Five Thoughts From Purdue's 78-57 Blowout Win Over Iowa
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This was a pretty solid road trip for Purdue. A few days after taking down No. 7 Nebraska in Pinnacle Bank Arena, the 13th-ranked Boilermakers walked out of Carver-Hawkeye arena with a convincing victory over Iowa.
Sophomore guards CJ Cox and Gicarri Harris led the team with 14 points each in a 78-57 victory for the Boilermakers. Trey Kaufman-Renn had a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds, and Fletcher Loyer added 12 points of his own.
Braden Smith had just five points, but was responsible for 12 assists and seven rebounds.
What are some of the takeaways from Purdue's big road win over the Hawkeyes? Here are five thoughts from the game.
Gicarri Harris provided a major spark
Purdue found itself in a little bit of trouble early when Cox picked up two early fouls. It's a good thing Harris maintains a "next man up" mentality. The sophomore guard provided the Boilermakers with a huge lift off the bench to get things rolling in Iowa City.
Harris made four of his first five shots from the floor in the first half, scoring 12 points in relief of Cox. That included a ridiculous one-handed slam, possibly the best dunk Purdue has had all season long. At one point in the first half, Purdue had a 25-14 advantage on the Hawkeyes, and the starting five had accounted for just eight points.
The sophomore did an excellent job on the defensive end, making life difficult for the Hawkeyes when he was on the floor. He helped the Boilers jump out to a big lead when one of their starters was forced to sit with foul trouble.
Completely shut down Iowa's offense
Saturday might have been Purdue's most impressive defensive performance. It completely shut down Iowa's offense, holding the Hawkeyes below 40% from the field and 27% from three-point range. Bennett Stirtz ended the game with 19 points, yet he was essentially a non-factor, especially in the first half.
The presence of Oscar Cluff and Daniel Jacobsen seemed to cause problems early. Iowa was getting shots at the rim in the first half, but the length of Purdue's bigs altered and blocked shots, creating some hesitancy on the Hawkeyes' end.
Plus, the perimeter rotations were crisp, and players rarely got lost on that end of the court. Outside of Stirtz, no other Hawkeye scored in double figures in this game.
Trey Kaufman-Renn's activity on the glass
Just like he did on Tuesday against Nebraska, Kaufman-Renn came out ready to attack the glass. The senior forward was very active through the first 20 minutes, grabbing 11 rebounds to go along with six points. Iowa had no answer.
Kaufman-Renn didn't have the same productivity on the glass in the second half, but he still set the tone early in the game. He finished the night with a double-double, scoring 12 points and hauling in 12 rebounds.
Purdue has been at its best when Kaufman-Renn is rebounding the basketball like a mad men. He's now done it two games consecutively for the Boilers.
Shooting the basketball with confidence
It would have been easy for Purdue's shooters to get discouraged early. The Boilers started the game making just 2-of-8 shots from long range. After hitting less than 30% of its attempts from long range against Nebraska, a negative mentality could have set in.
But everyone stayed the course and shots began falling. Everyone wearing a black uniform in Iowa City looked confident shooting the basketball from long range. CJ Cox got things rolling in the second half, going through a stretch early when he knocked down 4-of-5 shots from the perimeter.
Harris made a trio of threes, Omer Mayer knocked down two, Fletcher Loyer made two big threes, and Jack Benter knocked down one. Even Cluff hit a three — though it came after the shot clock expired. As a team, Purdue shot 40% from three-point range. When the Boilers shoot that well, they're tough to beat.
Never relinquished a big lead
One of the concerns regarding Purdue's recent play was allowing big leads to slip away. It happened in first halves to UCLA, Illinois and Oregon. The Boilermakers also let a 22-point lead to Nebraska fade away, though they still won the game in overtime.
At Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Saturday, Purdue got rolling early and never allowed Iowa to get back into a rhythm. At certain points in the first half, the Hawkeyes were able to get back within nine or 10 points, but the Boilers always responded with a run of their own.
This was exactly the type of performance you wanted to see from Purdue, taking an early lead and never allowing the opponent to make a run.
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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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