Jalen Hood-Schifino goes off as IU basketball sweeps Purdue for first time in a decade

WEST LAFAYETTE – Behind a career performance from Jalen Hood-Schifino, Indiana swept its season series with Purdue for the first time in a decade Saturday night, winning 79-71 inside Mackey Arena. Here are three reasons why:

Jalen Hood-Schifino hangs tough

Indiana (20-9, 11-7) battled through a first half of extremes Saturday. In front of a feral Mackey Arena crowd, the Hoosiers started slowly before digging in behind their freshman point guard.

Jalen Hood-Schifino was, by any measure, the best player on the floor in the opening 20 minutes. Not the most influential, necessarily, Zach Edey’s gravitational pull affording him that distinction.

But Hood-Schifino was the difference, in a half when Indiana’s All-American big man, uncustomarily, could not find his footing at all. As Trayce Jackson-Davis finished the half with no points and only one more field-goal attempt (3) than foul (2), his freshman point guard rolled up 23.

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Afforded extra space by Purdue’s drop coverage on ball screens and Edey’s attachment to Jackson-Davis, Hood-Schifino mixed in points at the rim, in the midrange and from behind the 3-point line.

A 12-to-4 discrepancy in made free throws and Purdue’s excellent offensive rebounding work left the hosts a 38-34 halftime lead. But for IU, it could’ve been much worse, but for Jalen Hood-Schifino’s brilliance. He finished with 35 points, one shy of IU's freshman record set by Jay Edwards.

Hoosiers work the 3-point line

Making 3s hasn’t been Indiana’s issue this season. For the first time in a long time, the Hoosiers have been among the Big Ten’s and the nation’s most-accurate outfits from distance.

Volume, however, has not always been there. The Hoosiers are among college basketball’s least 3-point-prone teams, and it’s come at a cost in recent weeks.

Not Saturday night. With Hood-Schifino running the show and Jackson-Davis drawing the attention, IU’s 3-point shooters let fly early and often. Miller Kopp and Trey Galloway gave the Hoosiers crucial offense from behind the arc, taking advantage of the way Purdue sold out to quiet Jackson-Davis.

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Big 3s answered Purdue runs and quieted that crowd, and kept Indiana in touching distance. When the Boilermakers began to struggle after halftime, the arc pushed the Hoosiers ahead.

IU ended the night 7-of-15 from 3-point range, those numbers representing both the most makes and the most attempts by the Hoosiers in a single game in almost a month.

Hoosiers hang on

Despite Jackson-Davis' quiet night (10 points, eight rebounds, six assists) and almighty foul trouble in the post because of Edey's dominance, Indiana out-toughed and outworked Purdue (24-5, 13-5) across a second half as impressive as any the Hoosiers have played all season.

IU sped up and outscored its host, finishing plus-12 after halftime. Jackson-Davis still managed double-digit points after halftime, and filled up the stat sheet in other crucial areas despite foul trouble of his own. Galloway and Kopp both pitched in double-figure scoring efforts. And Hood-Schifino never stopped scoring, finishing with a game- and career-high 35 points.

So quiet was the nature of Indiana's control of the game that, by its end, the Hoosiers weren't met with hostility so much as silence. Purdue fans had already filed for the exits.

Follow IndyStar reporter Zach Osterman on Twitter: @ZachOsterman.