Boilers Battle to Strong Win Against USC 90-72

TKR makes a statement with 24 points and 10 rebounds after being snubbed from Malone & Kareem Awards lists.

It seemed as though Trey Kaufman-Renn had a point to prove. He was aggressive from the first possession on both sides of the court but notably on the offensive end. It was a welcomed sight as TKR had a bit of extra juice after it was announced he wasn’t named as one of the top ten for the Malone (PF) or Kareem (C) award lists. It seemed Purdue also knew as they went to him early and often.

On Purdue’s first possession, they isolated TKR at the top of the key and let him go to work, bullying his way to the bucket for a tough bucket. He would end up getting multiple isolation opportunities that would force USC into a 2-3 midway into the 1st half and for most of the second half. Behind those early isolation opportunities, Purdue started the game 8-8 from the field and quickly built a lead that USC would not be able to recover from.

It was also clear that Smith was a cut above USC’s guards as he easily manipulated defenders and found open teammates for shots at the rim and beyond the arc. When he wasn’t clearly defaulting to teammates, Smith was able to get what he wanted. He would end the game coming up just one point short of a double-double as he went for 9 points, 13 assists, 3 rebounds, and 5 steals. Smith’s ability to manipulate the defense was also a contributing factor to USC’s turn to a 2-3 zone.

USC seemed to try anything they could to try and stop the nation’s best point guard, something that Mussellmen is known to do. His chaotic style of coaching by switching defenses throughout the game can cause havoc for opposing teams but with the experienced Smith, it seemed more of a nuisance than anything else. At one point, USC went with a double team as soon Smith got over halfcourt in an effort to get the ball out of his hands but that quickly went away as others were able to make good decisions with the ball and Purdue still was able to run good offense. In fact, Smith had one of the prettiest assists in his career as he no-looked a pass to Colvin in the corner that was wrapped around a defender.

With Purdue up 35-25, Burgess was called for an offensive foul that was upgraded to a flagrant 1 due to contact to the head. USC converted both of those free throws but couldn’t get another bucket but Purdue was able to parlay that into a 7-0 that was punctuated by a big alley-oop dunk from Smith to Colvin that brought Mackey Arena to its’ feet. That brought the Purdue lead to 42-27.

USC was led by Wesley Yates who scored 30 but was literally the only offensive output in the first half by scoring 22. For a player that came in averaging 11.7, it was a surprising burst of scoring for a player that had only broken the 20 point mark once before (21 against Iowa). Yates’ final field goal was a bit of a call back to the way the first half ended against Ohio State as he went coast to coast and scored to cut the lead to 48-36.

Yates’ effectiveness in the second half took a hit as he picked up his 3rd foul just 47 seconds in the second half and his fourth just a few minutes later. He would only score 8 points as the Boilers clearly had placed a focus on him at halftime. It was also a point to again get TKR established early on and he rewarded Purdue by drawing a lot of fouls and going 8-9 from the free throw line in the second half alone. The second half didn’t come with some issues and worries, however.

The Boilers were whistled for 16 fouls in the second half by an officiating crew that were clearly struggling with consistency on both ends of the floor. At one point, Smith was punched in the eye while dribbling in front of an official with no call while it seemed very little contact was being whistled on the other end.

TKR also had to be helped up off the floor after spending several moments down following getting stepped on by Myles Colvin. He would return later on but it negated a possibility for a 30 point night as he sat from the 9:00 mark of the second half until 5:16 left in the game. TKR ended the night with 24 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 blocks and is on an absolute tear through the last six games averaging 22.7 points and 7 rebounds.

The Boilers weren’t great from behind the arc as they went just 6-23 and have yet to really consistently string strong shooting performances as a team together since back to back 40%+ nights against Minnesota and Northwestern. Notably, Colvin and Heide continued to struggle from behind the arc as the duo went just 1-9 from behind the arc with Colvin going 2-8.

That is something that has been a worrying trend for the Boilers throughout B1G play as they have combined to go just 13-59 (22%) a year after both players shot north of 45%, albeit on lesser opportunities. When those two are able to knock down open threes, it opens up the offense to a level that will allow the Boilermakers to make a deep run again into March Madness. However, performances like the one Purdue got from TKR tonight and Smith against Iowa are ones that can still do that for the Boilers.

Purdue will be in action on the road against #24 Michigan on Tuesday, February 11th for the first opponent Purdue will face twice this season (Indiana & Rutgers). With a victory, Purdue would create distance for themselves at the top of the B1G standings as Michigan currently sits in second behind the Boilers at 8-2 while Purdue currently sits at 11-2. The Boilers will return to Mackey Arena on February 15th against a ranked Wisconsin squad.