Breakdown: Purdue's win at Indiana

PDF: Purdue-Indiana statistics

More ($): Analysis | Wrap Video | Stat Blast | Final Thoughts | Podcast

BLOOMINGTON — These results will never get old for Purdue, but they have become quite common.

For the eighth consecutive time Thursday night, the Boilermakers beat their chief rival, this time by a decisive 81-69 margin in IU's Assembly Hall.

Carried early by torrid shooting — 7-of-9 from three-point range to start, 11-of-17 for the game — and buoyed throughout by the emergent Trevion Williams, the Boilermakers led practically from start to finish, weathering a few storms along the way but ultimately bringing another rivalry win home safely.

The win at IU comes on the heels of Purdue's smash-and-grab win at No. 23 Michigan State Friday night, as it came away with two road wins to conclude this unprecedented run of four straight Big Ten games away from Mackey Arena.

"It's an eye-opener, not just for me, but everybody," Williams said, after totaling 22 points and 10 rebounds vs. the Hoosiers. "We've proven to ourselves we can compete with any team in the Big Ten when we just stick to our rules and we're solid on defense. We're a really good team."

Matt Painter likely won't declare his young team as having arrived quite yet, but the thoroughness of this win — albeit free of the normal venom-spitting that comes Purdue's way in Bloomington — certainly represents a step in the right direction.

Painter brought his team back from East Lansing harping on detail, underscoring how the perfection of the game's closing sequences brought forth the desired result, whereas prior, the Boilermakers' roughness around the edges nearly got them beat.

Whether that message was ringing in Purdue's ears Thursday night or not is unknown, but the Boilermakers were razor sharp against a quality defensive team.

"We had a focus," guard Eric Hunter said, "that started four days ago."

The Boilermakers had not been shooting terribly well in Big Ten play, not like they did earlier in the season.

But Purdue made those seven threes on nine tries to start the game, Brandon Newman and Sasha Stefanovic each starting off 2-for-2. It made for a first half lead that peaked at a dozen, before Indiana cut it to four at halftime.

Through the first nine minutes of the second half, IU got within one possession nine times, but never tied or went ahead, thanks in part by another second-half surge from Williams, who scored 16 on 7-of-10 shooting after halftime, then a timely run of defensive stops.

"The second half of both these (road) games," Painter said of Williams, "he was fantastic."

Painter called his defense "just OK" as IU star Trayce Jackson-Davis scored 25 points.

But that defense stood tall when it had to, with a little help from some shoddy Hoosier foul shooting.

Indiana went more than five-and-a-half minutes without a field as the Boilermakers pushed their lead back into double figures.

"We weren't fouling," Hunter said. "We were focused. We locked in to their stuff, sniffed it out. We were able to make them have to make tough plays."

Ethan Morton, who hadn't made a three-pointer since Dec. 4, stuck a three from the right corner with 11:15 to play, sparking a modest 10-3 Boilermaker run that provided some cushion. Jaden Ivey — 3-of-20 from three-point range this season prior to tonight — was 2-for-2 in his first Indiana game, the second of those shots coming with just 3:46 left, pushing a nine-point lead to a dozen.

Ivey needed just four field goal attempts to score 13 points and Hunter — 3-for-4 from three — needed just five to score 11.

After Purdue let Indiana back in the game by missing five of six foul shots late, Brandon Newman made four straight, then blocked a Jerome Hunter three-pointer to put the game away. Newman ended with 12 points.

After playing well in losses at Rutgers and Illinois, Williams carried Purdue to a win at Michigan State, then did the same at Indiana, albeit with a lot more help this time.

"I'm dropping weight as the season goes on and there's a lot going on," Williams said. "I'm just growing up, man, keeping it simple and trying to get to what I know."

His effort level, too, has been something unlike anything seen prior to this season. Williams has been playing the biggest minutes of his career, and lately has avoided his early-season albatross of early foul trouble.

"He's got that dog in him," Jaden Ivey said. "He just wants to win. Every game he brings his all and doesn't back down from anything."

Purdue won at Michigan State despite making only three threes. Its momentum from long range had subsided considerably.

In East Lansing, they scored 16 points in the first half. They passed that mark eight minutes in at IU, on their fourth three of the game.

"We knew Tre would get a lot of attention," Hunter said. "The guards knew we had to be ready to make plays."

Purdue's offense operated at its highest level of the Big Ten season, shooting 53 percent overall, despite a first-half turnover spell and some spastic late foul shooting.

"When everybody does their job," Williams said, "we're a great team."

Membership Info: Sign up for GoldandBlack.com now | Why join? | Questions?

Follow GoldandBlack.com: Twitter | Facebook | YouTube

More: Gold and Black Illustrated/Gold and Black Express | Subscribe to our podcast

Copyright, Boilers, Inc. 2021. All Rights Reserved. Reproducing or using editorial or graphical content, in whole or in part, without permission, is strictly prohibited.