Indiana Finds Its Spark - and a Signature Win - in Upset Over Purdue
January was rough. There’s no sugarcoating it - Indiana basketball spent the month searching for answers and coming up empty.
Four straight losses, each more painful than the last, left the Hoosiers reeling. For a stretch, Indiana football - yes, football - grabbed more attention than the men’s hoops program.
That’s how sideways things had gone in Bloomington.
But Tuesday night? That was different. That was something the fans could finally cling to.
Indiana’s 72-67 win over Purdue wasn’t just a much-needed victory - it was a glimpse of what Darian DeVries is trying to build. The Hoosiers played with energy, pace, and - maybe for the first time in weeks - joy.
The 3-pointers were falling, the crowd was alive, and the atmosphere inside Assembly Hall felt like the old days. Not just loud, but believing.
It’s been a while since Indiana basketball felt fun. That changed against Purdue.
Gone are the clunky, outdated two-big lineups that slowed the game to a crawl. DeVries has ushered in a more modern approach - one that prioritizes spacing, movement, and versatility.
It’s not without its drawbacks. The absence of a traditional center has left Indiana vulnerable in the paint all season, and that didn’t magically disappear Tuesday.
But the trade-off is a style that gives the Hoosiers a fighting chance every night.
And against a top-tier opponent, that style finally paid off.
DeVries was dialed in from the sideline - animated, engaged, and impactful. One moment in particular stood out.
With just over six minutes to play and Indiana clinging to a 61-53 lead, a loose ball trickled out of bounds with only 0.6 seconds left on the shot clock. It was the kind of moment that had doomed Indiana in recent weeks - a momentum-shifting possession where panic often set in.
But this time, the Hoosiers didn’t fold. DeVries drew up a sideline out-of-bounds play that freed up freshman Trent Sisley on a cut to the rim. Sisley was fouled by Purdue’s Braden Smith and calmly knocked down both free throws.
That kind of execution - under pressure, in a critical moment - is what separates wins from losses in the Big Ten. It wasn’t flashy.
It wasn’t a highlight-reel dunk or a logo 3-pointer. It was just smart, composed basketball.
The kind Indiana has too often lacked in recent years.
For once, it was the Hoosiers making the savvy, veteran play - not their opponent.
Of course, big moments still matter, and Nic Dorn delivered one of the game’s most electric when he buried a step-back three that sent the crowd into a frenzy. But that shot only mattered because of the little things - like Sisley’s free throws - that kept Indiana in control.
Defensively, Indiana still had its hands full with Purdue’s Trey Kaufman-Renn, who poured in 23 points. But DeVries’ game plan limited the damage elsewhere.
Oscar Cluff and Daniel Jacobsen were largely neutralized, and the Hoosiers won the rebounding battle in key moments. Tucker DeVries - the coach’s son - pulled down 10 boards, nearly doubling his season average and setting the tone with his effort.
This wasn’t just about players stepping up. This was a team that looked prepared, locked in, and ready to compete - even without Tayton Conerway, who missed the game.
That’s coaching. That’s buy-in.
And that’s what Indiana fans have been waiting to see.
It wasn’t that long ago - just over a year - that Assembly Hall turned on its own during a blowout loss to Illinois. Boos rained down.
The atmosphere was toxic. That game felt like a turning point in the end of the Mike Woodson era.
Tuesday night felt like a different kind of turning point.
Now, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. This is still a flawed Indiana team.
The win over Purdue was their first against a tournament-level opponent all season. Second-half collapses have been a recurring theme, and inconsistency continues to plague the roster.
One win doesn’t erase those issues.
But it’s a start.
Darian DeVries isn’t a miracle worker. At Drake, it took him three seasons to reach the NCAA Tournament.
Building something sustainable takes time. But Tuesday night showed that he has a vision - and that this team, when locked in, can execute it.
Indiana’s still floating on the NCAA Tournament bubble, right alongside half the Big Ten. There’s work to do. But there are winnable games ahead, and if the Hoosiers can bottle up the energy and execution they showed against Purdue, a postseason berth is still within reach.
For now, though, let’s just call it what it was: a big win, a fun night, and maybe - just maybe - the beginning of something real in Bloomington.