5 Takeaways From Purdue's 80-62 Win Over Ohio
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue evened its record to 2-2 on Friday night thanks to an 80-62 victory over Ohio inside Mackey Arena. The Boilermakers had their hands full with the Bobcats, but they made enough plays in the second half to secure a victory.
Gicarri Harris was the star of the night off the bench, scoring 23 points, grabbing five rebounds and dishing out four assists. He shot 8-of-12 from the floor, leading all scorers for the contest. The Boilers also got 17 points from Antione West Jr. and 16 from C.J. Cox.
Here are a few thoughts from Purdue's 18-point win over Ohio.
Pushing in transition
During Thursday's press conference, Matt Painter talked about wanting to push the ball in transition more frequently. He wanted guys sprinting to their spots, kicking the ball ahead and getting quick, easy buckets on the move.
Purdue ended the night with nine fastbreak points, it's highest output of the season. But anytime the Boilers collected a rebound, it seemed like they were eager to get out and run. That put Ohio on its heels and led to some open looks, even if those weren't traditional fastbreak points.
Because of the dynamic guards on this roster, Purdue can do some damage if it continues to push the pace. It doesn't have to run up and down the floor like a group of five Flash characters, but adding in some tempo was a positive on Friday night.
Another cold shooting slump
One thing Purdue has battled throughout the early season has been shooting slumps. That's typical for any college basketball team, but it's come at some inopportune times for the Boilers.
Purdue started the game making eight of its first 15 shots from the floor. It was also 4-of-7 from behind the three-point line. The Boilers were able to jump out to a 23-11 advantage and appeared to be in control. Then came the ice-cold shooting.
The Boilers closed the half, making just four of their next 19 shots, allowing Ohio to hang around. At halftime, Purdue held a 37-28 lead, but it could easily have been a much bigger margin. Fortunately, the defense held tough throughout the night.
Harris delivers off the bench
After starting the first two games, Harris came off the bench in the last two contests. He delivered in a huge way on Friday night and was easily Purdue's best player against Ohio. He scored 23 points in the victory, a season high for the junior guard.
But Harris's impact goes beyond the stat sheet. He was aggressive when he had the ball in his hands. Every time he grabbed a defensive rebound, he pushed the tempo. Whenever he got two feet in the paint, he either scored or found an open man for an open look or a foul.
Harris ended the game making 8-of-12 from the floor. The rest of the team shot 18-of-52.
Fouls and turnovers
Part of the reason Ohio hung around in the second half was because of Purdue's sloppiness. In the first eight minutes of that half, Purdue actually found its rhythm offensively. It was shooting 5-of-10 from the floor, yet still only held a 12-point lead.
The Boilers had committed seven fouls in the first seven minutes and 10 fouls in the first 10 minutes. They also turned the ball over four times, missing out on chances to blow the game wide open early in the second half.
Purdue must learn to put teams away when they have them on the ropes. That's been a struggle through the first four games this season.
Winning without Jacobsen's dominance
Daniel Jacobsen was the most dominant player on the floor in each of the first three games. He didn't have that same level of success against Ohio, though he was still effective.
Jacobsen ended the night with nine points, eight rebounds and three blocks. He had an impact on both ends of the floor, but it wasn't the same 20-point, 10-rebound night that we became accustomed to seeing.
Sure, Purdue would love to get that production from Jacobsen every night, but it was good for the Boilers to learn to win without him scoring 20 points. They're going to have to do that multiple times throughout the course of the season.
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Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.
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