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My Two Cents: It's Not Who Starts, It's Who Can Finish For Purdue

Even with a reshuffled lineup, Purdue came up short again on the road at Wisconsin, but it wasn't for a lack of trying.
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MADISON, WIs. — Matt Painter has nine guys he can count on to get a win for Purdue. But it's been hard to find the right five on any given night, and that's been a frustrating challenge for the long-time Boilermakers coach.

He's been trying to hit all the right buttons, especially on the road, where Purdue has struggled to win all year because usually only one or two players are hot, not all nine — an not even five. 

It's not like anyone is stepping up and demanding minutes, so Painter picks and chooses, and hopes a right combination emerges.

Tuesday night was a perfect example of that in the loss to Wisconsin at the Kohl Center in Madison. Painter decided to have his leading scorer, sophomore forward Trevion Williams, come off the bench, even though he had started 18 of 24 games this season. 

The move was deemed a success, because Williams played well in the 69-65 loss. He had 17 points and 12 rebounds in 27 minutes of game-time, leading the Boilermakers in both categories.

"I thought Trevion played well, and at the end of the day, that's what we're trying to get accomplished,'' Painter said of the rotation switch. "Sasha Stefanovic comes of the bench for us on the road (for the second straight game), and he plays well.  That's what we're looking for. We're looking for everyone to play. well. You need that on the road.''

That's been the real catch there, trying to find a night where everyone plays well. Everyone in this nine-man rotation has had its moments this year, but that's the hardest thing for Painter to figure out, who's going to have the big night's — and when. 

For instance, he thought he had the right formula on Tuesday, starting Evan Boudreaux up front with Matt Haarms instead of Williams. Eric Hunter Jr., Jahaad Proctor and Nojel Eastern started at the guard spots.

Eastern had a great night, attacking he basket often and scoring 14 points, but the other four guys had a combined total of just six points, and no one had more than two.

That just doesn't work — especially on the road. 

"Just trying to do anything we can,'' Painter said. "Sometimes it helps the guys who start, sometimes the guys coming off the bench, it's helping them too. We're just trying to find consistency more than anything.''

It was hard to come by Tuesday night. Purdue kept themselves in the game all night — which has been a rare sight on the road — but a few Wisconsin runs in the second half were too much to overcome.

Purdue did erase a double-digit lead and did have a chance to actually take the lead in the final minute. Stefanovic, who hit three three-pointers and scored 11 points on the night, got a wide-open look at a three with the score 61-59. He missed, but Purdue got the rebound and the ball found its way right back to him, He hoisted another one, but this time sliding over to avoid a defender. The look wasn't as good, and he missed.

Purdue was then forced to foul, and Wisconsin wouldn't miss. They were 19-for-20 on he night and made all 10 free throws in the final minute

"I'd like to have that one back,'' Painter said of Stefanovic's second shot. "The first one was fine. Trevion set a good screen and he got good separation right in front of our bench. That was a good shot. 

"The next one, he was moving a little bit. The worst thing you can do there is not get a shot. We were going to try to go back inside to Trevion, and we didn't really need that second shot. If I had it back, I would have used that last timeout, if I had to do it over.''

Stefanovic is their best perimeter shooter, and he's hit some big shots lately. He hit the game-winner at Northwestern and played well in the road win at Indiana, too.

So you live and die with him, and Purdue never minds that. And in the next few years, he's going to make many more big shots, too.

"He's not going to create 10 good looks on his own, so we have to manufacture looks for him, and people are going to try to take those away from us,'' Painter said. "We're just trying to get some opportunities for him, because when he's making shots for us, we're a better team. He hit that shot at Northwestern to help us win, and he hit a couple of shots at Indiana to really help us win that game.''

There are no moral victories, of course, but it was good to see Purdue fight back and give themselves a chance to win another one on the road. 

"You don't get any points for being close, but it's good to see some fight and to see them stick with it,'' Painter said. "We were only down three at halftime, and we were probably the happiest team in the country. When we're in those games, it's better. This was kind of the same way. It was that start of the second half that hurt us. We've just got to stop those big runs. 

"You lost the game. You need to do a better job and put yourself in a better position.''

We've seen enough good things with this team when they are all one. That's what needs to change down the home stretch. Purdue simply needs everyone to play better. There's no way they'll win with just two or three guys playing well.

But your guess is as good as mine when it comes to figuring out who steps up next, with the Boilermakers host Michigan on Saturday.