A Look at Oscar Cluff's Incredibly Efficient Numbers at Purdue
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — There's a reason Purdue rose to the top of the list of college basketball's contenders when Oscar Cluff announced his commitment to the program last spring. Through 14 games in his lone season in West Lafayette, the 6-foot-11 center is putting together one of the most efficient years in the country.
Cluff is averaging 11.4 points, 8.8 rebounds, and is shooting 73.9% from the floor this season. He has recorded five double-doubles this season, helping Purdue to a 13-1 start and a 3-0 mark in Big Ten play.
Those are all great numbers, but they hardly tell the story of the type of impact Cluff has had on the floor for the Boilermakers through the first two months. There are a few numbers that paint a better picture of how much of an impact the senior center is having at Purdue this year.
Advanced statistics for Cluff
When coach Matt Painter looked into the transfer portal, he wanted to grab a player who could help Purdue in the rebounding department, as it was a major weakness for the program a season ago. Cluff has certainly filled that void, averaging nearly nine boards per contest.
Cluff's effectiveness on the glass, especially on the offensive side, has turned him into one of the most efficient players in college basketball this season. He ranks in the top seven of seven advanced statistical categories this year.
Those categories are: offensive rating (points produced per 100 possessions), offensive rebound percentage, total rebound percentage, true field goal percentage (2-point FG, 3-point FG, and free throw), win shares per 40 minutes (player contribution to wins), box plus/minus (total contribution per 100 possessions), and offensive box plus/minus.
The numbers come from sports-reference.com. Here's the breakdown:
Advanced statistic | Oscar Cluff (national rank) |
|---|---|
Offensive rating | 164.0 (1st) |
Offensive rebound % | 22.5 (2nd) |
Total rebound % | 22.3 (7th) |
True FG% | .754 (4th) |
Box plus/minus | 14.2 (6th) |
Offensive box plus/minus | 10.2 (5th) |
Win shares per 40 minutes | .329 (3rd) |
What stood out most is that Cluff's 164.0 figure in offensive rating is nearly 10 points higher than second on the list. Texas A&M's Ruben Dominguez is at No. 2 with a 154.9 offensive rating.
Obviously, a big part of Cluff's success has been thanks to the teammates around him. He has an excellent group around him, with Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer, and Trey Kaufman-Renn leading the way.
It's also been advantageous that Purdue can bring in 7-foot-4 center Daniel Jacobsen off the bench to share minutes with Cluff. Because of that rotation, Cluff is only averaging 22.9 minutes per game, allowing him to stay fresh throughout games, as well as the season.
But even with those factors, Cluff deserves a lot of credit for his performance since arriving in West Lafayette. He's not just provided Purdue with a great presence on the glass and in the low post, he's having one of the most efficient years of any player in college basketball this season.
His effort continues to be a big reason why the Boilers are championship contenders.
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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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