Oregon Coach Dana Altman Gives Credit to Purdue's Defensive Effort
It was a good, old-fashioned defensive battle in Eugene on Saturday, with No. 17 Purdue taking down No.13 Oregon 65-58. The Ducks struggled to find the bottom of the bucket, but coach Dana Altman gave a lot of credit to the Boilermakers' defense.
Oregon finished Saturday's game making just 18-of-50 shots from the floor and converting on only 24.1% of their 3-point attempts. The result was a home loss to Purdue and taking a big hit in the Big Ten conference title race.
Altman admitted that the Ducks took a lot of poor shots, but he also gave plenty of credit to Matt Painter's team.
"They're a very, very good defensive team," Altman said. "They're physical and they don't get out of position. You saw the double teams come in the post. They get off and to the ball as well as anybody and make you skip it. They do a lot of good things defensively — they're all tuned in and they take care of their assignments."
Nate Bittle and Jackson Shelstad combined to give Oregon 33 points and Brandon Angel added 10. Outside of those three, though, nobody else wearing a white-and-green uniform scored more than four points.
The Ducks matched Purdue's defensive effort. For the game, the Boilers were just 19-of-56 from the floor and made only three 3-pointers in the game. Usually, that would be good enough to get a win, especially at home.
"I thought our activity defensively was pretty good," Altman said. "I mean, you hold them — and they're one of the top-10 offenses in the country — to 33% and 16% (from 3-point range) ... you should put yourself in position. It's just offensively we made way too many mistakes."
Altman pointed to second-chance points and turnovers as the biggest keys to the game. Purdue outscored Oregon 14-2 in second-chance opportunities and the Ducks finished with 16 turnovers compared to 12 from the Boilermakers.
With Saturday's win, Purdue has extended its winning streak to seven consecutive games and is 7-1 in Big Ten play. The Boilermakers are in the hunt to win a third straight regular season title as we appraoch the midway point of the college basketball season.
Oregon dropped to 4-3 in league play and is 15-3 overall.
Related stories on Purdue basketball
WHAT PAINTER SAID: No. 17 Purdue picked up another important road win on Saturday, defeating No. 13 Oregon in Eugene. Here's everything coach Matt Painter said after the game. CLICK HERE
PURDUE LEANS ON TREY KAUFMAN-RENN: Trey Kaufman-Renn had his second double-double of the season, leading No. 17 Purdue to a win over No. 13 Oregon and extending the win streak to seven games. CLICK HERE
4-STAR PROSPECT VISITING PURDUE: Bo Ogden, a four-star small forward in the 2026 recruiting class, has reportedly set an official visit to Purdue in February. He's a top-60 player in his class. CLICK HERE
4-STAR PROSPECT VISITING PURDUE: Bo Ogden, a four-star small forward in the 2026 recruiting class, has reportedly set an official visit to Purdue in February. He's a top-60 player in his class. CLICK HERE
