Five Thoughts From Purdue's 93-64 Win Over Indiana
In this story:
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — No.7 Purdue made a statement on Friday night in its home gym. It clobbered Indiana 93-64, one of its most dominant performances of the season.
Purdue had great contributions from its senior trio in the win, as Braden Smith, Trey Kaufman-Renn and Fletcher Loyer combined for 53 points. The Boilers also had 18 points from Omer Mayer, who came off the bench and gave the Boilermakers a huge spark.
Here are a few thoughts from Friday's blowout win for the Boilermakers.
The senior trio stepped up
Friday night was the last time Purdue's senior trio of Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer, and Trey Kaufman-Renn had the opportunity to play Indiana — barring a matchup in the Big Ten Tournament next month. The three played like they wanted to make a statement, and did exactly that.
Kaufman-Renn scored 20 points and grabbed six rebounds, Smith finished with 15 points and eight assists, and Loyer scored 18 points and was a perfect 5-of-5 from the floor.
By the end of the first half, that senior group had 37 of Purdue's 46 points. You could tell that trio wanted this win in a big way.
Shut down Wilkerson in the first half
The game plan defensively for Purdue in the first meeting against Indiana was to force Lamar Wilkerson into tough shots. In the first half of Friday's game in Mackey Arena, Indiana's top scorer rarely even got the basketball.
Wilkerson, who had scored at least 24 points in each of his last five games, was held to just two points in the first 20 minutes of the game, both coming at the free throw line. He only took three shot attempts in the half, missing all of them.
The senior got into a little bit of a rhythm in the second half, but the game had already been decided by that point. He finished the game with 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting, but he was essentially a non-factor.
Intensity was high from the jump
When Purdue played Indiana at Assembly Hall, it didn't have the energy it needed to win a road game in the Big Ten. That was the thing that frustrated Matt Painter the most about the loss. That wasn't the case this time around.
From the opening jump, Purdue was locked in on both ends of the floor. It started with the defense, which ultimately led to offense. The Boilermakers jumped out to an early 10-3 lead and never looked back. They never allowed Indiana to get into a rhythm and kept the Hoosiers from making any big runs.
If Purdue plays with that same level of intensity, it's capable of beating anyone in the country.
Dominant in the post
Purdue may have only had 32 points in the paint, but it felt like tey controlled that area of the floor on the offensive end. Kaufman-Renn was obviously a huge part of that success, getting 20 points for the game and attacking the glass.
With Purdue able to get baskets inside, it forced Indiana's defense to collapse anytime the ball got down low. If Kaufman-Renn didn't like his matchup, he kicked it out to a wide-open shooter around the perimeter. And, as I'll highlight next, all those guys knocked down shots.
An unreal shooting night
Purdue shot the lights out of the basketball on Friday night, hitting at a 64.7% clip from the floor and 55.6% from three-point range. It was one of the best shooting performances inside Mackey Arena in recent memory.
Perhaps the biggest story of the night — outside of Purdue's "Big 3" — was Mayer. The freshman guard came in and hit 6-of-8 shots from the floor and was 4-of-5 from three-point range. He ended the night with 18 points, helping Purdue to the blowout victory.
All season long, there's been curiosity about what this team could do offensively if everyone was shooting at a high level. It resulted in a 29-point win over Indiana on Friday.
The Boilermakers aren't going to have that type of success shooting the basketball very often, but they're more than capable of having another performance like this, considering the skill on the roster.
Get top Boilermakers stories, expert analysis, and can't-miss moments straight to your inbox for free by signing up for the Purdue Boilermakers on SI newsletter!
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.
Follow SchutteDustin