Purdue's Defense vs. Texas Tech Showed Why Boilers Are Country's No. 1 Team
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Matt Painter has seen quite a bit during his time at Purdue. On Friday night in the Bahamas, though, he was part of something he doesn't believe he's ever witnessed before. From the 7:05 mark in the first half through the first 5:31 of the second half, the top-ranked Boilermakers held Texas Tech to just three points.
In that span, Purdue outscored Texas Tech 31-3, creating plenty of separation and cruising to an 86-56 victory to win the Baha Mar Championship. Painter doesn't believe he's ever seen anything quite that impressive from a team he's coached in 21 seasons with the Boilers.
"No, not really, not against a team that good," Painter said. "Hats off to our guys. I thought from a rebounding and defense, we've made some strides here the last few weeks. I don't think we've arrived, but it was a great effort from our guys."
On Friday night, Purdue showed why it's the nation's top-ranked team. Against National Player of the Year candidate JT Toppin and do-it-all guard Christian Anderson, the Boilermakers put the clamps down defensively.
Toppin ended the game with 15 points and eight rebounds, shooting just 6-of-13 from the floor. Anderson closed the night with 13 points and one assist — he had entered the game averaging 8.8 dimes per game.
As a team, Texas Tech shot 33% from the floor and made 8-of-34 attempts from three-point range. Purdue won the rebound battle 43-25, which included a 10-9 advantage on the offensive glass.
It was the type of defensive effort Purdue has been searching for all season. To do it against one of the country's top teams for more than 12 minutes might have been the most impressive display of basketball we've seen yet this season.
"Doing little things. I think as the game goes on, a lot of teams will have slippage; you lose the details. You just have to stay with it," Painter said. "I thought our guys did a better job tonight. It's easier when you're seeing the results.
"I think every coach in America harps on doing your job. When you have players who are good enough and they do their job and have competitive spirit, I think you're going to get pretty good results."
Defense leads to offense
Purdue's offensive numbers stood out on Friday night. The Boilermakers shot 59% from the floor and made 8-of-14 attempts from three-point range. Seven players scored in double figures, led by Oscar Cluff with 15 and Trey Kaufman-Renn with 12 points.
Omer Mayer and Daniel Jacobsen each had 11 points off the bench, and starters CJ Cox, Fletcher Loyer, and Braden Smith all scored 10. It was the most balanced effort Purdue has had this season.
But Purdue's effort on the defensive end is what fueled the offensive success.
"Once you get stops and really push in transition and make a couple of shots, those eight or nine stops that we had feel like 20," Smith said. "Momentum is on our side, we're hitting shots, and it swings our way."
After the Red Raiders got a triple from Anderson to make the score 26-23 with 7:05 left in the first half, the Boilermakers went on a 20-0 run — the difference-maker in Friday's game. In that stretch, Purdue forced Texas Tech into four turnovers and a trio of missed three-point attempts.
Purdue turned those critical mistakes into buckets.
"I feel like we were all communicating well with each other on defense, which led to breakouts on offense and being able to push the ball," Cox said. "Getting all those kills and going on that run gave us momentum and got the crowd into it. Us going on that run really sealed the game for us."
Entering the Baha Mar Championship, Purdue knew its offense was one of the best in the country. What it didn't know, though, was whether or not it made the improvement defensively to beat talented opponents when shots don't fall.
The Boilermakers proved they have the capacity defensively to prevent high-caliber teams from scoring. When it all comes together like it did on Friday night, it's easy to see why Purdue is the country's No. 1 team.
"I think it's big to see everybody on the same page and locked in towards the same goal," Smith said. "We can guard a really good team the way we did tonight."
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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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