#21 Purdue Defuses the Rockets – Wins 83-64

Braden Smith shines.

Purdue hobbled into Mackey Arena losers of three of their last four. This was a game they needed to win, their final tuneup before they return to Big Ten play in January. It had been 21 days since the team, and the ever hungry Boilermaker faithful, had been back to Mackey Arena. The game didn’t start like most people wanted as, following a quick Braden Smith three to start the scoring, Purdue wouldn’t score again for 3:34. It’s these types of droughts, but even longer, that have doomed the Boilermakers in some of these early season losses. Another problem for the Boilermakers so far this season has been rebounding and we saw that rear it’s ugly head yet again. Purdue was outrebounded 21-15 by the Rockets in that first half. Purdue’s best rebounds, Trey Kaufman-Renn, had just three rebounds at half. He was tied for the lead despite playing just 10 minutes due to foul trouble.

Purdue’s offense eventually found its rhythm with an 11-0 run to push the Rockets away. That run would eventually get to 18-4 before Toledo jumped back into it hitting eight in a row to cut the lead to 33-26. Fletcher Loyer hit two threes in the final minutes to push the halftime score to 39-28. A lead that most Boilermaker fans did not feel comfortable with I’m sure. I say that because I was right there with them.

Two other things that stood out to me in that first half, Toledo was held without a three point basket. However, of their 28 points, 16 of them came in the paint with another four coming from the free throw line. It shows the limitations of the Purdue defense especially with TKR playing just 10 minutes. Second, no Boilermaker other than TKR and Smith scored until 7:36 in the first half when CJ Cox got a bucket. That’s concerning. Loyer of course stepped up but Purdue needs more consistency from its other guys.

John Wooden Memorial Player of the Game (JWMPOTG) – Braden Smith earns this from me tonight. In the first half alone he had 17 points, 5 assists, and 3 rebounds. That’s a solid stat line for a full game. Braden wasn’t done though as he finished the game with 34 points, 12 assists, and 4 rebounds. He finished three points shy of 1,000 in his career. The guy can do it all and really wanted to show that he can lead this team to the promised land.

The second half was an opportunity for Purdue to push Toledo away and get a convincing victory before finishing up winter break. Through the first eight minutes, it was anything but convincing. Every time Purdue made a move, Toldeo followed. It also didn’t help that TKR was getting absolutely mugged on the offensive end, often by two defenders, with no calls while Purdue was getting called for everything on the other end. At one point the refs had to stop the game as TKR and Toledo’s Javar Simmons got into each other’s faces. I understand letting them play, but you’ve also got to keep the game under control and the refs weren’t doing that. Two Caleb Furst free throws pushed the Purdue lead to 59-47 at just under 12:00 to play. After that though, it was all Purdue the rest of the way.

Braden Smith decided that he was angry and wanted to let everyone know that he was still that dude. He set a new career high with more than nine minutes to go in the second half.

He also finished the game just three points away from 1,000 in his career. He also dropped in 12 assists including a nifty one to Gicarri Harris for a layup that pushed Purdue’s lead to 67-49 with 8:25 to play. Smith put the Big Ten on notice today that he means business.

Caleb Furst deserves special mention here as he came in and did a much better job defensively on Toledo than Raleigh Burgess and others. He was, at one point, +26 in the game. He brought defensive intensity and did what so many Purdue players couldn’t, rebound the basketball. He finished this one with 5 rebounds and made a lot of good decisions on the court.

This one wasn’t always pretty, Purdue allowed Toledo to outrebound them 40 to 32 and they also allowed 34 points in the paint to a Toledo team that has no one over 6’10”.

Tidbits that don’t fit the game story: Purdue honored Frank Kendrick with a moment of silence before the game. Former Purdue assistant coach and longtime Illinois Head Coach Bruce Weber was on commentary and was given a nice ovation. Cut to an immediate shot to Gene Keady who also got a great ovation and my 90’s Purdue fan heart almost burst out of its chest. Purdue fans won free fries approximately 35 seconds into the game when Toledo Javan Simmon’s missed both free throws. Also, a Toledo player airballed back to back free throws and listen, I know the free fry promotion had already been completed, but that should be worth a free dessert or something.