ROSEMONT, Ill. — Hard to imagine an IU basketball coach stepping into the Boilermaker-Hoosiers rivalry at a more disadvantageous time than Darien DeVries.
Purdue enters the season not only as the preseason Big Ten favorite for the third year in a row but the national championship betting favorite as well. Indiana, on its third coach in nine years with one NCAA tournament victory in that span, is predicted to finish somewhere in the middle of the conference.
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In truly great rivalries, though, the history matters as much or more than the present. The Iowa native and longtime Creighton assistant and Drake and West Virginia coach received a history lesson over the past five months.
“I think every block you walk it comes up,” DeVries said Thursday at Big Ten media day. “Everybody has a passion for it, and that’s a good thing.”
Purdue plays at Indiana on Jan. 27, and the Hoosiers visit Mackey Arena on Feb. 20. The rivalry has been locked in for two meetings per year since the Big Ten expanded to a 20-game schedule in 2017-18.
Three of the last five IU coaches — Mike Woodson (2022), Kelvin Sampson (2006) and Mike Davis (2001) won their first game against Purdue. Woodson went 4-4 against Painter, even sweeping the Boilermakers in their Big Ten championship and No. 1 NCAA tournament seed season of 2022-23.
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DeVries did not need to grow up making trips up and down Interstate 65 to grasp the importance of what he called “one of the great rivalries in college basketball.”
“It’s what makes college basketball so unique and special is you’ve got two fan bases that are very passionate about their teams and programs,” DeVries said. “You’re in close proximity to each other. You’re recruiting a lot of the same kids. So you understand why that is such a great rivalry.
“It’s awesome for college basketball and it’s awesome for college sports. I’m excited to be a part of it.”
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Darian DeVries on Purdue-Indiana basketball rivalry