Purdue Wins 8th Straight vs IU, 81-69
Feature image from @Boilerball
What Happened?
Purdue realized that 3s are worth more than 2s, hitting 11-17 in Assembly Hall tonight. IU did not realize this, went 3-18, and was kept at arms-length for most of the game, losing their eighth straight to Matt Painter 81-69.
It’s been 1,790 days, and counting, since IU basketball has beaten Purdue. Our dearest Raphael Davis, AJ Hammons, Caleb Swanigan, Vince Edwards and #17 Purdue fell to #22 IU’s Yogi Farrell, Thomas Bryant, and Troy Williams.
Juuust a few things have happened, both on and off the court, since February 2016. Except, you know, the Hoosiers beating the Boilermakers in a good old-fashioned game of roundball, despite both teams cycling through several generations of rosters, and IU dumping Tom Crean (I miss his weirdness so much) for up-and-comer Archie Miller.
Tonight, IU was favored by KenPom (61% IU projected win) and Vegas (3-point home favorites). Purdue and IU are two of the youngest teams in the conference (by minutes played), both with good on-paper defenses (IU #13, Purdue #35 as rated by KenPom), both with centers on a tear this year.
And boy did Trevion Williams vs Trayce Jackson-Davis live up to the billing. TJD and frontcourt partner Race Thompson got anything they wanted early in the game, with IU scoring off offensive rebounds in the paint. Meanwhile, Purdue’s offense flowed through Trevion, but it was the three-point shooting from wing trio Brandon Newman, Sasha Stefanovic, and Jaden Ivey that drove things early.
Newman was feeling it so much that he didn’t even need his legs to grab this rebound:
And yet, Purdue struggled through another 5+ minute scoreless stretch midway through the first half. IU cut into Purdue’s lead via great minutes from Trey Galloway and Armaan Franklin, leaving things a little too close for comfort despite the Boilermakers’ astronomical early three-point shooting. These are the moments when Purdue needs the veterans (Eric Hunter, Tre, Sasha) to push things forward. Thankfully, when facing a similar drought threat in the second half, things would look better.
But at halftime, Purdue only barely held on to a 40-36 halftime lead. TJD had only logged 9 minutes, Purdue was shooting a seemingly unsustainable 78% from three, and I was just waiting for the other shoe to drop on this young, dumb roster.
TJD recognized the same thing, starting the second half with 5 straight points, but Trevion and Purdue steadily maintained the lead.
The key stretch of the game happened after the under-12 minute timeout: Ethan Morton drained a three, IU committed a lane violation that gave the energizer bunny Mason Gillis two FTs, and Tre saved a broken play with an easy post bucket. This stretch gave Purdue a cushion that would prove to last the final 10 minutes of play. These are the stretches Purdue needs to keep the scoreboard moving when it would be easy to slide into another scoring drought.
Two plays that encapsulate how Purdue kept their poise and capitalized on a fortuitous cold IU offensive stretch: Trevion’s tip-in (see The Good), and Jaden Ivey’s absolutely reckless three that might have taken a few weeks off Painter’s life:
Robbie Hummel’s version of this shot a decade ago, and Painter’s reaction, tells us both how special Ivey can be…and how deadpan hilarious Painter is:
IU’s frontline of TJD and Race Thompson spurred a late IU run, but an absolutely gorgeous over-the-top entry pass from Gillis to Trevion with 2 minutes left stemmed any IU momentum and kept the lead at 10 points.
The last minute of the game was a not-entirely-stress-free half hour of (poor) free throw shooting, but Purdue closed out yet another win against the Hoosiers.
I could reflect on the frustrations IU fans must feel in the status of their vaunted basketball program, as (at least on-paper) they recruit the state of Indiana well have improved their defense from the Crean days. Especially as their in-state rivals continue to chug along, led by a coach that adapts his system to an ever-changing game over multiple decades and produces extremely-fun-to-root-for teams, even during reloading years.
It must be tough. But I just can’t relate.
The Good
Mason Gillis. I’ll put this in every dang postgame I write – Gillis has been the surprise of the season. I had no expectations and expected end-of-the-bench minutes from him, and he’s suddenly seized the safest spot in Purdue’s rotation. He’s everywhere the stat sheet doesn’t count – (mostly) great help defense, loose balls, hard screens, and very few freshman mistakes. Gillis has shown the quickest way to Painter’s heart (and into the rotation) is to do those stereotypical Brian Cardinal things. Race Thompson was doing all the same things for the Hoosiers, which made the frontcourt duel very fun to watch.
The Trevion Williams and Trayce Jackson-Davis duel. Both entered tonight in KenPom’s Top 10 Player of the Year list, and the matchup lived up to the billing. TJD is nothing but excellent (and his NBA talents are being wasted in this offensive system), finishing with 25 points on 9-16 shooting. Tre finished with 22 points (9-15 shooting) with 14 in the second half, 10 rebounds, and pulled Purdue through several dangerous stretches. This tip-in, keeping Purdue’s lead at 10, is a perfect example:
Jaden Ivey is aggressive, athletic, unafraid, and always moving. It’s going to be so fun to watch him grow on both ends of the floor. There’s no doubt in my mind that we’re watching the development of another NBA-caliber guard.
Empty arenas make for hilarious moments on the live mics.
The Bad
5+ minute scoring droughts that seem to happen every game for Purdue. This is where the vets – Tre, Hunter, Sasha – need to settle things down and get good looks. Instead, Purdue tends to get hyper and force things, dribbling right into traps and turnovers.
Referees who choose to call the tightest whistle of the season during a rivalry game. Every loose ball tie-up called a foul rather than a jump, the Sasha-Race Thompson double technical, 51 total fouls called. It’s a rivalry game, and these young rosters don’t yet entirely hate each other! Let them play.
Really slow defensive rotations on drives and midrange actions, especially in scramble situations. Again, IU’s offense isn’t necessarily the scariest thing (outside TJD pulling his magic act), so allowing a few open midrange jumpers isn’t the worst thing in the world. But these habits need to be corrected when Purdue plays a smarter coaching staff who realize they can exploit slow rotations for layups and threes.
The non-Ivey bench. Aaron Wheeler had an uneven game, but a few very good rebounding and scoring stretches. Aside from that, Zach Edey’s scoring has dipped as Big Ten front lines get stronger and more physical, a few costly Wheeler turnovers spurred IU runs, and while Purdue desperately needs another reliable floor general Ethan Morton and Isaiah Thompson haven’t done enough to earn more than spot minutes. All this will change, because all these players have shown flashes of excellence, but we might have to wait until next year before this becomes a bench that opponents fear.
The Ugly
Purdue icing the game from the free throw line. After Purdue extended the lead to 10 on the aforementioned gorgeous Gillis-to-Trevion bucket with 2 minutes left…they proceeded to go 1-6 from the free throw line. Newman and Trevion would close the game out on a comfortable 6-6 stretch, but that was not soothing in the least.
IU’s free throw and three-point shooting. 16.7% from three (3-18), 55% from the line (16-29). It’s a marvel IU kept the game so close for so long. Poor, poor TJD and Race Thompson, working so hard and yet so far away from relevance.
The Archie Miller IU era. 63-49 overall record, 29-36 in conference, 0-6 against Purdue, really awful offense no matter how talented the star players. You really hate to see it.
Tweet of the Night:
