Jackson-Davis, No. 21 Indiana beat Edey, No. 1 Purdue 79-74

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Trayce Jackson-Davisreturned to Indiana so he could celebrate a banner season.

On Saturday, the fourth-year forward added another big piece tohis legacy.

He scored 25 points and then watched Jalen Hood-Schifino breakfree for the clinching dunk with 2 seconds left to give No. 21Indiana a 79-74 victory over No. 1 Purdue — and a quick storming ofthe court.

It’s the fourth time the Hoosiers have beaten the nation’stop-ranked team at Assembly Hall, and the first since upsettingMichigan almost exactly 10 years earlier.

“I just think it’s a toughness factor,” Jackson-Davis said,explaining why this team is different. “I feel like teams in thepast that I’ve been on just weren’t that tough, honestly. We’vekind of played with a chip on our shoulders since we got punked byRutgers and we’ve kind of found our niche and that’s what we’redoing.′

The only guy that’s been even close to Jackson-Davis’productivity over the past month has been Purdue’s Zach Edey, whohad 33 points and 18 rebounds.

But it was Jackson-Davis who walked away with his sixth win inseven games by moving within 16 points of becoming the firstIndiana player to ever score 2,000 and grab 1,000 rebounds. Hefinished with seven rebounds and five blocks, becoming the firstplayer to have 25 points and five blocks against a No. 1-rankedteam since Marcus Camby in November 1995 against Kentucky.

Fittingly, Jackson-Davis and the Hoosiers (16-7, 7-5 Big Ten)celebrated with their fellow students, who rekindled memories ofChristian Watford’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer to beat No. 1 Kentuckyin December 2010. And this time, the fans lingered on the courtlong after the final buzzer as they pumped fists and danced to thesweet sounds emanating from the pep band.

It marked the first time in the 216-game series Purdue (22-2,11-2) was ranked No. 1.

“They were our sixth man honestly and we fed off of it,”Jackson-Davis said. “That was the most electric crowd since I’vebeen here. They really helped us.”

But Indiana also played pretty well, forcing 16 turnovers andshooting 52.6% from the field against a defense that had held 24consecutive opponents to 70 or fewer points. It won despite gettingoutrebounded 38-22 and nearly blowing a 16-point lead.

The 7-foot-4 Edey positioned Purdue for the charge by scoringeight of Purdue’s first 10 second-half points to cut a 15-pointdeficit to nine. He then added the final six points in a 12-4 spurtthat make it 67-65 with 5:40 to play. And when Braden Smith’s layupmade it 71-70 with 2:03 left, even Boilermakers coach Matt Paintersensed the fans’ angst.

“If you can flip that or tie it or take the lead there, it’sjust a different feeling,” he said. “It’s really hard to overcomethat, the air kind of goes out of it, things get quiet in your ownarena.”

Instead, the Hoosiers forced three turnovers and eventuallyclosed it out with four free throws, a layup from Hood-Schifino andthe dunk off a perfectly designed inbound pass from second-yearcoach Mike Woodson, who has won both home meetings againstIndiana’s archrival.

“I didn’t know the play was going to go that way, obviously,”said Hood-Schifino, who had 16 points. “But in the last timeout, Itold coach I’m going to get this last bucket, so I was happy.”

BIG PICTURE

Purdue: Even on an uncharacteristic day, the Boilermakers showedwhy they are the nation’s top team. The matchup with Edey is sodifficult, Purdue can exploit it at will.

Indiana: The Hoosiers did everything they needed early — makingshots, ramping up the pace and making life generally difficult forthe Boilermakers. And down the stretch they showed the mettle of ateam that was the preseason conference favorite.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Purdue entered the day with a nine-game winning streak and asthe only one-loss team in Division I, so another loss may not knockthem out of the top spot. Indiana, which reappeared Monday in theTop 25, has solidified its spot despite losing earlier this week atMaryland.

SPECIAL MOMENTS

Indiana Athletics Hall of Fame radio announcer Don Fischer washonored at halftime for calling his 50th season of play-by-play.He’s tied for the fourth-longest active tenure in Division Ibasketball with Kevin McKinney of Wyoming. Then during the finalmedia timeout, the Hoosiers thanked ESPN color analyst Dick Vitalewith a video tribute to his career. Vitale stood and waved to thecrowd in appreciation.

UP NEXT

Purdue: Returns home Thursday against Iowa.

Indiana: Hosts Rutgers on Tuesday.