It’s been a rough few games for the Boilermakers as they’ve needed strong second halves, or even final 10 minutes to beat a number of their recent opponents. The game against UCLA resulted in them allowing an 8-0 run to finish the game and lose to UCLA. So I wanted to ask the staff about a burning question among the fandom. The starting lineup isn’t the end all be all but it’s often how Painter signals things need to change. Would you make any changes to the starting lineup? Why or why not?
Ledman:
As I said in the question, the starting lineup isn’t the end all be all especially with the way Matt Painter coaches. So often the true measure of who Matt Painter trusts lies in who finishes games. Painter is also very loyal to his starters and generally doesn’t change the lineup all too often. When he changes it he usually has a good reason. Right now there’s no doubt that TKR and Loyer are struggling. Loyer’s three point shooting, the main reason he’s out there, has been around 25% over the last 8 games. Does that mean he needs to replace? I’m not so sure. Then there’s TKR who just hasn’t seemed…right…over the last handful of games. He’s still a potential All-American but he just needs to find it again.
That’s a long winded way of saying no, but that there might need to be a quicker leash on some folks. Guys like Jack Benter, Omer Mayer, and maybe even Liam Murphy should be able to come in and play some minutes if starters aren’t getting the job done. Benter is the guy who likely would be the biggest beneficiary of any changes that are made. So for now, if Purdue can turn it around against Illinois tomorrow I think no change is necessary. If however, Illinois takes care oft he Boilermakers I might think differently.
Kyle:
Personally, I do not see a reason to sound the alarm over a 2 point loss on the road.
3 of the 5 starters have played so much together you can almost guarantee that they will work this out. The troubling stat is the lack of efficiency from deep now.
Loyer is really struggling, but if History repeats itself, which it has with this slump, it also shows he catches fire soon too.
I am team, keep it the same. Smith is banged up, Loyer and Renn are in a funk. They’ll shake it off (Taylor Swift).
Travis:
Honestly? As much as I hate to say it, maybe give Benter a start over TKR. TKR is clearly struggling right now. The UCLA game was a little better than USC, but Purdue’s second unit seemed to do a little better when Benter was in there and he has had some pretty positive moments. That will never happen though and we know what we have with our starting five. It is still a better starting five than 99% of other teams in college basketball. TKR and Fletch are just slumping right now and htey will turn it on.
Ryan:
I don’t think it’s necessary. This is a group led by 4 seniors and it feels like a shake up would cause more confusion and panic amongst others than be helpful. While it’s clear that Purdue hasn’t been as dominant as expected lately, they are still winning games and let’s face it: the Big Ten is a hard conference to play in. I think Purdue will be just fine come March and the senior leaders will help pick up the pace moving forward.
