Indiana Coach Darian DeVries on Purdue Upset: 'These Types of Rivalries are Fun'

Consider Tuesday night the first signature win of the Darian DeVries era for the Indiana Hoosiers.

Knocking off the No. 12-ranked Purdue Boilermakers in Bloomington, 72-67, Indiana beat its in-state Big Ten rival at home for a second consecutive year, and the Hoosiers' new head coach grasps the magnitude of the rivalry.

"We talked about it before the game: ‘Rivalries are what make college sports great.' This is what it is. This is why everybody loves college sports. These types of rivalries are fun. They should be. You got fan bases who both care about their teams. They're both close to each other. That’s what it's supposed to be about," DeVries said in his postgame press conference on Tuesday night after Indiana upset Purdue.

"It's good. It's competitive. For us, that's a big win. Every win's a big win, but those rivalry games always got a little extra to them, and we were fortunate to come out on top tonight."

The two men's college basketball programs first faced off against each other on March 1, 1901, with Purdue holding a 128-94 all-time record in the head-to-head series.

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As for the Tuesday night matchup, the Hoosiers knocked down 12 3-pointers, with Lamar Wilkerson scoring a team-high 19 points and bringing down seven rebounds; Nick Dorn scored 18 points; Tucker DeVries — the head coach's son — totaled nine points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

On the season, Wilkerson is averaging 19.4 points per game, while shooting 45.5/39.7/86.5; DeVries is averaging 14.3 points and 5.2 rebounds per game; Tayton Conerway is averaging 11.2 points, 4.1 assists and 1.4 steals per game, while shooting 53.6% from the field.

As for Indiana's new sideline conductor, DeVries took over for the Hoosiers shortly after their 2024-25 season concluded, succeeding former school star Mike Woodson as head coach. DeVries was previously the head coach at West Virginia for one season, with the Mountaineers going a combined 19-13 in the 2024-25 season.

DeVries' one season at West Virginia was preceded by six seasons as the head coach at Drake, highlighted by three NCAA Tournament appearances for the Bulldogs and him winning Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year honors twice.

The in-state rivalry win moved Indiana to 14-7 overall and 5-5 in Big Ten play, while Purdue moved to 17-4 overall and 7-3 in conference play. The two teams will cross paths again on Feb. 20 in West Lafayette (8 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app).