Quotes That Matter From Matt Painter After Purdue's 80-62 Win Over Ohio
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Gicarri Harris may have come in off the bench for Purdue on Friday night, but he certainly performed like a starter. The junior guard scored 23 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out four assists, guiding the Boilermakers to an 80-62 win over Ohio to improve to 2-2 this season.
Purdue also got 17 points and four assists from Antione West Jr., and 16 points and four rebounds from C.J. Cox. Daniel Jacobsen had nine points and eight boards and Jack Benter scored six points and also collected eight rebounds.
There were plenty of positives from Friday night's win, but it wasn't perfect. What stood out to head coach Matt Painter from the game?
Trying to find consistency
One of the things that stood out to Painter on Friday night — and through the first four games — is Purdue's struggle to find consistency. The Boilermakers have had some good stretches in every game this season, but they haven't been able to sustain them.
Purdue got off to a strong start offensively, making eight of their first 15 shots and going 4-of-7 from three early. After that, the Boilers closed the half, converting just four of their final 19 attempts.
"We've had good stretches, and then we take more difficult shots. We got up 10, we got the lead, and now we start taking some difficult shots. We have some breakdowns," Painter said. "We just have to do a better job of taking what the defense gives us. When we do that, and we play to our strengths, we're a good offensive team."
Developing strong team chemistry can take some time, especially for guys who are playing extended minutes or are in new roles. The Boilers have plenty of talent; they just need to find some consistency moving forward.
"We have some talented guys, but we've gotta learn to be better together. That's the best way to say it," he said. "We play great in some stretches, and then we play poorly in some stretches. We need some consistency."
A big night from Harris
Harris was the star of the night. It wasn't just his production; he was driving the basketball aggressively and making smart decisions. Every time he collected a rebound, he pushed the ball in transition.
That aggressive play sparked Purdue's offense.
"He's a good shooter; he's gotta be ready to shoot the basketball. I thought he made some nice drives; I thought he made some good decisions," Painter said. "Just look at his stat line. He made his free throws, had five rebounds, four assists, one turnover, two steals, 23 points. That's what you're looking for. He was probably pressing a little bit when he was starting. Sometimes, when you come off the bench, that can help you."
Harris ended the night making 67% of his shots from the floor. He drove to the lane for easy buckets, knocked down open threes and was perfect from the free-throw line. You couldn't have asked for much more out of the junior guard.
Finding Jacobsen in the post
For the first time this season, Jacobsen did not have a dominant performance. Ohio's defense and foul trouble both played a role. He was still solid, scoring nine points, grabbing eight rebounds and blocking three shots.
Painter thought that Purdue's guards missed Jacobsen a few times when he had gotten into a good scoring position. That's still something the Boilers are working on.
"We've gotta do a better job finding Daniel," Painter said. "I thought we had some opportunities to get him the basketball, and we didn't. We have to be able to get him the basketball in scoring position. There weren't a bunch of them, but three or four times that I can remember where he should have gotten the ball, and we didn't."
Although Jacobsen has been dominant in the post, getting him the ball inside regularly has been a challenge at times. In the first three games, he scored 70 points on just 32 field goal attempts. Will there be an effort to get him the ball more in the post, considering his hot start?
The struggles for Mayer
Nobody is having a tougher start to the season than Omer Mayer. He was 0-of-5 from the field on Friday night and is now just 4-of-30 in his first four games this season. It's a tough percentage for a player who opened the season as the starting point guard.
Mayer looks like he might be battling with his confidence right now, but Painter has faith that the sophomore will get it figured out soon.
"I thought in the first couple of games he took two or three shots in each that he absolutely shouldn't take. Maybe there was one tonight, but I thought he took good shots," Painter said. "We've seen him make shots. We've been around him for a year. He can shoot the basketball. It's just hard. Everybody goes through that. You just try to be positive and encourage him."
Attacking on offense
Purdue looked more intentional in how it attacked Ohio on Friday night. The Boilermakers drove into the paint more frequently, which led to layups, fouls and open kick-outs to three-point shooters.
That's another aspect of the Purdue offense that has been a work in progress early in the season, but the Boilers executed well when they got two feet in the paint on Friday night.
"Just being on the attack and understanding what they're giving us and understanding where there's space to attack," Painter said. "There are times when we're attacking people, and we should be attacking space. Understanding those types of things and just keep working on that."
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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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