Purdue newcomers eager to embrace rivarly against Indiana

Camden Heide’s first taste of the Purdue-Indiana rivalry came with the redshirt freshman sitting on the bench for last year’s two games.

Tuesday’s matchup (7 p.m., Peacock) inside Assembly Hall will be a first-time experience for Lance Jones, a transfer from Southern Illinois.

“They say it’s a great game,” Jones said Monday prior to the Boilermakers leaving for Bloomington. “P.J. (Thompson) said there’s no rivalry like it and it will be the best atmosphere game I’ll play in. That kind of gave me the chills.”

The chills add to the flavor of the in-state matchup, but Purdue – which dropped one spot to No. 2 in Monday’s Associated Press poll after last week’s loss to Nebraska – is looking for a victory to maintain its place in the Big Ten standings.

“It’s a huge game,” point guard Braden Smith said. “Just excited to be a part of it.”

But losing twice to the Hoosiers last season still lingers around the program.

“We definitely owe them. Even if we win, we always owe them,” Heide said. “That’s a goal at the beginning of the year – these two games are circled. I’m super eager.

“It was a great environment in the first half (in Bloomington), and we were down 50 to 35. We made it a game in the second half. We’re going to try and go there as focused as we’ve been this week and get a win.”

Part of that focus stems from Matt Painter blasting crowd noise through the Mackey Arena sound system during Monday’s practice session. It’s not unusual for Painter to use the tactic as a preparation tool, something he’s done for about 20 years.

Communication is crucial for the Boilermakers to operate at a high level.

“It was damn loud in there,” Jones said. “That was our first time and they told me a couple of days ago that we would be playing with crowd noise. I had to prepare for it even though you can’t prepare for how loud it’s going to be.”

Last year’s loss in Bloomington snapped a nine-game winning streak for the Boilermakers, who were ranked No. 1. Purdue did rally from the 15-point halftime deficit, but late turnovers and lack of execution prevented Painter’s team from securing the victory.

Turnovers have been a common theme in the two losses this season against Northwestern and Nebraska. The Boilermakers had 17 turnovers in the overtime loss to the Wildcats and committed 14 in the setback to the Huskers.

Purdue wasn’t on Jones’ radar during the regular season last year, and only knew the Boilermakers lost to the Hoosiers when a notification landed on his phone.

“I heard about the rivalry, but I don’t know too much about it,” Jones said. “Just know it gets a little crazy. I’m looking forward to it for sure.”

Tuesday will be Heide’s first experience actually playing in the rivalry. He’s carved out a meaningful role on this year’s team and plans to maximize his minutes to help the Boilermakers regain a foothold in the series against IU.

He’s been waiting to play in this game since his recruiting intensified from Painter and Purdue.

“As I was more mature in my high school days and started getting recruited by Purdue, I realized – in my opinion – this is the biggest rivalry in college basketball,” Heide said. “Anytime you get a chance to go into a game like this it’s a great opportunity.”