Purdue Halts Bleak Season Talk with Dominating Win Over Ohio
By Keith Carrell (@BoilerColts)
ISL Purdue Columnist
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue basketball chose to interrupt the regularly scheduled disappointing season with an authoritative win over Ohio Thursday night; running away with a 95-67 win.While the win keeps Purdue undefeated on Keady Court this season, the still forming team has not been able to overcome tough competition on the road with losses at neutral sites to Virginia Tech and Notre Dame as well as losses at Florida State, Michigan, and Texas. The result has left the Boilers with a 7-5record heading into their final non-conference tilt at the end of December and an uphill climb to reach the NCAA Tournament for a fifth straight season.
Ohio entered the game with a 7-3 record and a potent offense, already having five games where they scored at least 80 points, including hanging 101 on Marshall, but even with a solid start to the season for the Bobcats, they were severely outmatched against Purdue. While Ohio won the tip and Antonio Cowart, Jr. scored a three on their first possession, that would be the only lead of the game for Ohio and a short lived lead at that as Carsen Edwards responded with a three of his own on the ensuing possession.
Eight minutes into the contest, Purdue had imposed its will to a 27-to-seven lead. Trevion Williams checked in for his first action and the Bobcats quickly reeled off six unanswered points, but then Williams settled in by grabbing a rebound off of Teyvion Kirk’s missed jumper and Grady Eifert drilled a three to end Ohio’s mini-run. Purdue had extended their lead back to 34-13 by the team Purdue was called for their first foul of the game, by Eifert, with 6:25 remaining in the first half.
“We struggle when we have predetermined thoughts. We’re a much better team when we let things come to us, we move the basketball, and just take what the defense gives us.” – Purdue Head Coach, Matt Painter
The cushion reintroduced Purdue’s lackluster perimeter defense which Ohio promptly took advantage of, knocking down five treys (three from Ben Vander Plas) in under four minutes of action, trimming the Boiler lead down to nine, 43-34. Painter called a timeout and Purdue responded in kind by ending the half on a six-to-two run.
Not four minutes into the second half, Purdue had already committed four fouls and Ohio had found a little rhythm offensively to make it a 55-43 Boiler lead, but Purdue would use lockdown defense over the next five minutes to go on a 15-to-two run and put the game away for all intents and purposes. Purdue would cruise the remainder of the game, seeing the lead climb to as many as 31 on a couple of occasions before settling at a 28 point margin at the buzzer.
The game saw the first adjustment to the starting lineup by Painter since the season began, but it wasn’t necessarily the adjustment many fans had been clamoring for (Aaron Wheeler in place of Eifert); Painter started Evan Boudreaux and brought Matt Haarms off the bench. The switch at the five had a bit of a twist in its result as the best player at that position against Ohio actually ended up being Williams. Boudreaux did some little things well,but struggled to find his offensive game, missing all four field goal attempts,as he finished with three points in 15 minutes. Haarms was slightly more productive with four points and four boards in thirteen minutes, but also committed a pair of turnovers. Williams had perhaps his most complete game of his young career racking up a game high eight rebounds to go along with five points, two blocks, two assists (including a smooth, no look, behind the back dump to Eric Hunter), and no turnovers in only twelve minutes of action. It was easily the most confident and relaxed Williams had looked all season, but he wasn’t the only fresh face to come into his own against Ohio.
Hunter also had a solid outing, netting (a career high) 13points, four assists, and no turnovers in 19 minutes. “Obviously, it feels good when the ball goes in the bucket, but it just started on the defensive end for us,” Hunter stated after the game. While Hunter had shown flashes of a high caliber player early on this season, he appeared to play tight the past few outings and had only scored two total points in the past five contests. Hunter sparked Purdue’s offense in the first half as he scored six points in his first four minutes of playing time and was a big part of Purdue’s16-to-zero run.
There were a few highlight plays in this game, the no-look pass from Williams. Haarms had a dunk off an inbounds play, Edwards had his typical no-no-no-yes moments, but the smoothest play might be one that involved nearly everyone on the court. About three minutes into the second half, Wheeler grabbed a rebound from a Kirk miss. On the other end of the court Edwards was dribbling on the left elbow and threw a bounce pass to Nojel Eastern cutting from the left wing down the baseline. Evan Boudreaux stood on the left blocks and cleared a path for Eastern to rise up and throw down a one-handed slam dunk.
So while the climb may be uphill for this train, for one night back in the friendly confines of Mackey Arena, Purdue erased any belief that they’re ill-equipped to handle the challenge. But will the Boilers build on this win, right the ship, and turn this season into what fans and pundits had expected or will this team return fans to their regularly scheduled disappointing season?
To succeed with the former, they’ll need to build on this performance, close out the non-conference slate with a win and play heady basketball in a grueling Big Ten conference to impress the committee enough for that coveted NCAA Tournament selection in March. Call me crazy if you want, but it’s no easy road for Purdue. They probably need at least 22 wins to get into the dance. So let’s do the math, if they defeat a tough Belmont team on December 29th, they’ll still need about 14 wins (let’s give Purdue two Big Ten Tournament wins for a round 20 regular season victories need). That would leave the Boilers needing to finish the season by going 12-6 (roughly meaning they have to win out at home and steal three road wins). In some conferences (I’m looking at you PAC-12) that could be a proverbial piece of cake, but the Big Ten is as solid top-to-bottom as it’s been in years. In the current AP poll, seven conference teams are ranked in the top 25 and a total of eight teams are receiving more votes than Purdue; add in that Purdue only has single plays against Rutgers, Illinois, and Northwestern and the horizon is relatively bleak. That’s not to say Purdue can’t go on a run and make the NCAA Tournament,but the challenge is much tougher than if they had pulled out a signature win or two on the road during non-conference play.
Next up:
Home: Belmont on Saturday, 12/29 (4:30 pm, FS1)
Quick Hits:
Edwards had another 30 point outing (10-16, 4-9 from three) and it was the 32nd straight game he’s scored in double figures… Ryan Cline chipped in 19 points… Every rotation player for Purdue scored, only Tommy Luce and Kyle King played without scoring… Purdue out-rebounded Ohio 36-27 and forced 14 turnovers… Purdue scored 33 points combined off of turnovers and second chance opportunities… In a sign that Painter is still learning the pieces of the roster, only two Boilers (Edwards, Cline) played more than 24 minutes… It was one of the most efficient offensive outings for Purdue of the season as they shot 57% from the field, 48% from three, and 81% at the line.
