3 Observations From Purdue's 92-49 Exhibition Win Over UIndy
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Top-ranked Purdue had no trouble with UIndy in its exhibition game on Wednesday night at Mackey Arena. The Boilermakers cruised to a 92-49 victory over the Greyhounds to close out preseason play.
Four different Boilermakers scored in double figures, led by Gicarri Harris with 20 points. Fletcher Loyer scored 16, and Trey Kaufman-Renn and Daniel Jacobsen each had 10 points.
Here are three quick observations from Purdue's victory over UIndy to close out the exhibition portion of the season.
Gicarri Harris was the MVP of the night
Harris was easily the best player on both ends of the floor for the Boilermakers. He finished the night with a game-high 20 points, shooting 7-of-10 from the floor and knocking down 4-of-5 attempts from three-point range.
The sophomore guard rarely hesitated and took open shots when available. He also wasn't afraid to drive to the basket in an attempt to get easy buckets or draw contact at the rim. It was as aggressive as we've seen Harris play in his time in West Lafayette.
On the defensive end, Harris was active, especially when he was on the ball. He was responsible for a pair of steals and a block, and also fought in the paint for rebounds.
Harris looked like a player who is fighting for a starting job.
The starting center job might still be up for grabs
I don't want to have a knee-jerk reaction to two exhibition games, but Daniel Jacobsen has played really well in Purdue's two preseason contests. Oscar Cluff looks like he's still thinking too much on the court.
Cluff got the start against UIndy, but quickly picked up three fouls in the first half and was only able to play six minutes. He was hesitant with the ball, struggled to catch passes, and was getting beaten on the glass. Things improved in the second half, finally getting a basket and collecting four rebounds in the final 20 minutes of play.
Jacobsen, on the other hand, was fantastic for most of the night. He turned two off-target passes into easy alley-oops. On a missed free throw, the 7-foot-4 center crashed the offensive glass and got an easy dunk. Defensively, he provided Purdue with that much-needed rim protection, blocking two shots and altering a few others. He ended the game with 10 points and eight rebounds.
In the long run, Cluff is going to be a good player for Purdue. He's still working off some of the rust and getting accustomed to a new system. Don't be surprised if Jacobsen is the starter on Tuesday night against Evansville, though.
Defensive and rebounding efforts were much better
Yes, it's an exhibition game against UIndy, but Purdue's defensive and rebounding effort seemed much better on Wednesday night than it did Friday against Kentucky.
The Boilermakers won the rebounding battle 48-23, which included a 16-8 advantage on the offensive glass. Obviously, making 52.5% of your shots and shooting 50% from three-point range helps. But Purdue was more aggressive on both ends when shots weren't dropping, something coach Matt Painter has been preaching.
Purdue also forced UIndy into 18 turnovers, which included eight steals. The Greyhounds made just 15-of-50 shots from the field. Those steals and missed shots allowed the Boilermakers to get out in transition, scoring 17 fastbreak points compared to UIndy's 3.
Rebounding was a total team effort, too, with eight different players grabbing at least three boards.
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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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