Post-mortems, and stuff

 Certain things become obvious, as the energy hisses out of  Mackey Arena and Indiana runs its high-falutin' rival off its own floor:

Jalen Hood-Schifino is a first-round draft pick who will never have a sophomore season at IU.

Zach Edey is the Big Ten and National Player of the Year because even in defeat, you can't stop him.

Purdue needs more than Edey to win; Indiana needs Trayce Jackson-Davis but doesn't NEED need him, if you catch the drift.

And, finally … 

Indiana is not sneaky good. It's just good now, and if there's a negative in that it's that the Hoosiers have lost whatever element of surprise they had.

This after Jackson-Davis scored zero points in the first half last night, and yet it was Purdue that was in trouble. The Boilers led just 38-34 at the break, and Hood-Schifino was the best player on the floor with 23 points on his way to 35. This was foreshadowing if you were at all paying attention.

Because then the second half commenced, and Indiana splashed a couple threes, and Trey Galloway stole the ball and laid it up at the other end. And, poof, the Purdues were done. The Hoosiers hit 'em with a 19-5 salvo to open the half, Jackson-Davis got into the flow as a rebounder (eight boards) and facilitator (seven assists), and the Hoosiers won at Mackey -- and swept their higher-ranked rivals -- for the first time in a decade.

Unavoidable conclusion: Purdue has the POY. Indiana has the better team.

The Hoosiers have Jackson-Davis, they have Hood-Schifino, and they have enough other pieces that -- when they're right -- they can make you pay for focusing on the Big Two. They're looking at a 3 or 4-seed in Da Tournament right now, and they'll be the 3 or 4-seed no one wants to see if they play the way they did last night.

Purdue?

The Boilermakers have lost four of their last six and are beginning to look like a team that left its best basketball behind it in January. Their resume still might ensure them a 2-seed, but when two of your three wins in February have come against the worst team in the Big Ten (Ohio State) and a "meh" Penn State team, it doesn't inspire a lot of confidence.

Prediction: Edey gets Purdue to the Sweet Sixteen, where its season ends.

Other prediction: Indiana gets to the Sweet Sixteen, too. And then ...

Well, who knows? The Hoosiers have laid down some flat efforts at some odd times this season. It's the only reason I'd hesitate to say they're Elite Eight at least right now.

In any event, it's going to be an interesting tournament. I mean, just look at what happened yesterday.

Unranked Arizona State beat No. 7 Arizona on 'Zona's home floor with a 60-foot heave at the buzzer.

A 9-20 Florida State team rallied from 25 points down in the second half and shocked No. 13 Miami on, you guessed it, a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

 An underachieving North Carolina team knocked off No. 6 Virginia by eight.

Iowa, trailing by 13 with a minute-and-a-half to play, made 6-of-9 threes -- including four in a row in the last 32 seconds -- to force overtime and beat Michigan State, 112-106.

A wild day, capped by IU asserting itself as the best team in the state. Wilder days to come.