offense through Trayce Jackson-Davis who got his finishing with 25 points. That said… outside the big man, IU really struggled on offense and it kept them from really being competitive down the stretch.

Now that it’s over:

• 8 wins in a row

• 11 of the last 12

• 1,792 days since IU’s last win.

  • If Purdue wins at the end of the season this number will cross 2,000 days and that’s nutty.

• Feels Like Home

Stats:

Purdue showed a steady diet of Trevion Williams inside as the big man led the way Thursday night. They were balanced out by contributions from the outside with some hot three-point shooting from a plethora of guards.

• Trevion Williams: 9-15 FG / 4-9 FT / 22pts / 10reb / 2ast

• Brandon Newman: 2-6 FG (2-3 3PT) / 6-6 FT / 12pts / 6reb / 1st / 2stl / 1blk

• Eric Hunter Jr.: 3-5 FG ( 3-4 3PT) / 2-2 FT / 11pts / 2reb / 4ast

• Jaden Ivey: 3-4 FG (2-2 3PT) / 13pts / 2reb / 2ast / 1ast

Team Stats:

• FG: 53.2% - 25-47 is pretty good!

• 3PT%: 64.7% - :fire-emoji:

• FT: 20-31 (64.5%%) - Trevion solid but need to bump this up

• Turnovers: 14

Indiana POTG:

• Trace Jackson-Davis: 9-16 FG / 7-14 FT / 4reb / 1ast / 1blk

  • This was an easy pick. He was all IU had all night and it showed.

Final Thoughts

Indiana doesn’t seem to have an identity in year 4 of Archie Miller and their fans are making their frustrations heard all over social media. Of course, Purdue fans would love nothing more than to have the IU brass extend Archie and throw their full support behind their head coach.

For Purdue, beating the Hoosiers has become the norm and the way the two programs look, that trend could stick around for a long long time.

Up Next!

Purdue begins a brutal stretch where they are playing a bunch of games in a short span to make room for some rescheduled games.

Up next is Ohio State on the 19th in Columbus as the Boilers try to keep the road mojo going. After the Bucks, Michigan comes to town on the 22nd as they are just coming off their first loss of the season as they got beat pretty handily in Minneapolis by the Gophers.

If Purdue can keep the momentum moving forward and continue to play well, these games will pay huge dividends down the stretch.

As always, Boiler Up, Hammer Down, Hail Purdue!