Purdue's Matt Painter Talks Iowa State Loss As Boilers Were 'Taken to the Woodshed'
In this story:
The lights on the scoreboard inside Mackey Arena weren't incorrect. On Saturday afternoon, No. 10 Iowa State walked into West Lafayette and clobbered top-ranked Purdue in front of a sellout crowd, 81-58. It was not the type of outcome anyone expected to see.
The Cyclones were particularly dominant in the second half, outscoring the Boilermakers 46-27 in the last 20 minutes to cruise to a lopsided win and improve to 9-0 on the year. Iowa State was led by Milan Momcilovic, who scored 20 points. Killyan Toure added 13 points, Blake Buchanan had 12, and Joshua Jefferson scored 11.
Iowa State owned a slim 35-31 advantage at halftime, but it came out of the locker room ready to fire. TJ Otzelberger's team went on a 15-4 run and took a 50-35 advantage within the first four minutes of the half. After that, the lights essentially went out in Mackey Arena.
"I thought they stole our spirit," Painter said. "When we would get open ones and miss it, we'd get frustrated; trying to get fouled, whatever we were doing, our frustration level got there. You have to give Iowa State credit; our high frustration level was because of them. They were damn good. They took us to the woodshed."
Purdue had its worst shooting performance of the season, making just 41% of its attempts from the floor and 22% from three-point range. Even the free-throw line was a problem, connecting on just 6-of-14 attempts from the charity stripe.
Seniors Fletcher Loyer and Trey Kaufman-Renn struggled, combining for only nine points while shooting 3-of-16 from the floor. That's not a recipe for success, especially against a juggernaut like Iowa State.
Throughout the year, Painter has talked about finding ways to win games when the shots aren't falling through the net. Clearly, the Boilers still have a long way to go in that department.
"You can't play through your offense, you have to find your energy through your defense, you have to find your energy through your rebounding, and getting 50/50 balls and making those plays," Painter said. "When I say somebody stole your spirit, that's what they did. Their determination and their fight were better than ours.
"Their team was way better than our team in terms of embracing the physicality of the game and making plays through that. I just thought, overall, their details and their toughness were better than ours."
Purdue can learn from loss
After the final buzzer sounded at Mackey Arena, Painter had a message to his team. He looked back on last season and pointed to Purdue's 87-69 loss to Auburn on a neutral court. The Boilermakers didn't look like a team capable of making a Final Four run in that moment.
Three months later, though, the Boilers found themselves in a one-possession game with top-seeded Houston in the Sweet 16. Purdue was one bucket away from playing in the Elite Eight and a chance to return to the Final Four.
"I compared it last year to when we got beat by Auburn," Painter said. "We were overwhelmed against Auburn. We were overwhelmed here. [I told them] We're going to get a chance to play somebody of that caliber in the NCAA Tournament if we can win some games in the NCAA Tournament. And then we got Houston, and I thought we were ready for that."
With teams like Michigan, Michigan State, Illinois, UCLA and others in the Big Ten, Purdue is going to have plenty of opportunities to prove itself as one of the top teams in the country. But it must learn to win games when shots aren't falling.
That, right now, is the biggest issue facing Painter and the Boilermakers.
"I don't think we're in a position right now to grind out a victory," Painter said. "We can shoot, we can go and score 90 points, we can do that, but when you get in the NCAA Tournament, you're not going to win six games the same way. You're going to have a couple of games in the NCAA Tournament where the ball doesn't go in as much. Now, can you do other things?"
Purdue gets a chance to wash this sour taste out of its mouth on Wednesday, hosting Minnesota in its second Big Ten game of the year.
Get top Boilermakers stories, expert analysis, and can't-miss moments straight to your inbox for free by signing up for the Purdue Boilermakers on SI newsletter!
Related stories on Purdue basketball
5 THOUGHTS FROM PURDUE'S LOSS TO IOWA STATE: Purdue looked outmatched in every category on Saturday afternoon inside Mackey Arena. Here are five thoughts from the Boilers' loss to Iowa State. CLICK HERE
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.
Follow SchutteDustin