Purdue played just about the ugliest first half you could imagine in this one yet somehow they went into the locker room tied 35-35. Just how bad did Purdue play in that first half? Well, let’s just take
a look at some numbers shall we? As they say, the numbers don’t lie.
- Purdue shot 5-20 from three. The Oakland zone gave them plenty of open looks but they simply couldn’t convert them.
- Purdue got outrebounded 27-17 in the first half. That’s a -10 differential for the Boilermakers. Oakland grabbed 9 offensive rebounds which led to 8 second chance points for the Golden Bears.
- Purdue shot 2-5 from the free throw line for an ice cold 40%. Reminder that no one guards you when you shoot free throws.
- Purdue had 5 offensive rebounds leading to just 3 second chance points.
Of course, Oakland didn’t play much better on offense which is what helped keep Purdue in this game. Oakland was 5-14 from deep in the first half and just 14-36 overall from the field. Some of that was due to the Purdue defense which did a decent job in the paint with 4 first half blocks. Overall though, Purdue just couldn’t get things going on the offensive side of the ball for the majority of the half. There were fits and spurts where we saw promise but the loss of TKR for another game had a huge impact, at least that’s what I’m telling myself to not lead my thinking down a dark path.
John Wooden Memorial Player of the Game (JWMPOTG): Gonna give it to a newcomer here in Liam Murphy. He hit the three at the end of the half to tie the game and he hit a few big shots in the second half to keep Purdue ahead. He’s a talented and experienced shooter and sometimes when the team is tight you need a guy like Murphy who can come in and get some buckets. He finished this one with 11 points. Welcome to Purdue Mr. Murphy.
There were two moments early in the second half where I thought Purdue was ready to run away with the game. The first one involved a charge that wasn’t called. A burgeoning fan favorite in Jack Benter got down the court early, outside of the circle, and took what was surely a charge. Nope, a block said the ref. Well, the Purdue fans weren’t happy about it and they were even more unhappy when the replay showed. Oakland hit 1-2 from the line but it felt like a turning point. The Mackey Arena crowd came to life and it felt like Purdue was mad. Unfortunately the Golden Bears fought back and kept it tight . Then, there was a period where Braden Smith looked like he was ready to takeover. He was aggressive getting to the hoop and he was looking for his guys in the corners. The Purdue lead jumped up to nearly 10 and it felt like Purdue again was ready to take over. But alas, it wasn’t to be. Some sloppy passing resulted in some quick turnovers for the Boilermakers that allowed the Golden Bears to stay in the game. It was an unlikely hero, Liam Murphy, that kept Purdue in the game.
It wasn’t until right around 5:00 left in the game that Purdue came to life fully and took over. Threes from Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith on back to back possessions pushed the Purdue lead to 9 at 76-67. One free throw from Oscar Cluff would push it to a 10 point lead and you could feel the Purdue crowd exhale just a bit as the clock ticked under 4:00 minutes. Fletcher Loyer added another three followed by a CJ Cox three to put the game out of reach with 2:45 to go. This one was never comfortable but Purdue did just enough to walk away with a victory.
Purdue turned the corner statistically in the second half as well. Don’t believe me? Well, let’s go back to those numbers shall we?
- In the second half Purdue shot 8-15 from three. Much better than the first half
- Purdue won the second half rebounding battle 20-12.
- At the free throw line Purdue went 8-10.
The easy ones to start The season are over. Purdue will head on the road next week to face Alabama in a game where Purdue absolutely must be better. They’ll have to rebound better, shoot better, and play all around better defense. More to come on this one from Casey and Jed.
