Purdue’s Strong Second Half Sinks Penn State 80-72
Feature image from @Boilerball
What Happened?
Purdue beat a gritty and tough Penn State team who launches threes without conscience, pressures the perimeter aggressively (and maybe a little dirty) on defense, whose bigs gave up a ton of size against Purdue but still managed to give Trevion Williams and Zach Edey a bit of trouble – basically, the polar opposite of IU.
(C’mon, I had to.)
Purdue began with great pressure defense to force PSU into a ton of missed threes, while attempting to take advantage of a huge size advantage in the post. While that looked like a solid strategy on paper, both teams somehow found everywhere but the bottom of the net despite getting looks they’d typically knock down any other night. The only reason Purdue got out to an early lead was points off offensive rebounds – which isn’t a bad fallback option to keep the scoreboard ticking, but is definitely not sustainable as the bigs get deeper into foul trouble.
And the Penn State run that seemed inevitable happened with 8 minutes left in the first half – Penn State’s aggressive zone forced some egregious Purdue turnovers, chipping the lead down to 5. While Purdue continued to settle for contested threes (instead of attacking the basket) PSU’s kick-out three-point barrage started to connect, ultimately taking the lead with 3 minutes left in the first half.
Thankfully, the Nittany Lions would finally cool off, but Purdue couldn’t take advantage. Sloppy play (and lack of any slow-it-down point guard presence) would have ended with a Purdue deficit at halftime, if not for the always-miraculous Mason Gillis:
There wasn’t a ton of good to take away from the first half…other than the fact that the Boilermakers held a one-point lead despite a fairly dismal 10 minutes.
I can only assume Matt Painter gave some sort of impassioned halftime speech (the movies tell me this is the only way teams get better!), because the Purdue team that began the second half was about as good as they’ve been this year.
An instant 10-0 run, off a Gillis three, a Newman driving layup, a Trevion post-up, a Newman three. Purdue forcing PSU into missed contested jumpers, pushing the break off the rebound each time. Stifling defense that forced PSU into a 5+ minute scoring drought that usually happens to Purdue around this time of the game.
And (finally) moving Hunter from traditional point guard duties to attacking weak spots in the zone, scoring on give-and-gos with Sasha and Newman. This is the best of Eric Hunter:
That was immediately followed-up by a Newman blocked dunk leads and Sasha Stefanovic four-point play. Purdue was absolutely humming for the first 12 minutes of the second half.
Purdue would proceed to close the game in an entirely stress-less way, and we’d all live happily ever after.
[Cue the dreamy fantasy timeline music here]
If only, if only.
The lasting memory, unfortunately, won’t be when Purdue’s game was humming. It will be the way it barely closed out the game, struggling to end the game from the free throw line, and struggling to break Penn State’s full-court press without costly turnovers.
Even before crunch time, Purdue got way too lax, allowing PSU to go on an 11-4 run and put the game within missed free throw range. In a huge surprise, Purdue’s traditional scoring plateau happened a little later than usual, from 9 minutes to 3 minutes left in the game.
Thankfully, Penn State missed six good three-point looks outside garbage time, and Hunter’s 90% free throw percentage came through in the clutch. Though I’m a little harsh on Hunter’s lack of pure point guard skills (see The Ugly), he absolutely iced the game for Purdue today.
Some quick lessons from this game: Purdue attacking the basket (either via its centers, or by wings attacking space) can keep the scoreboard ticking through the apparently-unavoidable scoring droughts. Purdue’s size need to bully outmatched teams early, instead of relying on second-half performances like today and vs IU. And even this team, with all its deadly shooters who caught fire vs IU, can go cold from beyond the arc (18.8%, 6-32).
The Good
Dynamic, exciting Purdue to begin the second half. The Boilers were making quick and aggressive decisions offensively, and defensively pressuring wings into bad shots, it was a joy to see what this team could be at its best. Obviously, as I’ll continue to remind you, they’re still a young dumb roster, and this won’t happen without a few hiccups. But the beginning of that second half gave you a glimpse into Purdue’s potential future.
Starters balanced scoring. 15 points from Sasha, 14 from Hunter, 13 each from Tre and Newman, 12 from Gillis. Nobody scored with particular efficiency, to be fair, but when the scoring load is distributed like this Purdue will be tough to stop.
Brandon Newman’s block party. A blocked dunk and two blocked threes, in Newman’s first standout game on defense. He’d also add, you know, 13 points and 5 rebounds, because he’s a stud.
Mason Gillis, already expert glue guy. I told you, I’m adding this to every postgame I write. 12 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, and the ability to teleport to save broken-down offensive plays or suddenly position perfectly on defense. Shoutout to another 3 years of Gillis.
Trevion the bully. Attempting to break Purdue out of its late-game funk, Tre proceed to take on a triple team in the post, bullying on the glass (11 rebounds, 6 of which were on offense), eating away the clock. He’d miss three late-game free-throws, which is the downside to needing Tre to close the game. But there’s no reason to avoid opening the game with the Bully Tre routine, especially when there’s a size advantage:
John Beilein on the call, despite wanting a close game at the end. An ex-coach color announcer that does his homework, knows the rosters, and gives great insight on the system each team runs on both sides of the ball? In this economy? Unbelievable. Let’s hope he stays in the announcing booth, and doesn’t get enticed by a potential former-blueblood Big Ten basketball opening.
The Bad
Purdue stumbling to close out the win after a very good beginning to the second half. GBI’s Brian Neubert paraphrasing Painter might be the best way to describe the end:
PSU coach Jim Ferry’s mask-as-a-chin-guard routine, taking a leaf out of Mark Turgeon’s book.
Endless video reviews. A free idea: a 30 second shot clock for all reviews, and if the buzzer goes off the call stands.
The Ugly
Hunter as lead facilitator, instead of attacking scorer. He is a very solid player at his best when he’s moving off-ball and looking to attack gaps, not when he’s running the offense. Don’t let the second half statline fool you – all but one of his assists came in the second half, when Hunter was shifted to attacking gaps in the defense and making quick decisions from there. If Purdue wants a more traditional floor-general point guard, they really need one of its young point guards, Isaiah Thompson or potentially Ethan Morton, to grow fast and fully tap this roster’s potential.
Bench scoring efficiency. While Ivey had a few highlight moments (including below), his 0-5 from three point range was very noticeable. Edey did well from the line tonight on the way to 7 points, but should have punished PSU’s lack of size much more in his 20 minutes of play. And, like the IU win, Morton and Thompson were ineffective, and Wheeler had a few fantastic defensive moments (including a jump-off-your-couch blocked dunk) but went scoreless.
Highlight I Couldn’t Fit Anywhere But Want To Show Anyway
I enjoy Jaden Ivey very much.
