Indiana Hoosiers fans got their dream doubleheader Tuesday night.
First, they watched college football's new national champions take one more victory lap. Then they saw Indiana's basketball team take its cue by keeping the momentum rolling and holding off its top rival, No. 12 Purdue, for the squad's biggest win of the season — and yet another celebration.
For first-year coach Darian DeVries, it was his initial glimpse of the rivalry and Assembly Hall at full throttle. And he credited those raucous fans with playing a key role in the latest chapter of Bloomington's storybook sports year.
“When that place is loud and rocking like that, it's a big, big deal for us,” he said. “There are a lot of tough places to play in the Big Ten and we want this to be one of the toughest places there is, not only in the Big Ten but in the country, because it does matter. It makes a difference in games.”
The fans certainly did their part Tuesday.
They arrived in new shirts celebrating both the improbable championship the football team captured and the journey it took to get there. They coordinated their outfits perfectly to create a section-by-section image of crimson-and-cream candy-striped strips. And each time the Hoosiers needed a boost, especially late as the Boilermakers tried to overcome an 11-point halftime deficit, their loud cheers made it difficult to communicate.
On the court, it was simply old-fashioned Hoosiers basketball at its finest — with a sprinkle of the same concoction that fueled the football team's run.
Indiana was tough and physical, played hard-nosed defense, outhustled Purdue and beat the Boilermakers at their own game. A perfect recipe, especially after coach Curt Cignetti's initial comments about his disdain for Purdue.
Clearly, things haven't been the same lately for the Boilermakers in Bloomington. Indiana has won four of the last five matchups when a ranked Purdue team visits Assembly Hall. And Indiana's cast of basketball newcomers seemed to steal a page right out of Cignetti's playbook by coming together when the moments got toughest.
Lamar Wilkerson and Conor Enright combined to make the final four free throws in front of a revved-up crowd to close it out.
The Boilermakers have lost a season-worst three straight and will get another shot at Indiana, in front of their home crowd, on Feb. 20 — and coach Matt Painter wants to see a different team..
“We've got to finish more plays. We can't have seven turnovers in the first half, but defensively we have to be better," he said. “We have to compete and do a better job there, and I've got to do a better job because when we win, we win together. When we lose, we lose together. But we've got to get it figured out quick.”
Or it could happen again.