WEST LAFAYETTE | Perhaps Wednesday night was a purging of frustrations.
Purdue surely could not have picked a better opponent.
In-state rival Indiana made the trip north from Bloomington having lost its last 10, most by double digits. Purdue lost Valpo grad Robbie Hummel and its lead in the Big Ten standings, but the Boilermakers appeared more than happy to exorcise their bad luck on the helpless Hoosiers.
Energized by a raucous crowd and bent on winning for their departing seniors, No. 7 Purdue (25-4, 13-4) built a double-digit lead quickly against Indiana (9-20, 3-14), weathered a couple of small runs and forced the ball inside, cruising to a 74-55 victory.
"We knew this was special to (the seniors)," junior E'Twaun Moore said after leading the Boilermakers with 21 points.
"It was just the perfect thing to do, send them out on a winning note."
Fittingly, Chris Kramer garnered the most attention in his last game on the Mackey Arena court. The senior finished with 18 points, six assists and three rebounds -- and manhandled 6-foot-9 freshman forward Christian Watford down low defensively -- before leaving to a standing ovation as the last senior off the court.
"He stepped up tonight and made some open ones," Purdue coach Matt Painter said of Kramer.
Kramer also helped lead a defensive effort that forced 18 Indiana turnovers and scored 22 points off those turnovers.
Perhaps most importantly for Purdue, Kramer's scoring helped give Purdue the kind of statistical balance that the Boilermakers had hoped to find in Hummel's absence.
Moore, an E.C. Central grad, added six rebounds to his game-high point total, and forward JaJuan Johnson added 14 points and seven boards.
"We're gonna come back to him," Painter said of Moore, who according to his coach has played through bad offensive performances much better this year.
"When he gets it going, I think he can be pretty good."
MEN'S BASKETBALL
No. 7 Purdue 74 Indiana 55
East Chicago native E'Twaun Moore led all scorers with 21 points.
