Cream & Crimson Computations: IUBB Metrics After Beating Purdue

Jan 27, 2026; Bloomington, Indiana, USA; Indiana Hoosiers guard Nick Dorn (7) celebrates after a three-point basket against the Purdue Boilermakers during the second half at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Mandatory Credit: Robert Goddin-Imagn Images Cream & Crimson Computations: IUBB Metrics By: Nate Comp (@NathanComp1) “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!” Indiana got exactly what they needed on Tuesday night and the 8 days of misery continues for our little brothers up north. Darian DeVries officially has his first big-time win at the helm of the Hoosiers and as the focus shifts from the national champion football team over to the basketball squad, it couldn’t have come at a better time to capture the hopes of fans that are longing for January to never end. Let’s take a look at some of the metrics we’ve been seeing from the ball club as of late. One Tuesday’s victory over Purdue officially notched the Hoosiers first quad-one victory of the year, bringing them up to 1-6 in Q1 games this year. While they had not stumbled much in the other quadrants (1-1 Q2, 5-0 Q3, 7-0 Q4), it’s nice to have success on the resume come March, rather than just avoidance of failure. Even the reining national champion Florida is just 4-6 in Q1 games, so at times with the committee it’s more about showing that you are capable of pulling off tough wins, rather than it is about perfection at that level. The win also brings Indiana’s NET ranking up to 33rd as of the games through January 27th, a strong indicator that this team could be a tourney team if they keep up the play as of late. BracketMatrix, a website that compiles all of the top bracketology across the nation and averages it, currently has Indiana in 14 of 100 brackets, good enough for the fifth best at-large team not currently in the consensus field. Using Bart Torvik’s “Similar Resume” tool and projections as to where the Hoosiers will finish the season, Indiana’s would make the field as an at-large team when compared to all ten similarly related teams of past. IU is now 30th in KenPom and 22nd in Bart Torvik rankings. The Purdue win moves IU to the right side of the bubble per Evan Miyakawa’s rankings. Top Ten Dominance Speaking of the difficulty of pulling off top-ranked victories, it’s worth checking out the trend in all of college basketball with top ranked teams this season. As of January 27th, there are just 13 total losses from the AP Top 10 teams. This doesn’t even include Miami (OH), who is now one of just two remaining undefeated teams (Arizona), that is not currently ranked within the top 10. Just two years ago, the top 10 in late January had 34 total losses. The next lowest total in the past decade was in 2018-19, when the top 10 had 21 total losses at the end of January. We are seeing a season in which the top teams have been historically dominant through the first month of conference play. That being said, notching Q1 wins is going to be arguably more difficult than ever, which is why hanging on to victory on Tuesday night was so important. Nick Dorn There are a few different individuals that can be singled out for their play as of late directly correlating with the recent surge, but I think I have to give the slight nod to Nick Dorn. Dorn recently joined the starting lineup as Tayton Conerway continues to be hampered with an ankle injury and he has not disappointed. Dorn has gone for 14, 23, and 18 points in his last three games since earning a bigger role in the rotation. He now leads the Big Ten in three point percentage for those qualified for the 3P% leaderboard at 45.1% on 4.8 attempts per game. He is 14 of his last 28 (50%) in the last three games. He has hit in both off the dribble and catch-and-shoot situations; if he continues like this, it will just make things easier for the rest of the team and significantly raises the overall ceiling of what this squad is capable of. Best Jobs in the League The Field of 68 podcast is introducing an interesting series in which they are anonymously polling conference coaches to rank the jobs in the conference from best to worst. The poll was released on Tuesday and Indiana was ranked second, behind only Michigan. The Hoosiers received four first-place votes. The full rankings are below: While many younger Hoosier fans have only had coaching searches as some of their most exciting memories of fandom, it’s always interesting to see where the “this is one of the best jobs in the nation!” statement actually aligns with public opinion in the coaching world. Per this poll, it would appear to be relatively accurate. One anonymous coach, when asked why he ranked Indiana one, said, “They are still behind in some things, but they have the tradition, the resources and now football will help as well. Sure, it may take a little money away from hoop, but the brand will be even stronger overall.” Stay tuned each week as I’ll continue to compile intriguing statistics from the Indiana men’s basketball season. Follow along to all coverage on Hoosier Huddle.

Cream & Crimson Computations: IUBB Metrics After Beating Purdue

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