No. 17 Purdue Leans on Trey Kaufman-Renn, Beats No. 13 Oregon in Rock Fight
Saturday afternoon's game between No. 17 Purdue and No. 13 Oregon won't be a candidate for a beauty pageant anytime soon. The two top-25 teams participated in a glorified rock fight at Matthew Knight Arena, resulting in a 65-58 victory for the Boilermakers and extending their winning streak to seven games.
And, realistically, who cares how it looked? Once again, Purdue found a way to sneak out a road win, despite a poor shooting performance.
The Boilers relied heavily on junior forward Trey Kaufman-Renn, who recorded the second double-double of his career in the victory. He ended the game with 23 points and 11 rebounds, making seven-of-20 shots from the floor.
For a second straight game, 3-point shooting was an issue for the Boilers on the road. Purdue made just two-of-12 from distance. In Wednesday's win over Washington, Matt Painter's team connected on just three-of-13 shots from behind the arc.
Defensive pressure was a big reason for Purdue's success again against Oregon. The Boilers forced the Ducks into 16 turnovers and they shot just 36% from the floor. Purdue also won the rebounding battle 37-32.
Although Kaufman-Renn shot just 35% from the floor, he played a physical brand of basketball in the paint. He was able to draw several fouls against Oregon, getting to the free throw line nine times. Unlike previous games, the junior forward found some comfort from the charity stripe.
It was a nice surprise for the Boilers and proved to be the difference in the game. Kaufman-Renn entered Saturday's game making just 56.9% of his free throw attempts. On Saturday, he knocked down all nine.
Purdue also got another solid outing from Braden Smith, who scored 15 points, dished out seven assists and collected four rebounds. On the defensive end, the junior guard had four steals.
Cam Heide scored nine points and grabbed four rebounds off the bench and Gicarri Harris ended the game with five points. Fletcher Loyer was quiet most of the night, ending with just six points.
For Oregon, three players accounted for 43 of the team's 58 points. Nate Bittle led the way with 18 and Jackson Shelstad scored 15. Brandon Ange finished with 10.
Early in Painter's tenure at Purdue, his teams were known for their defensive prowess and relentless effort. In recent seasons, the Boilermakers have been more prominent on the offensive end.
In their last three road games, though, the Boilermakers have had to rely heavily on their defensive effort to win basketball games. It's resulted in four straight conference road victories and a seven-game winning streak overall.
More importantly, it has Purdue sitting with a 7-1 record in the Big Ten, right in the thick of the race for a conference title.
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