The Boilers took to the road for the first time this season as they traveled to Fort Wayne to take on the Mastodons. The Boilers looked like they hadn’t done much scouting ahead of the game as the Dons’ defensive pressure caused a lot of issues for Purdue offensively. As the half went on with coaches and players adjusting, the offense found more of its rhythm while the defense was really disruptive in the second half.
Let’s jump into some numbers with our second installation of ‘Behind the Numbers!’
42
Purdue may not have a single player that is going to night in-night out dominate in the ways like Biggie, Edey, Jaden, or TKR have is years past, but what they do have is an overwhelming level of consistent high level play down the bench. That level of consistent high level play was on display as the Boilers got 42 points off their bench, led by Antoine West’s 16 points.
71%
Any time you can shoot 70%+ from the field in a half, no matter who the opponent is, it is going to bode very well. That second was really a thing of beauty as the Boilers made a concerted effort to get themselves into the paint while also getting their big men more involved in the offense. You can really see the difference in the heat maps from the first to second half as most of the work being done was inside. That effort led to 22-31 shooting for 71% in total for the second half for 50 points but that very well could have been even higher as the Boilers brought in their deep bench players for about 4 minutes of game time. It isn’t out of the realm of possibility that the Boilers could have put up 60+ if the regular players had remained in for the entire second half.
10
Whether you want to include him in the group of frontline players or not, Jack Benter is going to rebound at a high level. Benter is just one of those players who understands the game at a different level for players typical of his age (likely because his dad is a coach…similar to PJ Thompson). Simply put, he makes winning plays and just seems to make the other four players around him better.
Against PFW, Benter grabbed what would have been a career high 10 rebounds in just 18 minutes of action. He isn’t a traditional power forward but when he was forced there last year out of necessity, Purdue found his presence created a lot of problems for opposing teams. This isn’t necessarily out of nowhere as Benter had 9 games last season where he had 5 or more rebounds and if he can give Purdue more of that level in his minutes, it bodes well for Purdue with the shooters it has on the floor.
7 vs. 20
Purdue, without a traditional post type player or a guard who can truly create off the dribble, isn’t likely to take a lot of free throws. That just isn’t what happens for a team that becomes reliant on three pointers but it needs to be a focus for Purdue given they should have an ability to shoot 75%+ as a team this season from the line. They are called ‘free throws’ for a reason.
On the flip side, if Purdue isn’t going to generate opportunities at the free throw line then they simply can’t give up an amount of free throws that could tip the balance in a close game. A 14 free throw advantage for an opponent of 7 vs. 20 can’t happen frequently unless Purdue is shooting really well.
8 vs. 34
8 points in the paint in the first half versus 34 in the second half. This is likely to be a stat that will tell a major part of the story for Purdue this season. In years past, most of this would have been on the back of Zach Edey or Trey Kaufman-Renn but it’s likely to be a bit of a collective effort this season with the guards that Purdue has. That is unless Daniel Jacobsen can stay on the court and continue his production that he has shown in the first two exhibition games.
In his two exhibition games and 32 total minutes, DJ has an impressive 19 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, and 6 blocks. Is he likely to get that many minutes during the season? If he can stay on the court and continue to show he is capable of the high praise that has been lofted his way by Coach Painter, there is no reason to think DJ couldn’t be a consistent 14 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 blocks per game. That DJ creates huge problems with the level of guards and wings Purdue can continue to roll out around him.
58.9%
If you thought this year’s squad was going to ease into the post-Big 3 era with a more conservative, low-tempo, half-court grind that focused on the defensive capabilities of this team, think again. Through two exhibition games, 58.9% of Purdue’s field goal attempts have come from behind the arc (73 of 124). Even more encouraging? They are hitting them at a wonderfully efficient 41.1% clip. With four different guards sinking multiple threes in single games, the perimeter depth makes Purdue almost impossible to double-team or collapse on defensively.
1,983
Purdue will enter the 2026-2027 season with 1,983 total program wins. That total is good enough for 10th place all time in men’s college basketball with a legitimate chance to climb higher on the list over the next several seasons. Purdue could very well hit that 2,000 win mark by the end of January.
- 1 Kentucky: 2,444
- 2 Kansas: 2,438
- 3 North Carolina: 2,419
- 4 Duke: 2,370
- 5 UCLA: 2,049
- 6 Temple: 2,026
- 7 Syracuse: 2,022
- 8 St. John’s: 2,003
- 9 Notre Dame: 1,991
- 10 Purdue: 1,983
