2nd Half Scoring Droughts Costly in Purdue's Loss to Texas A&M

INDIANAPOLIS — You can look at the stat sheet and point to a number reasons why No. 11 Purdue fell short in Saturday's Indy Classic showdown against No. 17 Texas A&M. Really, though, it was a matter of minutes that proved to be costly for the Boilermakers.

Two separate scoring droughts totaling11:08 were the biggest hindrance to Purdue at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, resulting in a 70-66 loss to Texas A&M. The Boilermakers fell to 8-3 on the season with the loss.

Purdue trailed Texas A&M 38-35 at halftime and found themselves in a 43-35 deficit out of the locker room after five quick points from the Aggies. But the Boilers put together a 9-0 run, getting five points from Cam Heide and four from Myles Colvin to take a 44-43 advantage.

Then the the first scoring drought hit. The Boilers went four minutes without a bucket, falling behind by six points. They never regained the lead.

"Sometimes our ability to shoot and play-make can save us in a game," coach Matt Painter said. "Tonight, the shots didn't go down ... we had too many possessions where the guy who had the ball just had to take a Hail Mary. We probably had five or six possessions like that."

But the dagger came in the middle of the second half. And it wasn't one play from Texas A&M that crushed Purdue. It was a serious of missed shots and turnovers over a 7:08 stretch that allowed the Aggies to build a 62-50 advantage with less than five minutes to play.

Yes, Heide, Colvin and CJ Cox hit some shots to give Purdue a chance at the end, but the hole was too big and Purdue couldn't dig itself out, resulting in the team's third loss of the 2024-25 season.

Texas A&M ended the game winning the rebound battle 34-23. Purdue turned the ball over 16 times. Ultimately, it was too much for the Boilers to overcome.

"I thought the difference for us — obviously they're the best offensive rebounding team in the country, they got 14 offensive rebounds — we had to offset some of that by getting more offensive rebounds," Painter said. "But then not turning the basketball over. We have the capabilities to take care of the basketball, and we didn't. I thought that was the difference."

Purdue has struggled against tough defensive teams, especially opponents that bring great size and length to the court. They struggled with turnovers against Marquette and Penn State. Saturday's game against Texas A&M was more of the same.

If you're looking for a silver lining, though, it's that Purdue endured an 11-minute scoring drought and still had opportunities to escape Gainbridge Fieldhouse with a win. For a team that had 16 turnovers and was outrebounded by 11, it could have been much worse.

As ugly as the offense was on Saturday, it seemed like there's something for Painter and his team to build on heading into next weekend's game against a stellar Auburn team.

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