No. 15 Purdue (21-5, 12-1) can take a huge step toward its first Big Ten championship since 1996 when it travels to No. 14 Indiana (21-4, 10-2) on Tuesday night.
The Boilermakers' victory over Northwestern on Saturday gave them 11 straight wins, and they are doing it with a lineup that often includes three freshmen and two sophomores; there's only one senior on the 14-man roster. No one on the team plays more than 30 minutes per game, and coach Matt Painter can go nine deep on his bench.
Purdue's leading scorer is freshman guard E'Twaun Moore at only 11.9 ppg. The second-leading scorer is another freshman, Robbie Hummel at 11.3 ppg.
The team's leading rebounder, Hummel, gets only 5.9 per game. But the Boilermakers have eight players averaging at least three rebounds a game, and their defense allows only 60.5 points per game despite the lack of a dominant inside presence.
"There's no question that's the most physical team in the league," said Michigan State coach Tom Izzo after his team lost at Purdue last week. "That's strange to say with freshmen."
Hard to believe this club was 6-4 at one point, having lost to Missouri, Iowa State and at home to Wofford.
Meanwhile, this game could be the swan song for Hoosiers coach Kelvin Sampson, whom the NCAA has charged with five major rule violations.
The school is investigating those charges and will rule on Sampson's future by Friday.
Sampson declined comment on the investigation and his future. He said his players have his full attention. "I've really worked at making sure they get 100%," he said. "That's what they deserve. That's what they're getting."Meanwhile, Indiana senior forward D.J. White, who strained his left knee in Saturday's win over Michigan State will play after an MRI was negative, Sampson said.
White is a leading contender for the conference's player of the year award, and is the Hoosiers' primary inside threat. He averages 17.1 points and 10.2 rebounds per game.
"He's somebody you can throw the ball to and score on the block," Sampson said. "But with D.J. it transcends points. It's about leadership and his senior experience. All these kids look up to him."
One matchup to watch is IU freshman guard Eric Gordon, the Big Ten's leading scorer, against Purdue sophomore guard Chris Kramer, a leading candidate for Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Gordon is coming off a 28-point effort against Michigan State, which helped him set an IU freshman scoring record. He has 520 points and averages 21.7, best in the league.
Painter indicated he might switch defenders on Gordon occasionally.
"You can't let him get going," Painter said. "If you let him get going, sometimes you play great defense and he still scores."
The last time these teams played when both were ranked was Feb. 29, 2000, when No. 14 Indiana beat No. 20 Purdue 79-65 in Bloomington.
Purdue has not beaten the Hoosiers in Bloomington since Feb. 9, 1999, a string of seven consecutive games, including Indiana's 85-58 shellacking of Purdue last season. Purdue, which has won five straight conference road games, has never won six in a row.
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