IU vs Purdue

Tonight was the IU vs Purdue men's basketball game and all of us made plans to watch it.  Cameron had the best seat front and center behind the basket, but the rest of us had just as much fun watching it from home.  It was fun to see the crowd dressed for "stripe out" at Assembly Hall and I was glad that Cameron was wearing his favorite longtime Hoosier jacket to match the theme.  I don't know if I truly believed that IU could beat the #12th ranked Boilermakers, but I was hopeful.  Mostly, I wished for a close game and a full stadium.  Thankfully, I got both.  

The Hoosiers started off hot in both shooting and rebounding leading almost the entire first half going into the locker room up 40-29.  I waited for a big run by Purdue or a cool off in shooting by IU, but neither really happened.  Our defense rattled their star player and our offense held strong.  The Boilermakers did cut into IU's lead, but the team held strong and ended up winning the game 72-67.  

As much fun as I had watching the game and seeing Cameron in the stands high fiving the players afterward, my favorite part of the evening occurred when the game was over.  Cal texted our family group chat "Beat Purdue at our hobby sport, sorry Nick."  Meg followed that with "I'm just remembering football season when you said, "wait until basketball season comes" and now it's even more embarrassing for you."  Both texts made me laugh out loud.  I definitely thought about saying something, but Nick had just gifted us Diamond level at Hilton, so I kept my comments to myself.  Either way, it was a fun night and a great win by the Hoosiers.  Maybe there is a chance for us to make the tournament after all.