Purdue center Matt Haarms described himself as public enemy No. 1 after being the subject of cascading boos and profane chants from the crowd at rival Indiana on Tuesday night.
Haarms got the last laugh when his tiebreaking tip-in with 3.2 seconds left gave the No. 15 Boilermakers a 48-46 victory.
A day later, though, the conduct of the IU student body was still a talking point, with Hoosiers athletic director Fred Glass apologizing to Purdue counterpart Mike Bobinski and emailing student season-ticket holders to warn them about their behavior.
"The profane chants directed at a specific Purdue player were not part of your positive contributions," Glass wrote, according to the Indianapolis Star. "They were embarrassing and unacceptable and reflected poorly on you and Indiana University. Knock off the profane chants, and please help those around you do the same. You and Indiana University are better than that."
Haarms became the crowd's punching bag when he landed on the ground after locking arms with De'Ron Davis late in the first half. After the refs assessed each player a foul, the 7-foot-3 Dutchman was jeered on every play he was involved in.
So when Haarms drew his third foul with 13:36 left in the game and picked up a technical as he and Davis continued battling for the loose ball, the crowd again burst into taunts and chants.
Former Hoosiers star Alan Henderson was among those critical of the fans' behavior:
What's going on in assembly hall? Win or lose, we should not hear curse chants at opponents & read about it in @indystar That's not what @IndianaMBB is about. Someone needs to shut that down! On the PA system whenever it starts. It's disrespectful to all the players, former & now
— Alan Henderson (@44AlanHenderson) February 20, 2019
we beat @templeuniv to go to sweet 16 in 1994. Coach Cheney got on our bus after &congratulated us. Said we aren't his enemy just his opponent. Never forget that. @IndianaMBB Fans need to keep that in mind when cussing a @BoilerBall kid that's just trying to hoop. #balldontlie
— Alan Henderson (@44AlanHenderson) February 20, 2019
Come on to a couple of these replies...just like I tell my kids. Even if someone else does/says something to you. You are responsible for your own reaction/actions. What they do/say is on them. So don't gimme that ' but they were cussing too' argument. #iubb
— Alan Henderson (@44AlanHenderson) February 20, 2019
All that takes away from the fact that the team played hard last night. Few mistakes late which is just part of the game. But it wasn't lack of effort. Came up short against a solid team. But they competed. Just have to keep at it! @IndianaMBB
— Alan Henderson (@44AlanHenderson) February 20, 2019
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
