Different arena, same story.

Less than a month after losing by 29 in West Lafayette, Indiana, Iowa found itself in a similar situation, falling 77-68 to Purdue at home on Tuesday.

While the loss wasn’t quite as bad as it was at Mackey Arena, Purdue proved to be the better team on the glass and on the scoreboard Tuesday.

“This was a lot better than the last Purdue game,” Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery said. “We did some stuff that was good. When you lose a game like this, you got to give credit to your opponent. They played better than us. They were a little more connected. They got on the glass. They made more shots.”

Things were off for the Hawkeyes from the start, and nothing seemed to get better as the night went on.

Purdue outrebounded Iowa, 47-33, after acquiring a 27-12 advantage in the first half. The Boilermakers also dominated the Hawkeyes, 21-10, on the offensive glass, cashing in for 20 second-chance points.

“They played like they needed this game,” Iowa center Luka Garza said. “They played desperate. They played hungry, and we didn’t. You can’t give up 21 offensive rebounds to a team.”

The Hawkeyes attempted to claw their way back in the second half, but the offense proved to be dormant in the second 20 minutes as well.

Iowa finished the night shooting 38 percent from the field. Only Garza could find his groove on the offensive end, as he finished with 26 points on 9-of-17 shooting to go with 12 rebounds.

Garza also sunk two free throws early in the second half for his 700th point of the season, breaking Iowa’s single-season record for points.

Ryan Kriener put up a solid effort in the second half, draining a 3 early to give Iowa some momentum. But it was short-lived.

Just as it was the case at Mackey Arena on Feb. 5, Purdue drained every shot it needed to.

Purdue only shot 37 percent from the floor on Tuesday, but it proved to be enough after it contained the Hawkeye offense.

Three Boilermakers — Evan Boudreaux, Jahaad Proctor, and Eric Hunter Jr. — scored in double figures, while Garza was as the only Hawkeye with double-digit points until Joe Wieskamp scored with under 15 seconds to reach 10.

“I think their game plan is clearly working against us,” Wieskamp said. “Different teams present different situations defensively where you kind of have to read that throughout the game of areas where you can attack it. I think Purdue has done a good job of taking away our three main scorers and forcing other guys to step up.”

The loss hurts Iowa’s chance at securing a double-bye at the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis next week.

After the loss, the Hawkeyes sit one spot out of the double-bye, tied with Penn State at 11-8 in the conference.

Iowa will close its season against Illinois on March 8, while Illinois and Wisconsin — tied for third — have two conference games remaining.

If Illinois loses to Ohio State on Thursday, the Hawkeyes just need to down the Illini after to secure the extra bye.

“There’s always something to play for night in and night out,” Wieskamp said. “[Illinois] remembers what happened when we beat them here, so it’s going to be a big game regardless of where the standings are.”