Cream & Crimson Computations: IU Beatdown at Purdue, Northwestern Slip Up, Bubble Talk and an Old Friend

Feb 24, 2026; Bloomington, Indiana, USA; Indiana Hoosiers forward Sam Alexis (4) rebounds against Northwestern Wildcats forward Nick Martinelli (2) during the second half at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Mandatory Credit: Robert Goddin-Imagn Images By: Nate Comp (@NathanComp1) We’re just a few days from March and unfortunately, Indiana finds itself in an all-too-familiar place come this time of year: squarely sweating it out on the bubble. After a disaster of a week with a blowout loss in Mackey against Purdue and a second half collapse against Northwestern at home, the Hoosiers are now in desperation mode for the remainder of the season as they attempt to claw their way back on the right side of the bubble. Let’s take a look at some of the metrics from the last week of hoops. Wrong Side of a Beatdown at Purdue Darian DeVries could go on to be the Hoosier coach for a long time, I’m far from out on him. But unfortunately, after last Friday’s blowout loss in Mackey, he’ll always have a blemish on his resume now - the 29-point defeat is the most lopsided loss to Purdue since 1969 when the Hoosiers lost 120-76. There were losses by 23 in 1990 and 22 in 2003, but Friday’s loss surpassed those to be historic in all the wrong ways. "Nights like these are hard," Darian DeVries said. "Everybody knows how good Purdue is. When they're playing at a level like this, it makes it incredibly challenging. They did everything they needed to do to put us in tough spots. We could never get them under control." Offensive rebounding, which I discussed in last week’s edition of Computations, was again an issue, as the Boilermakers outrebounded Indiana 30-15 overall and six to one on the offensive glass. But overall defensive effort struggled too, as the Hoosiers finished with just two blocked shots and zero steals. Purdue led for 97% of the game and at one point held a 34-point lead. Northwestern Slip Up After Purdue had their way with Indiana, the goal was of course to bounce back at home against a beatable-but-scrappy Northwestern team. After a strong shooting performance in the first half in which the Hoosiers built up a nine-point lead, the second half was a different story and once again the Hoosiers slipped up. Indiana missed 11 straight crunch-time shots. In fact, Tayton Conerway, who has had a bit of a resurgence of late despite the losses continuing to accumulate, was the only Hoosier to make a field goal over the final 10 minutes. Unfortunately, the late game offensive slowdowns have become a bit of a trend. We saw it in the Nebraska game, as a 16-point lead became a six point defeat. Against Purdue the first time around, as a 14-point lead became a two-point win. At UCLA, as a 10-point lead with two minutes to play became an overtime game. It was a similar story against Wisconsin, as a 12-point lead shrunk to down four before they were able to claw their way back and force overtime. It’s a scary trend, knowing no lead is ever safe with this version of the Hoosiers. A key part of this slowdown has been Indiana’s inability to find a second scorer behind Lamar Wilkerson. Wilkerson has continued to be on an absolute tear, but without some help, he’ll be added to a list of recent Hoosiers that deserved the NCAA tournament but could not make it. He took second place in Indiana’s single-season 3-pointers made statistic after making his first four of the night, and now trails only Steve Alford (92 to 107). Behind him, however, Tucker DeVries continues to run extremely hot and cold, and more cold as of late. Nick Dorn, who for a four-game heater had vaulted up to the highest 3-point percentage in the Big Ten, has since missed 31 of his last 37 attempts. "I feel I let this group down," Tucker DeVries said. "This was an opportunity we had to take advantage of. To have one of our last (regular-season games) go like this is a tough one." Bubble Talk For the remainder of the year, this will certainly be the #1 topic for the Hoosiers. After the Northwestern loss, per TourneyCast, Indiana saw its odds of being an at-large bid drop from 89.6% to 74.8%, the second largest drop of Tuesday night, ahead of only Auburn who lost to Oklahoma. As of Thursday, results have caused the odds to dip even lower for the Hoosiers, as they now sit at 73%. With three games and the Big Ten Tournament remaining, Indiana is in desperate need of finding their rhythm. "We have to get these next ones,” said Lamar Wilkerson. "We know the opportunities that are left. We have to flip this page quick," added Tucker DeVries. The Likely #1 and #2 NBA Draft Picks and…WHO?! College basketball is littered with a ridiculous amount of talent this season; whether Indiana is a part of the tournament ultimately or not, it should be an all-time fun March Madness. Two guys that are getting plenty of buzz (that I’m sure any Hoosier/Pacer crossover fans have heard plenty about), are AJ Dybantsta and Darryn Peterson. Which makes the next screenshot all the more surprising… Points per 40 minutes leaders this year are Dybantsta, Peterson, and… Logan Duncomb! Duncomb has made a name for himself at Winthrop this season and is in contention for Big South Player of the Year, certainly. After a journeyman career, it’s good to see him have some success. 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: IU Beatdown at Purdue, Northwestern Slip Up, Bubble Talk and an Old Friend

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