The Minute After: Purdue

Thoughts on a 73-58 win against the Boilermakers:

This game had multiple personalities.

Indiana asserted itself down low early, over-powering a Purdue team lacking rim protection and size. As the Boilermakers threw more defenders at IU’s frontcourt, the 3-point line opened up for the Hoosiers. But Indiana couldn’t buy a bucket from deep. Shot clanked off the rim, careened off the backboard and found only air.

As Indiana missed (1-of-11 from 3-point range in the first half), the Boilermakers made. Purdue knocked down six 3-pointers over the final 9:36 of the half, the exclamation point of a 21-4 run to close out the first 20 minutes of action.

A once six-point Indiana lead (19-13) became a 12-point halftime deficit (37-25). A fifth straight home loss looked inevitable.

But the second half belonged to Indiana. In a big way. In an incredible, no-one-could-see-coming way. And it was thanks to an unlikely reason: its defense. IU’s perimeter hounding of Branden Smith completely shut down Purdue’s offense; one ranked No. 8 on KenPom heading into the contest.

Myles Rice was the biggest second-half pest, picking up three steals. Where has this been all season? Anthony Leal was right there behind him with two swipes. Malik Reneau and Luke Goode each had one, too. As the Hoosiers turned over Purdue, the miscues became points on the other end. Nineteen of Indiana’s 48 second-half points came via turnovers.

At one point, Purdue has more turnovers (nine) than points (eight).

The Boilermakers looked broken from Indiana’s defensive onslaught. Their second half was miserable offensively. The live box score put them at just .677 points per possession with a turnover percentage of 35.5. They shot 1-of-5 from 3-point range and 6-of-20 (30 percent) from the floor. Purdue scored just 21 points to IU’s 48. Smith’s second half was particularly striking. One of the top point guards in the country turned the ball over five times against just one assist, didn’t make a basket and scored just one point off a free throw.

Trey Kaufman-Renn, Purdue’s other best player, wasn’t any better. He went 0-of-4 from the floor, turned the ball over three times and scored just one point in the second half before fouling out with 4:30 to play.

On the other end, Indiana hit two 3-pointers in the first four minutes of the second half, which helped Purdue stay more honest down low. So the Hoosiers went back to feasting there. Malik Reneau finished a perfect 7-of-7 from the field for the game with 15 points, six rebounds and four assists. Oumar Ballo, who didn’t start and played limited minutes (22), still managed 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, including two alley-oop finishes from Trey Galloway.

Indiana out-scored the Boilermakers 44-18 in the paint for the contest, thanks to its bigs and the points it got in transition off of Purdue’s turnovers.

And so a 12-point halftime deficit turned into a 15-point victory for the Hoosiers. Just how they drew it up, right?

“It’s always special when you beat Purdue,” Mike Woodson said after the game.

Added Galloway: “We’re all playing for each other because we’re all in it together. This is coach’s last year. We want to make it special for him. We want to make it special for everyone.”

This season hasn’t gone to plan. But hats off to the Hoosiers. They rose from the ashes to haunt Purdue for the entire second half.

In a season full of disappointments, you’ll take this one.

Category: The Minute After

Filed to: Purdue Boilermakers