By MICHAEL MAROT
AP Sports Writer
WEST LAFAYETTE,
Ind. (AP) — Cody Zeller is back in his shooting groove, and No. 3 Indiana
looks better than ever.
The 7-foot
sophomore center broke out of his two-game funk Wednesday night, scoring 19
points, grabbing 11 rebounds and opening things up for his teammates as they
routed rival Purdue 97-60 with one of the most resounding victories in this
199-game series.
"It is kind of
neat because IU has had so many great teams over the years and to be the
biggest win, it's always nice to be part of history," Zeller said. "And
there's always a little extra here at Purdue."
It wasn't
Indiana's most lopsided win in the series, just the biggest rout for the
Hoosiers in West Lafayette. But it was the worst home loss for Purdue in
school history.
And it was no
secret why the Hoosiers (19-2, 7-1 Big Ten) were able to play so well: They
did virtually everything right.
Zeller was 6 of
14 from the field and made all seven free throws. He had seven offensive
rebounds, two assists and two steals.
His teammates
made a season-high 12 3-pointers, seized control in the first half and never
let the Boilermakers get closer than 18 in the second half. Indiana
outrebounded Purdue 39-29, forced 18 turnovers compared with only eight,
went 19 of 20 from the free throw line and wound up with the most points
ever against one of coach Matt Painter's teams at Purdue.
The reward:
Indiana played its most impressive game of the season and produced its
highest point total against Purdue since Jan. 28, 1992, when it won 106-65.
"To win here,
you've really got to be on top of your game and I don't just mean offensive
and defensive execution," Hoosiers coach Tom Crean said. "It's attitude,
it's energy, it's toughness and our guys did all of those things tonight."
Indiana has won
four straight overall, five straight Big Ten road games dating to last
season and three straight over the dreaded Boilermakers.
And Zeller's
resurgence, following two games in which he had a combined two baskets and
11 points, couldn't have come at a better time.
Next up for the
Hoosiers is a Saturday night showdown with No. 1 Michigan, a game that will
break up the tie for the Big Ten lead and could dictate which team holds the
top spot in next week's poll. The Wolverines defeated Northwestern 68-46 on
Wednesday.
But that was the
furthest thing from the Hoosiers' minds.
"I thought we
played pretty well. It was good to see everyone working together," Zeller
said. "When the ball is moving from side to side and up and down the court
like that, we're a tough team."
Purdue (11-10,
4-4) found out the hard way.
While freshman
center A.J. Hammons scored a career-high 30 points and freshman point guard
Ronnie Johnson added 13, just about everything else went wrong for the
Boilermakers.
No other player
scored more than four points. Only Hammons (10), Ronnie Johnson (five),
Terone Johnson (two) and Travis Carroll (two) made more than one basket. The
Boilermakers shot just 40 percent from the field (22 of 55) and without
Hammons' 10-of-14 night, that dismal shooting percentage would have dropped
to an even more mind-boggling 29.3 percent.
While the
Boilermakers barely avoided their worst loss in the series, a mark set in
that 41-point rout in '92, they still wound up with their worst home loss
ever.
Even more
troubling was that Purdue didn't look anything like the team that had won
four of its last five or its last three at home.
"Facts are
facts," Painter said. "They played harder than us and they played better
than us. At the end those guys were out there celebrating and that's what
it's all about. ... They're a good team and we're not. We play like
individuals."
How bad was it?
After falling
behind 27-17 with 9:15 left in the first half, the Boilermakers only cut the
deficit to single digits three times.
"We knew how
they were going to be, we saw them on TV, we expected it," Carroll said. "We
just didn't play up to it."
The Hoosiers
didn't waste much time seizing control.
Indiana took
advantage when Hammons and swingman D.J. Byrd went to the bench with two
fouls, going on a 9-0 run to take a 10-point lead.
Painter gambled
by putting both back in. With Byrd, it worked. With Hammons, it did not.
The
Boilermakers' 7-foot freshman center picked up his third foul with 4:17 to
go in the half, and with Hammons out, Zeller scored six points in a 13-0 run
that turned the game.
Indiana put it
away with a 14-1 spurt midway through the second half and Purdue couldn't
get closer than 26 after that.
"I think we
played with resolve, we were very authoritative on drives and our pressure
defense was up and active," Crean said. "We're getting more active
defensively in the Big Ten and we just keep moving the ball. I know it
sounds easy, but it's not."