Purdue moves to 4-0 with a comfortable Big Ten win.
What is it about those first home games after the holiday break without the full Paint Crew that makes Purdue struggle so much? Purdue has done better in recent years, but this has traditionally been a game where Purdue has struggled. After jumping out to a 9-0 lead in less than two minutes tonight it looked like the Boilers would avoid that problem, but after being in control for much of the night Washington came storming back to cut it to eight with about three minutes left.
The Boilers rallied behind Braden Smith and CJ Cox to close it out, but for a brief moment things looked like they were going sideways in a hurry. The end result is still a win, however, and that is just fine. Purdue can still win by double digits in a conference game with a C+ level game then it is truly a good team.
First, my thoughts before getting to the postgame videos:
- Smith finished the night with seven assists, giving him an even 900 on his career now. He is just the 16th Division I player to reach the 900 assist plateau. Next up for him to pass: North Carolina A&T’s Kameron Langley and Ohio’s DJ Cooper who each finished with 902.
- He did finished with 23 points tonight, all while battling foul trouble thanks to three in the first half. Not quite a season high after he had 29 at Alabama, but he made up for an off night from Fletcher Loyer. He is climbing the Purdue all-time scoring list too, passing Isaac Haas tonight for 22nd place at 1,575 points.
- Daniel Jacobsen continues to impress in minutes off the bench, all while making me wonder what last year would have been like with him healthy. The “Lob it to the really tall guy for a dunk” offense still reigns in West Lafayette.
- Trey Kaufman-Renn continues to show how much he has steppedup his rebounding game. This game was primarily decided on the glass. Neither team was ridiculously sharp offensively, but TKR was part of a strong effort on the glass against a really good rebounding team. His ability on the offensive glass (seven tonight) only gives a potentially lethal offense more chances.
- Omer Mayer really stepped up tonight. He got some bonus minutes running the point in a Big Ten situation due to Braden’s foul trouble and he did just fine. He even hit a couple of threes.
- CJ Cox seems to get better every game, and he glides along so well as the fourth or even fifth option among the starting five. He is going to be a star next season.
- Overall kind of a flat night for Purdue. Braden had six turnovers. Jack Benter and Gicarri Harris were quiet. Loyer didn’t do much and struggled to shoot. The second half was not Purdue’s finest, but it was enough to win.
- Oscar Cluff, TKR, and Jacobsen were 15 of 24 from the floor and combined for 32 points. Not bad agaisnt a team with a lot of size.
Braden Smith, Omer Mayer, & Trey Kaufman-Renn
Category: General Sports
