Purdue tops Southern Indiana in exhibition
By KEITH CARRELL
@BoilerColts
ISL Purdue Writer
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue defeated the University of Southern Indiana 85-63 Tuesday evening in its only exhibition game prior to the season beginning in earnest November 11 against McNeese State. The Boilermakers, already shorthanded with Basil Smotherman serving his first of a three game suspension and the injured Jacquil Taylor both out for the contest, only dressed seven scholarship players after news broke that Ryan Cline was also suspended for the season’s first three contests due to a violation of team rules.
That shorter bench, led to extended minutes for the main rotational players in the exhibition. Starters P.J. Thompson, Dakota Mathias, Vincent Edwards, Caleb Swanigan, and Isaac Haas along with Spike Albrecht and Carsen Edwards off the bench accounted for all but 17 of the 200 player minutes, Grady Eifert was the only non-scholarship player to contribute major minutes, chipping in 14 of those. Jon McKeeman and Tommy Luce saw a combined three minutes at the end of the second half.
Reasons not to leave @BoilerBall‘s @Biggs_Swanigan alone in the paint:#BoilerUp pic.twitter.com/jwWaPvUCVw
— 📷Trevor Mahlmann (@TrevorMahlmann) November 2, 2016
The contest against the Screaming Eagles had all of the makings of an early season exhibition game, with a slow start by the Boilermakers, a sluggish middle stanza, and missed opportunities with the little things. Southern Indiana scored the game’s first four points, before Purdue finally locked in after two minutes had passed and answered with a 12-0 run of their own. Although, Purdue would not relinquish the lead again, the Boilermakers had an eight minute lapse spanning the end of the first half through the beginning of the second that saw the Screaming Eagles go on a 22-8 run to get within ten points (50-40) with 16 minutes remaining in the game. Purdue’s lack of production was in large part to their poor free throw (14-28) and perimeter shooting (5-20). Isaac Haas paced the free throw woes going a miserable 5-15 on a night in which he scored a career high 25 points, going 10-11 from the field in 20 minutes of action. The Boilers also had a lackluster performance on the boards as they were outrebounded by a much smaller team (37-34).
There’s only so much that can be taken away from an exhibition game, especially one here 30 percent of the lineup is out, but Purdue did introduce a few newcomers into the fold that are detailed in the expanded season preview below. On the whole, though, Purdue won by 22 and did some things exceptionally well like interior shooting and passing where they assisted on 28 of their 33 made field goals and connected on nearly eighty percent of their two point attempts.
Here are the @BTNStudentU highlights from tonight’s 85-63 win. And we saved the best for last…#BoilerUp https://t.co/aqlNWCUcOO
— Purdue Basketball (@BoilerBall) November 2, 2016
The newcomers:
There are truly four newcomers to the team this season in freshman Carsen Edwards, grad transfer Spike Albrecht, freshman Tommy Luce, and the basketball court itself. Edwards and Albrecht both came off the bench and showed they’re both likely to be consistent contributors this season. Albrecht made his presence felt early as he nailed his first trey just seven and a half minutes into the game and was both a calming force and a source of energy diving for loose balls and taking charges. The injury that held him out of last season appears to be behind him and his play was unimpaired. Edwards proved that he will be needed this year as he is as quick with the ball as he is without it on offense, slashing to the hoop multiple times as he finished dribble-drives and dicing through traffic on a fast break that resulted in the 6-footer dunking in transition. Edwards also showed that he is still just a freshman on occasion though, primarily on the defensive end where he looked uncomfortable and ill-equipped to defend shooters face-up and was both shot faked and shimmied into bad positions. At least against Southern Indiana, though, he did appear to be solid, though not great, at defending the dribble and off the ball. Coach Matt Painter will likely look for Edwards to focus on his defensive abilities as a way to earn more playing time, but his offensive abilities, especially off the bounce, will demand playing time. Luce is a walk-on who, although he was the featured player on the game’s ticket stub, saw only one minute of action and is unlikely to make an impact in-game this season. Lastly, but not least, the basketball court is also a new addition to Mackey this year as the previous court was ruined by a flood caused by construction to the Football Performance Complex in the offseason. The design remains unchanged from the previous season, but a new addition it is.
The offense:
One of Purdue’s best shooters, Ryan Cline, was out for this contest, but it is apparent that Painter has instilled the bigs as option A for the offense to run through. Swanigan and Haas handled the ball nearly every possession and either shot the ball themselves or helped to direct traffic in swinging the ball to and through the perimeter shooters. Swanigan especially was a distributor early, primarily to his frontcourt counterpart, dishing assist from the top of the key (press-breaker anyone?) and the blocks to Haas. Haas was extremely efficient per possession and minute last season and scoring 1.25 points per minute in the exhibition is a solid foundation to build on as the season progresses. One area to look for here is how Purdue will handle competition with any size to attempt to defend Purdue’s skyline.
As for the backcourt, Thompson was much more aggressive than at any point last season and seems surer of what to do with the ball when it’s in his hands. When he’s in the game, he is the point guard and that is definitive. When he takes a breather, things get a little murkier as to who is expected to be the floor general, but it appears that Painter has opted for Albrecht to fill that role. Albrecht and Edwards were on the court together frequently and the ball typically was brought up by and the offense run through Albrecht. That philosophy could change as the season and Edwards progress, but Albrecht has the experience and ability to capably guide the offense in the meantime.
The defense:
The loss of A.J. Hammons and Rapheal Davis, both to graduation, will be felt by this team in the locker room and on both ends of the court, but none in a bigger way than on the defensive end. Davis was the defensive stopper on the perimeter and Hammons cleaned up any mistakes as a shot blocker. This team will need to find a new identity to its defense to be successful, but it will likely gamble less on the perimeter to contain the offense more than force mistakes at the risk of getting Haas or Swanigan in foul trouble. Both Swanigan and Haas had at least one blocked shot against Southern Indiana, but neither has the feel or prowess that Hammons possessed in that capacity. The defense should be solid, especially as Edwards grows, but it may not be the lockdown, turnover-causing havoc that fans had become accustomed to the last few seasons.
The elephant:
There is little doubt this Purdue squad will be a force to be reckoned with throughout the season, especially as their time together and chemistry develop, but the elephant in the room is what happens after the regular season ends. Will this team stall out like the prior two season, losing their tournament openers that could and probably should have been won in each of their last two NCAA Tournament appearances? It remains to be seen how this team will unfold, but Painter has become notorious for the post-season flameout during his tenure at Purdue and will look to rectify that this season. One variable that could help with Purdue getting over that hump is Spike Albrecht, who already has one Final Four under his belt from his time at Michigan, where his squad lost to Louisville in the championship game.
The rest:
One thing that Purdue fans will feel right at home with about this squad is the play hard attitude. From returning players to newcomers, the attitude was consistent and clear… passion and hustle will win games. Multiple players dove for loose balls, pushed the ball up the court for fast breaks, and stood strong to take charges in the exhibition tilt. That drive to outwork an opponent is what has allowed Purdue to be successful in the past and it could be the recipe for success this season.
Quick hits:
This is the only exhibition this season as Purdue will visit West Virginia in a closed scrimmage for the second tune-up (no media allowed)… Swanigan had a near triple-double in the game, contributing 16 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists… The team had a combined 2:1 assist to turnover ratio (28-14)… 52 of Purdue’s 85 points were scored in the paint… Even while being outrebounded, Purdue held USI to 10 second chance points… Four Purdue players had at least three fouls: Haas, V. Edwards, and C. Edwards each had four while Swanigan had three… Next game: Regular season opener 11/11 v McNeese State.
