Feb 20, 2026; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Purdue Boilermakers forward Trey Kaufman-Renn (4) passes against the Indiana Hoosiers during the first half at Mackey Arena. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images | Marc Lebryk-Imagn ImagesAndrew LedmanSat, February 21, 2026 at 3:08 AM UTC·5 min readI hesitate to say that any game at this point in the season is a must win for the Boilermakers with the Big Ten race out of reach, but this game against IU, in Mackey Arena, certainly felt like one that Purdue really needed just for their mental peace. Oh, and seeding, they needed it for seeding. As soon as I walked into Mackey the vibes were great. For what I would say has been a subpar season from the crowd it really seemed like they stepped up in this one. From the little girl in the crowd with the “crimson is an ugly color” sign to the four students dressed as astronauts, to Purdue legend David Teague, everyone was ready. Purdue needed all of them to get revenge on an IU team that took them down at Assembly Hall earlier this season.
John Wooden Memorial Player of the Game (JWMPOTG): Gonna cheat a bit here and give it to the Big Three as a whole today. Each played their part perfectly. Fletcher Loyer finished with 18 points and was perfect from the field and the line, Trey Kaufman-Renn played with defensive intensity and fought for rebounds before finishing with 20 points and 6 rebounds to go along with 5 assists, and Braden Smith was the maestro of the offense finishing with 15 points and 8 assists as he continues his quest to take the NCAA all time assist record. This crew was not going to let IU come into Mackey Arena and win their last regular season matchup. It simply wasn’t going to happen. Combined the three finished with 53 points. When they left the game they combined for 53 points compared with IU’s 57 points. Just a dominating performance from the seniors.
Purdue started out this one playing with intensity and purpose. Oh, and they were shooting the ball well too. Purdue started out the game going 2-2 from beyond the arc with who else but Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer starting the scoring for the Boilermakers. Purdue jumped out to an early 10-3 lead before the game settled down. IU kept the game close for about the first 13 minutes until Purdue slowly started to pull away. Purdue was able to slow down the IU offense with good switching, five players playing as one, and crashing for the boards. Purdue outrebounded the Hoosiers 12-8 in the first half but also allowed IU to grab just one offensive rebound in that first 20 minutes. It was a stark contrast to the Michigan game.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOn the offensive end Purdue saw contributions from a number of places including Trey Kaufman-Renn who played minutes at the 5 where he thrived. While getting consistently beat to hell underneath he still was able to go 5-7 from the floor and 4-6 from the line to chip in 14 points in the first half. It was exactly what Purdue needed. He wasn’t the only one to contribute that as Purdue saw six players score in the first half with three in double figures TKR (14), Smith (14), and Loyer (10). It’s more than just points on offense though, it’s taking the right show. Omer Mayer found a very nice look in the first half when he sent his man flying.
With the refs calling foul after foul it was tough for either team to get into a rhythm, but Purdue continued to add to the lead slowly over the half before suddenly you looked up and Purdue was up 46-29 at halftime. With just 20 minutes to play, things were looking very good for the Mackey Arena fans.
After what I can only describe as one of the wildest halftime shows I’ve ever seen, it was time to get back to business.
Purdue started the half on a 14-6 run to push their lead to 25 points with 15:04 to go. The game wasn’t technically over, but it was over. Lamar Wilkerson had been effectively shut down by the Boilermakers for the first half but he wouldn’t be denied in the second half as he scored 14 of IU’s 16 points during one stretch. It won’t look like Purdue did a great job on him as he finished with 20 point, but they stopped him when it mattered most. Purdue looked crisp on both ends of the court with Braden Smith dropping dimes and finishing with 8 assists on the night. TKR continued to play an impressive game while Omer Mayer got into the scoring with back to back three pointers that helped stem a bit of an IU, well Wilkerson actually, run and pushed the lead back to 28 points. With 7:47 to go in the game the few IU fans that were attendance decided they had seen enough and were politely waved goodbye to by the Paint Crew and the rest of the Mackey Arena faithful.
In a span of less than two minutes in the second half Purdue fans got a glimpse of the future as Omer Mayer went off and scored 8 points in what is likely his best game as a Boilermaker. He finished with 18 points on 6-8 shooting including 4-5 from deep. His emergence could lead to very great things for this Purdue team with March fast approaching.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThis was what we desperately needed to see out of Purdue. After playing a pretty decent game against Michigan (minus a taste impactful four minutes) Purdue fans wanted to see a killer instinct back in Mackey and against IU no less. Purdue go that and more. The defensive intensity was there all night and the offense moved like smooth jazz played by Ron Burgundy on the jazz flute. Just a masterful game by the Boilermakers all around. Purdue remains at Mackey Arena for their next game against the Michigan State Spartans on the 24th.
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