Here's What Brandon Newman, Zach Edey and Isaiah Thompson Had to Say About Purdue's Win Over Nicholls
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The No. 3-ranked Boilermakers remain untouched in nonconference play ending with a 104-90 win over the Nicholls State Colonels on Wednesday.
The team was led by sophomore center Zach Edey, who put up 21 points. Junior guard Isaiah Thompson added 15 points, and sophomore Brandon Newman contributed seven points.
Here's what these players had to say following the win. Read the transcript, or watch the attached video of the press conference.
Q: On Nicholls' defense
NEWMAN: The way they were guarding us on the post, we were just taking what they were giving us. Our offense is obviously centered around our big guys a considerable amount, and they were doubling when they got the chance. Our bigs are good passers as well, so they were kicking them out to shooters, so we were getting in rhythm open shots.
Q: On Edey's growth in the game
EDEY: I felt like, although I had decent stats going into the Big Ten, I felt like I wasn't really sure what was going on at some points. I wasn't sure what I was doing wrong at some points you know, and I wasn't sure what I was doing right at some points, so now that I understand basketball more, I understand what I'm doing, and every time I gain more, I feel more confident going into Big Ten play.
Q: On being double teamed
EDEY: They doubled up a lot of shooters, which is kind of uncommon. They were leaving Sash. They were leaving Jaden. They were leaving Brandon just a double team at post so they can shoot the ball. It's not really a good idea.
Q: Did they stop doing that in the second half?
EDEY: A little more. I got some deeper touches. I kind of got to catch the ball and dunk it a lot, so it's kind of hard to tell when you do that, but I mean we got shooters, and when they double off, that creates easy passes.
Q: On having good bigs and shooters
THOMPSON: We really feed off our big men, and they draw so much attention. Trevion has eight assists, zero turnovers. Zach has zero turnovers, like they're making good reads. They're making good decisions. The ball is taken care of. They're dominating, and when you have dominating bigs like that and shooters, one of the best guards in the country who draws attention as well, it's hard to stop him.
It's not going to be our night (every night). Nobody is going to shoot the ball that well every night, so we got to find other ways to win, but tonight was a good offensive night for us, and we just got to continue to build on it with Big Ten play coming up.
Q: On Zach Edey
THOMPSON: It's huge. He's a hard worker. He's probably one of the hardest workers on this team. He stays in after practice everyday, and it got to the point where he doesn't leave until he gets it done after practice everyday. It's really impressive how far he's come along.
He's a great player and causes so much concern for the opposing team. I'm glad he's on my team. I wouldn't want to play against him, but he's a really good player. He still has a lot to learn, but he's helping us so much, and I think it's good for him to keep building good habits, keep working and I'm glad he's on my team.
NEWMAN: I've been so lucky to play with him. He's made my job so much easier with all the attention that he gets throughout the game. You saw it tonight. I'm lucky to play with him and compete with him everyday, and I'm excited to see what the rest of this season has in store for us.
Related stories on Purdue basketball
- PURDUE DEFEATS NICHOLLS: Purdue has run the table in the nonconference portion of its schedule, winning its 11th straight game this season with a convincing 104-90 win over Nicholls on Wednesday at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Ind. CLICK HERE.
- PHOTO GALLERY: In a new feature here at Sports Illustrated Purdue, here is a photo gallery from the game. It include more than a dozen photos. CLICK HERE
- LIVE BLOG: Here's our live blog from Purdue's win over Nicholls, with all the play-by-play and views in real time. CLICK HERE
- FORFEIT POLICY: The Big Ten has updated its forfeit policy on COVID-19-related incidents after this recent outbreak. CLICK HERE
