Boilermakers Dominate Jacksonville State 81-49
Feature image from @Boilerball
What Happened?
Let’s not belabor it here – Matt Painter’s Boilermakers dominated the Jacksonville State Gamecocks in Mackey Arena, after most fans watched Jeff Brohm’s Boilermakers fall against Wisconsin.
Purdue football had a decent showing (all things considered) against Wisconsin, basketball didn’t leave any doubt from the tip to the buzzer, and nobody got injured. It was a very fine November Saturday for Purdue fans everywhere.
I…really don’t have much to say in this section. I suppose I could tell you that we learned the Ohio Valley conference’s Jacksonville State is, in fact, in Alabama. We got to see Robbie Hummel in studio at halftime and postgame. We got to watch BTN play clips of Matt Haarms’ extremely perfect volunteer hours at Natalie’s Second Chance dog shelter in Lafayette.
That’s about all I got for you here, check the Good/Bad/Ugly below for a few more thoughts from today’s easy win. The Boilermakers get another test next week (with PTSD-potential for all 2011 fans) as Purdue takes on #21 VCU in the Emerald Coast Classic on Thanksgiving Friday. They’ll take on either Florida State or #20 Tennessee in Saturday’s championship (or consolation) game. Get those Thanksgiving leftover sandwiches ready.
Player of the Game
Good old Matt Haarms looked great in the second half (more on that below) as he put up 17 points (6/10 shooting), 10 rebounds, and 5 blocks in 23 minutes of play. Love watching him dominate, and hoping this carries though to the Emerald Coast Classic.
The Good
Trevion Williams being a bully in the first half. Jacksonville State didn’t have the depth to deal with both of Purdue’s bigs, and Trevion made ‘em pay in the first half. 7 of his 9 points came in the first half, and frankly they were all extremely rude points. Like, Jonathan Taylor running on Purdue rude.
Matt Haarms being aggressive in the second half. It was much closer to the confident, yelling, floppy-haired giant we were hoping to see against Texas and Marquette. Hard cuts, decisive post hooks, a force defensively – everything except Haarms’ shooting was on full display against Jacksonville State’s lack of size. Keeping Haarms active in the pick-and-roll, and quick/decisive in the post will be critical against better teams.
The passing gene and unselfishness of this team is very fun to watch. They really love getting each other involved in the flow of the offense, and it’s the silver lining flip-side of not having a go-to guy emerge yet.
Eric Hunter has made a real leap between last year and this year, looking perfectly comfortable as one of Purdue’s bedrock backcourt playmakers. He’s been my favorite player to watch this year.
Jahaad Proctor has been my second favorite player to watch this year. 14 points on 6/9 shooting and 5 assists, he is wonderful.
Five minutes of Tommy Luce time, featuring Matt Frost and Jared Wulbrun. You know how sometimes walk-ons are (understandably) a little intimidated or hesitant as a full arena cheers every time they touch the ball? Luce has none of that shyness and has no problem crossing over a helpless mid-major starter anywhere anytime. Shoutout to Wulbrun for his first points as a Boilermaker.
Fall days where you can spend all day being a social human being, and still make it to a screen in time to veg out and watch both Purdue football and basketball play as you ignore all outside distractions. Life ain’t bad.
The Bad
Jacksonville State. Listen, we appreciate all the trouble of traveling to Mackey and playing in front of a (slightly subdued) crowd. But they didn’t score many points and shot 27% from the field and we appreciate their efforts but I couldn’t find anything else to put in this category sorry guys.
The Ugly
Mid-range jumpers, particularly from Nojel Eastern. It’s great when he hits them, but it’s just such a low percentage and low value shot in the flow of an offense. Yes, it’s a nice weapon to have in tight, high-stakes games, but in the flow of the offense during a November game against a middling mid-major isn’t a great go-to.
Three-point trigger hesitation. This relates to the last point and got better as the game went along, but too many open three-point looks were passed up. Purdue is best when the team is launching and trusts the work they put in during the summer, with Trevion (or Wheeler/Nojel) is keeping an eye on the offensive glass. This Purdue team won’t shoot 43% like the 2017-2018 team, but they do have the potential to be better than their current 33%. They just can’t hesitate on those great open looks.
Flop warnings. I think every Purdue opponent this season has been called for a flop warning, and Sasha earned Purdue one in the post as well. The Boiler ghost of Chris Kramer is rolling over in his grave.
