Another chance for a ticket to the field of 64, but a tall order for a season sweep of  #8 Purdue. The Boilermakers had won the last six in West Lafayette and it was Senior Night honoring Trevion Williams, Sasha Stefanovic, and Eric Hunter Jr. They combined for 40-points in a 69-67 victory. It was just another case of the Hoosiers not being able to hold on, up 56-52 with just under seven minutes to play. The Boilers went on a 7-0 run and hit the 60-mark at 4:33. It was similar to the previous game in Bloomington, but IU couldn’t get to sixty first this time. Rob Phinisee hit the winning three with :18 seconds remaining back in January but Xavier Johnson missed everything on his last second attempt. Purdue prevailed 69-67 and left Indiana dateless for the dance. 

The Hoosiers had blown leads in their last two games and lost seven of their last nine. It brought back bad memories of Syracuse in November when IU could have won in the first overtime but couldn’t get off a shot. It was also reminiscent of the two Wisconsin games, Ohio State, and Rutgers where we didn’t execute down the stretch, just like the loss to Purdue. If IU had won even half of those six games, they would be dancing.

They will have yet another chance to redeem themselves in the BIG Tourney, but history has not been kind. Not only have they never won it, but they are 13-23 overall. IU would need to beat both Michigan and Wisconsin (make that Illinois) to turn some heads with the selection committee. However, “if it weren’t for bad luck, we wouldn’t have any luck at all.” The first Purdue game was the only clutch performance we’ve had so far this year and it prevented a 10th straight loss. 

At this point, considering their inability to close out games, they are NIT bound. The National Invitational Tournament was Mike Woodson’s only collegiate championship as a player. As a Freshman, the Hoosiers didn’t play in the post season. In his Sophomore year 1977-78, the team lost to Villanova 61-60 in the NCAA Tournament. IU got to 60 first on his 24-point performance, but it wasn’t enough as Rory Sparrow hit the winning shot. The next year, 1978-79, only two teams from each conference could qualify for the NCAA, so the NIT was where Coach Mike Woodson as a player cut down the nets after the last-second victory over Purdue. His Senior year ended with a loss to the Boilermakers in the NCAA tournament. Woodson was 4-6 against Purdue as a player and now 1-1 as a coach.