[8] Purdue 69, Indiana 67 (Postgame Notes)
- Purdue improved to 25-6 overall and finished 14-6 in the Big Ten with a 69-67 win over arch-rival Indiana in front of the 41st straight sellout at Mackey Arena.
- The 25 wins mark the 15th time in school history with 25 wins, including nine in the last 15 years under head coach Matt Painter. The 25 wins are tied for the fifth most in a regular season in school history.
- Purdue has won at least 14 Big Ten games in four of the last seven seasons (2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19, 2021-22). It won 13 league games last year, but had one game canceled by Covid-19.
- The win came in Matt Painter's 600th career game, now owning a 405-195 career record (380 wins at Purdue; 25 at Southern Illinois).
- Since the start of the 2014-15 season, Purdue is 105-46 against Big Ten opposition (all games) and 65-10 at Mackey Arena against Big Ten teams.
- Purdue has owned the Big Ten's best home record (by season) in 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2022, going 9-1 this season. Purdue owns a 27-2 home record since the start of last season with both losses coming to the Big Ten Champions (Michigan – 2021; Wisconsin – 2022).
- The 16 home wins are tied for the second most in school history (2015-16 – 17 wins).
- Purdue has won 10 its last 11 games, and 13 of its last 15 games, against Indiana. Since the 2008-09 season, Purdue is 18-6 against Indiana.
- Purdue's seven-game home winning streak against Indiana is the longest in school history.
- Since the start of the 2016-17 season, Purdue is 21-3 against in-state opposition.
- Purdue has now held four of its last six opponents under 70 points, and all six of them to 72 points or fewer.
- Purdue's senior class combined for 40 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists.
- Trevion Williams passed JaJuan Johnson for seventh place on the career rebounds list (857).
- Sasha Stefanovic passed Robbie Hummel for seventh place on the career 3-pointers made list (218).
- Eric Hunter Jr., scored 17 points with five rebounds and five assists, going 3-of-6 from long range. Hunter finished Big Ten play 23-of-43 (.535) from long distance, leading the Big Ten in 3-point percentage.
- Sasha Stefanovic had 15 points to push his career total to 948 career points.
- Zach Edey recorded his eighth double-double of the season with 10 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high tying four blocked shots.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue's seniors celebrated one final time on their home court Saturday.
It was the next best thing to a Big Ten regular-season title — a victory over archrival Indiana.
Eric Hunter Jr. had 17 points, Trevion Williams made the tying basket with less than six minutes left and Sasha Stefanovic hit the go-ahead 3-pointer as the eighth-ranked Boilermakers rallied past Indiana 69-67."Against IU, there's always a little different energy in here, but it was awesome," Stefanovic said. "I can't really think of a better way to go out of here in Mackey with that crowd and that result."
Stefanovic finished with 15 points, including three 3-pointers. Hunter added five points, five rebounds and made three 3s, and Williams had eight points and eight rebounds.
All three have announced they will not return next season, and they went out in style. The Boilermakers (25-6, 14-6) snapped a season-long two-game losing streak and gave coach Matt Painter a victory in his 600th career game as a head coach.
No, this one didn't follow the script, and at times things got ugly, testy and perilous for Purdue. After trailing 56-52 with 5:42 to go, the upperclassmen delivered with a 7-0 run that kept the Boilermakers in front the rest of the game.
"All three made big plays," Painter said. "Trevion, Eric and Sasha all really came through for us."
Xavier Johnson led the Hoosiers with 18 points and a career-high 12 assists, but his half-court heave to win it with 0.3 seconds left was an air ball. Trayce Jackson-Davis had 15 points and six rebounds while Miller Kopp scored 14 points for Indiana (18-12, 9-11).
The Hoosiers have blown late leads in each of their last two games and have lost seven of nine overall.
Indiana got as close as one over the final stretch and had a couple of chances to tie it or take the lead.
But Kopp blew one by turning the ball over on an errant inbound pass with 11.5 seconds left. After Williams missed two free throws with 6.3 seconds remaining, Johnson's desperation heave landed out of bounds with 0.3 seconds left.
"Miller made a bad pass," coach Mike Woodson said. "We've completed that pass and there have been times on that play he has made a great play."
BIG PICTURE
Indiana: All season, the Hoosiers have been on the cusp of big wins. But aside from home wins over Ohio State and Purdue, the Hoosiers have generally fallen short. Too many close losses, like Saturday's, have left Indiana dancing on the edge of making or missing the NCAA Tournament, and a win or two at next week's conference tournament would certainly help.
Purdue: The Boilermakers missed out on the league's regular-season title, but Purdue still hit some major milestones Saturday. The program reached 25 wins for the 15th time and is 101-11 in its last 112 home games. Purdue also regained some momentum as its seeks bigger goals in March and April.