Purdue's Transition Offense Remains a Work In Progress

Purdue is still figuring some stuff out offensively, especially when it comes to getting the ball in transition and scoring quickly.

Nov 9, 2026; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Purdue Boilermakers guard C.J. Cox (0) with the basketball. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

When Purdue's season tipped off, there was an expectation that this year's team was going to play at a quicker tempo than it did last year. Nobody anticipated the Boilers would be running up and down the floor like jackrabbits, but taking advantage of transition basketball was thought to be a strength, especially with the group of guards on the roster.

So far, transition baskets and fastbreak points have been difficult to come by for the Boilermakers. Through the first three games, Purdue has a total of 15 fastbreak points. The 5.0 points-per-game averaged ranks 338th nationally.

Needless to say, pushing the tempo off defensive rebounds and after creating turnovers has been an emphasis during the week.

"One of the things we need to work on is our transition after getting a defensive rebound," junior guard C.J. Cox said. "P.J. [Thompson] and Coach [Painter] are emphasizing that we need to kick the ball ahead and get it up the court, get easy transition points. That will help us on the defensive end, as well."

Purdue must find ways to get easy buckets on the offensive end. It has a reliable post scorer in Daniel Jacobsen, who is averaging 23.3 points per game this season. Creating more opportunities in transition will open things up for the Boilermakers, especially for a team that has struggled to shoot.

In its first two losses to Gonzaga and Valparaiso, Purdue shot a combined 20.4% from behind the three-point line. The Boilers had just six fastbreak points against Gonzaga and a mere two against Valpo.

"You want to push the basketball, and we've gotta be able to push the basketball to create opportunities for ourselves, and we have to get on the offensive glass," Matt Painter said. "Those two areas can really help, because the efficiency of your offense and your execution takes time."

Purdue doesn't plan on entering any track meets anytime soon. It still runs good offensive schemes and can do plenty of damage with its half-court offense. Scoring in transition needs to be a weapon moving forward, though.

How much will the Boilers push the pace on Friday night against Ohio?

More sprinting in transition opportunities

Nov 9, 2026; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Purdue Boilermakers forward Caden Pierce (8) dribbles the ball. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Both Painter and Cox mentioned that Purdue needs to improve when moving in transition. Sprinting down the court should create more opportunities to catch the defense out of position and lead to even easier buckets.

"Just sprinting up the court, looking for kick aheads and creating that space in the open court," Cox said. "Me, being able to sprint to my position, helps open up a lot of things for the offense."

For the Boilers to get more easy baskets, it requires everyone to sprint down the court. So far, Caden Pierce has looked the most comfortable in those situations, grabbing rebounds and instantly turning up the court to try and generate mismatches.

Moving forward, though, everyone else has to be looking to push the tempo and get the ball up the floor quickly to be able to score in transition and really open things up offensively.

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