What Matt Painter Said After Purdue's 79-59 Win Over Indiana
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue is back to owning the state on the hardwood following a 79-59 victory over Indiana on Saturday night at Mackey Arena. The Boilermakers swept the Hoosiers this season, winning both games by 20-plus points.
Following the game, Painter talked about Purdue's physical play, the defensive awareness and how the team found success early despite missing so many 3-point attempts.
Oh, and he was also asked about Zach Edey's first-career make from behind the arc. Here's everything the Purdue head coach had to say after the game.
On the play of Trey Kaufman-Renn and Mason Gillis ...
Painter: "We just wanted to be physical. We thought we didn't have physical box outs at their place a couple times and then, they're so long. You let (Malik) Reneau and (Kel'el) Ware, with their length, we just wanted to be physical on box outs. I thought Trey, at the start of the second half, really asserted himself. I thought Mason, those two threes he made back-to-back really separated us. But we just wanted to be physical without fouling."
On why Braden Smith got to the middle of the lane ...
Painter: "They were trying to keep him off his right hand. So, when you go and you keep somebody off their right hand, you open up space there. ... It just kinda opened up more space. Arizona did the same thing, tried to keep him off his right hand after he got established. A couple other people have done that, but he's still had success."
On Zach Edey's 3-pointer ...
Painter: "Yeah, they did that without my knowledge. He missed it so bad it went in. He deserves it, though. He deserves it. He comes every night and he competes and you're always kinda waiting for him, one night to not have it. ... Zach's a competitor. He plays hard every night."
On building early leads without making 3-pointers ...
Painter: "I think our body language wasn't great when we missed some shots. You just gotta be able to push through it. When you don't make shots, that's who you are. Can you still win? Can you still win games? I thought our guys pushed through it."
On Purdue's progress defensively ...
Painter: "Everything can kinda get amplified from somebody's last game. Obviously Trey (Galloway) and Reneau both had 25 points. So, just starting there and trying to keep Galloway — who I thought did some good things in the first half. That was the main thing. ... Let's make it really hard for Malik Reneau. Let's make it hard for Trey Galloway to get to his right hand."
On Purdue's early defensive struggles vs. Indiana ...
Painter: "You know, I think when we keep the ball out of the paint, good things happen. We can do a better job of not letting the ball get in there through the post, we have more success."
On playing Myles Colvin ...
Painter: "We struggled shooting the ball in the first half. When he's gotten in there, he's learned to have a short memory and take shots. ... I thought he did great."
On sweeping Indiana this season ...
Painter: "Obviously they swept us last year. Even though we won the Big Ten by three games, they simply outplayed us. Jalen Hood-Schifino was so good here last year. I think we helped him get to the NBA. So, that was the silver lining of that game, right? ... It's a great win for our seniors. More than anything, it gets us closer to being in position to win a Big Ten championship. It's a long road, there's a lot of people who can knock you off. Anybody in our league can beat you. So, just trying to get one more win."
On what it means to have two blowout wins vs. Indiana ...
Painter: "It's not that big a deal. We want to live in the world of efficiency, especially from an offensive standpoint. ... It's really not that big a deal. It's just trying to be a more efficient offensive and defensive team."
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