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Purdue celebrated a title Tuesday night in Mackey Arena, cutting down the nets after beating rival Indiana 86-75 to clinch no worse than a share of its first conference title since 2010.
But in a different sense, the 16th-ranked Boilermakers' win served as cause for them to celebrate all that junior Dakota Mathias has meant to the championship-winning process.
Sure, Caleb Swanigan got his requisite 21 and 10 rebounds against IU, but it was Mathias that loomed largest on this night.
Last year, Mathias went berserk against Maryland, shooting the basketball in such a blistering way that he earned a public commendation from Reggie Miller on Twitter. Had Miller been watching the IU game, he might have turned to his keyboard again.
Mathias scored 17 of his 19 points in the first half, including seven unanswered at one point. He paced Purdue to a lead that peaked at 15 before halftime, but was trimmed to eight just before.
Typically, Mathias has been a low-volume, opportunistic type for Purdue, shooting robust percentages but rarely hunting offense.
Against the Hoosiers, he took the open shots that found him, but also sought them out more so than he might ordinarily. There were long pull-up jumpers off the dribble, a turnaround out of a post-up and a fall-away off the glass after he'd dribbled the length of the floor after one of Indiana's 11 first-half turnovers.
This was some of the boldest offensive play seen this season from the shooting guard.
"After watching the Michigan game, obviously I didn't get open a lot and I don't think I was cutting as hard," Mathias said of a pedestrian showing in Purdue's loss in Ann Arbor Saturday. "It was a point of emphasis for myself to cut harder and get open, get open looks and be aggressive. Give a lot of credit Biggie and Vince and Isaac for finding me. They set great screens for me and allowed me to get open. It could have been anybody. I just got hot during that stretch."
Mathias finished with 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting.
Scoring was just part of his influential play, the sort of play that compelled Indiana coach Tom Crean to call him "the key to their team," regardless of likely All-American Swanigan's exploits.
Mathias spent most of his 39 minutes of playing time chasing IU leading scorer James Blackmon around. Blackmon got 16 points but only nine shots. And the shots he made were never easy, credit to the defensive efforts that have made Mathias a possibility to be the third consecutive Boilermaker to be named Big Ten Defensive Player-of-the-Year.
Oh, and Mathias grabbed seven rebounds, with two steals and an assist.
"He's been huge," forward Vincent Edwards said, "stepping up to play the way he's played and being able to take on some tough defensive assignments, that's huge, filling the shoes of a guy who's been a key defensive player for us. He's made shots, he's made baskets, he's found guys. He's done everything he's been asked to do, and he's been a great captain for us."
Mathias carried Purdue through the first half.
Then, with a championship in their sights and IU's frontcourt ravaged by foul issues, the Boilermakers turned to their star, prioritizing Swanigan in the post.
"When we were getting the ball inside, whether driving the ball or posting up, good things were happening for us," Coach Matt Painter said.
The result: Swanigan finished with 21 points.
Indiana lost freshman big man De'Ron Davis to fouls with 12:19 left to play. He played just nine minutes.
Worse yet, IU lost star big man Thomas Bryant to fouls with 5:45 left. He played just 17, which he used to go 3-of-8 from the floor after putting 24 points on Purdue in the first meeting between these teams.
"It was a conscious effort on our part (to get the ball inside)," Mathias said. "I think sometimes we get away from that and may force some shots. It was big for us. I think we drew seven or eight fouls just like that. We're in the bonus and they have to sit some guys and bring in some guys who don't usually play. It was a conscious effort on our part to get it down there and Biggie made the plays. It just poses a problem when you have to shuffle in guys who don't play very much."
Purdue wound up making 28 of 33 free throws. IU was 13-of-17.
Indiana got within four points three minutes and 10 seconds into the second half, but Swanigan's turnaround and-one on Davis was followed by a three from P.J. Thompson, just as IU got hit particularly hard with foul problems.
Later when Indiana got back within six, Mathias made two free throws and Spike Albrecht made the biggest three of his short Purdue career, following by four free throws from Swanigan and Vincent Edwards, the latter of which finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
That 8-0 run put Indiana at arm's length to stay. Purdue would go on to lead by as many as 16 en route to a two-game regular season sweep of the Hoosiers and a title share that they make whole with a win at Northwestern this weekend.
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