WEST LAFAYETTE — No. 16 Purdue celebrated the perfect party on senior night.
Players danced around in black-and-gold confetti as the fans sung “We Are the Champions.” They climbed ladders and cut down nets. And they did it all by dethroning the defending Big Ten champs.
Dakota Mathis scored 17 points in the first half and Caleb Swanigan matched that total in the second half. That helped the Boilermakers pull away from foul-prone Indiana for an 86-75 victory Tuesday night to clinch a share of the conference crown and the top seed in next week’s conference tournament.
“Being able to knock off your rival at your home court for a Big Ten title is unbelievable,” Vince Edwards said after scoring 15 points. “It’s been awhile since they came here so we knew Mackey would be special tonight.”
The game went almost exactly according to Purdue’s script.
After getting the outside help it needed over the past few weeks, the Boilermakers (24-6, 13-4) won for the seventh time in eight games and broke a tie with the Hoosiers to claim a record-breaking 23rd conference crown.
Swanigan finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds for his 24th double-double of the season in what could have been his final home game. The sophomore dominated the middle after Indiana’s top two centers, Thomas Bryant and De’Ron Davis, were both called for their third foul less than four minutes into the second half.
Mathias scored 13 points during a crucial 19-6 first-half run that erased Indiana’s only lead of the game and turned a 17-14 deficit into a 33-23 lead. Mathias finished with 19 points and seven rebounds.
Now the Boilermakers can contemplate bigger plans.
A road win Saturday would give them the league’s outright championship. Three wins next week in Washington would give them the Big Ten Tourney title. And then they’ll be looking to make a deep NCAA Tournament run .
“I want to enjoy it, but it’s impossible to enjoy it,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. “You’re constantly thinking about what can I do for our program, what can I do for our team and our players to get ready for that next game.”
For Indiana (16-14, 6-11), it was another frustrating night.
James Blackmon Jr. led the Hoosiers with 16 points. Josh Newkirk and Devonte Green each had 13.
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But the Hoosiers couldn’t capitalize on their chances.
After cutting a 15-point first-half lead to four early in the second half, Purdue quickly rebuilt a 10-point lead. And after IU closed to 57-51 with 10:07 to go, Purdue answered with seven straight. The Hoosiers never seriously challenged again.
“We’re a different team than what we were last year,” coach Tom Crean said. “Caleb is hard to guard. It’s tough.”
Indiana’s inside depth was certainly tested.
Bryant went to the bench with his third foul 86 seconds into the second half. Davis followed that by drawing three fouls in a 47-second span, giving him four with 16:32 to go.
That prompted Crean to go with the sparingly used Tim Priller, who was called for four fouls in the next 5 minutes. Starting forward Freddie McSwain Jr. also finished with four fouls. Bryant and Davis both fouled out, but Crean didn’t complain.
“I don’t coach the officials. I coach Indiana,” he said.