I think I ma not alone in saying, “Well it’s about time we played that well.”
After weeks (months?) of looking meh, especially on defense, Purdue came out tonight and absolutely rolled Northwestern in the first half. I am not too concerned about the second half because it is a tournament scenario and we kept the lead at 10+ throughout. Conservation of energy is important.
Then again, so is winning, and I don’t care if we give up 104 or 54, as long as we have at least 105 or 55.
Seriously though, this
was a much better defensive effort, especially in the first half. Purdue’s plan offensively was to take advantage of the lack of size down low and it clearly did just that. As long as the offense continues to be as efficient as it has been we don’t need a lot of improvement on defense. If we hold a team to 70 or less that should be more than enough to win, and that’s all I care about.
Some thoughts before the video.
- Braden Smith had an amazing career best 16 assists tonight, and missed 3-4 more on misses right at the rim byt Oscar Cluff and Daniel Jacobsen. That provided a huge push for the record, as he is now in second place and he needs 31 to tie Bobby Hurley. Purdue has anywhere beween two and nine games left now, and I think he is almost certain to get it if we have four more games. We know we will be a big favorite in our first round NCAA game too, so (hopefully) there are at least three left. He would need to average 10.3333 assists for the record with three left and 7.75 with four left. It will be close, but this was a huge step forward tonight.
- Trey Kaufman-Renn and Cluff battered Northwestern tonight. Instead of CJ Cox blowing them up with jumpers TKR and Cluff set the tone early and did not let up. A combined 38 and 16 from them makes life a lot easier.
- We saw role players come through too. Fletcher Loyer did Loyer things. Gicarri Harris hit a couple big threes. Cox only had five points faver his huge game last week, but he was still contributing. Omer Mayer had a nice eight points off the bench. That’s what makes Purdue elite: when the role players all contribute.
- Speaking of Jacobsen, he is still struggling to finish at the rim, but he finished the night with five and did a little better than he has of late.
- Winning is winning. We did our jobs tonight and tomorrow against Nebraska should be a good one. I’d love to get that one and it would almsot guarantee Braden gets the record if we can make it to Saturday. I’d love another shot at UCLA or Michigan State, too.
- I think it is really that simple: Get the defense to improve even a little, maintain the efficient offense, rebound like demons, and take advantage of the fact Harris and Cox shoot better away from home. Do that and Purdue will still be playing basketball for a while.
Full Postgame Press – Purdue
Full Postgame Press – Northwestern
Purdue Players
