BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — It's one of the greatest rivalries in college basketball. Purdue is at Indiana Tuesday night.
The matchup goes back to 1901, but IU has had the upper hand the past couple of years. Indiana coach Mike Woodson's teams have won three of their last four games against the Boilermakers.
We know the success that Purdue has had these last couple of years. These Boilermakers look like a team that's relaxed and experienced. They had artificial crowd noise cranked up during Monday's practice.
Purdue is focused on the task at hand: getting a win in Bloomington. Coach Matt Painter is no stranger to this game, and he has these guys ready. He knows how special the rivalry is.
"You know, one of those things that's, you know, pretty special to be able to to be a part of it for, you know, close to 25 years. But it's difficult, like, from a competitive standpoint, like, it's hard. They've had some really good teams. The environment that they have at Assembly Hall is very imposing, " Painter said.
Purdue center Zach Edey also referred the Assembly Hall vibe.
"I mean, it's cool," Edey said. "It's a really good environment. You know the fans are gonna be there, you know it's gonna be sold out. We'll get their best shot, but I think they'll get our best shot, too."
You have the epitome of consistency in Purdue, and then a team kind of trying to find their way in IU. Purdue is currently ranked second in the country. Indiana is 4-2 in the Big Ten but kind of unsteady in the early going this season. IU's been really good at home, and, of course, Purdue knows IU plays better at home. They're 9-1 in home games, the only loss a close one to Kansas.
As for Tuesday's matchup, both of these coaches know how much this game means and how it can propel you the rest of the way.
"They've played better than us here in the last couple of years," Painter said. "They've made more plays than us. They've been tougher than us, they force turnovers. They've had the upper hand on us the last couple of years."
"They wanna beat us as badly as we wanna beat them," Woodson said. "It's been that way. I think it's great for college basketball when you go there. It's the same way when they come here. Our fans are unbelievable."
Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. on Jan. 16.