Oscar Cluff Continues to Prove Why He's 'Exactly What Purdue Needed'
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Four plays made by Oscar Cluff may have actually been the difference in No. 5 Purdue's 93-85 victory over Penn State on Saturday afternoon. Four offensive rebounds that resulted in eight total points helped the Boilermakers remain undefeated in Big Ten play.
Because of Braden Smith's 26-point, 14-assist performance, Cluff's 23-point effort may have gotten slightly overlooked on Saturday afternoon. But the 6-foot-11 senior center had a major impact in the game, going 10-of-11 from the floor and collecting seven rebounds.
The most important boards in the game came on the offensive end. Cluff grabbed four offensive rebounds, scoring six points and dishing an assist, accounting for eight of Purdue's 15 second-chance points in the game.
Cluff's performance on Saturday was just the latest example of how he fits into Purdue's puzzle so perfectly. His ability to clean up the glass and create second-chance opportunities is exactly what the Boilermakers missed a season ago.
"He's a good teammate, hard-nosed player, he's exactly what we needed," coach Matt Painter said following Saturday's win over Penn State. "Rarely ever do you get somebody [like that]. Like, yeah, they help us, we're better, but it's not quite what you needed.
"The physicality that he plays with, the nose he has for the basketball, his engine just keeps running."
What makes Cluff such a weapon isn't just his ability to rebound and score in the low post. His physical playing style is also something that wears down opponents down low. He believes that's a big reason why, as games progress, he becomes more productive.
That was certainly the case on Saturday. Cluff was 3-of-3 in the first half and went 7-of-8 from the floor in the second half, scoring 14 of his 23 points in the final 20 minutes of the game.
"My theory is nobody wants to bash their body for 40 minutes," Cluff said. "Going into the game strong and doing it from the beginning — over time, your body gets tired, gets sore, people don't want to guard you anymore."
Cluff makes most of his opportunities
Painter has raved about the advantage Cluff gives Purdue on the glass since his arrival on campus. But the South Dakota State transfer has also been incredibly efficient as a scorer this year.
Cluff is now averaging 11.9 points and 8.6 rebounds per game while shooting 74.5% from the floor. His .747 true shooting percentage ranks third in college basketball this season.
But Cluff isn't a player who Purdue incorporates into the offense like some of Purdue's previous big men, most notably Zach Edey. Yes, Cluff gets some post-ups down low, but a majority of his production comes off different reads and capitalizing on offensive rebounds.
"He's shooting 75% from the field ... it's a glaring stat when you're shooting that high, and then you go 10-for-11," Painter said. "Him and Daniel [Jacobsen] shoot a high percentage, and that's what you want. You also have to understand that what they do, besides just their post-ups, they play off of Braden's penetration, [Trey Kaufman-Renn's] short rolls, and we throw those lobs, whatever it might be. We try to orchestrate more reads. We get him into post-ups, but we don't go to the well with him all the time like we did with Z-Bo."
Cluff has an offensive rating of 161.4, the best mark in the country. His 21.3% offensive rebounding rate is second. As a result, Purdue sits at 15-1 on the season and 5-0 in the Big Ten.
There's no question through 16 games, Cluff is having a major impact on Purdue's success.
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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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