Boilers Ground the Ducks 65-58 in a Top 20 Matchup

Purdue has now held seven straight B1G opponents to 68 points or less

The Purdue Boilermakers grabbed one of the most important victories of their season by defeating the Oregon Ducks 65-58 to move to 7-1 in the conference ahead of three straight home games at Mackey Arena. It was unfortunately another offensive struggle with the Boilers shooting just 19-56 (33.9%) and 2-12 (16.7%) from behind the arc, but defense always travels on the road. It was a suffocating effort from the Boilers that has suddenly become one of the better defensive teams in the country.

The offensive struggle was apparent early on as TKR started the game 0-6 from the field but flashed an improved motion from the free throw line as he kept Purdue afloat going 5-5 from the free throw line before finishing the game 9-9. It was a surprising result considering his struggles that last several games shooting well below 50%. He would end the game as the leading scorer for the Boilers with 23 points and 11 rebounds but did so on just 7-20 shooting, and one emphatic put back dunk.

The Boilers muddied up the game with another strong defensive performance, something that has been a constant for them over the last several games. A team that, over the last several seasons, wasn’t accustomed to turning opponents over suddenly has done so at an average of 14 per game over the last seven games. Against the Ducks, they forced 16 and that turned into 15 points for the Boilers. More importantly, it provided Purdue with six more shot attempts than the Ducks.

The Boilers again held an early lead, as they did against Washington, but gave up a 7-0 run to the Ducks to fall behind. They rebounded and again grabbed a 23-19 lead before giving up an 8-2 run. That back and forth would finish the first half with Purdue down 31-30 at halftime.

It was the second half defensive effort that again helped the Boilers buoy themselves as they struggled to find their footing offensively. Early on, the Ducks were called for fouls that found Tracey, Angel, and eventually Bittle to the bench with their third fouls for extended amounts of time. Purdue, however, could not capitalize on a more than eight minute stretch where Oregon did not score.

After an initial Bittle dunk to start the second half, the Ducks would officially go 8:15 before they hit an open three at the 11:35 mark. In that span, the Boilers were only able to string together 11 points at a time when they could have really taken control of the game. It was, though, just after that where it seemed Smith and TKR finally took control of the game.

Starting with 8:35 left, TKR and Smith combined to score 16 straight points for the Boilers. In that sequence, Braden Smith likely made the play of the game. As Purdue was switching all five on defense, he found himself alone in the post. As the pass came in, Smith was able to poke it away for one of his five steals and quickly found TKR on the other end for an important bucket.

Although his shot struggled today, Smith again seemed under control for most of the game as he totaled 15 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, and 5 steals. The Boilers, behind his effort were fully in control of the game late up by 11 points with the ball and a chance to go up 13. It was then that Smith probably had the worst of his five turnovers as he left his feet and threw the ball away. That turnover led to Oregon hitting an open three and helped keep Oregon in the game much longer than they should have been. In fact, the Ducks were able to turn 12 Boilermaker turnovers into 18 points, something teams typically don’t come back from on the road.

This was, however, a masterclass in defense where Purdue has suddenly become a force. The Boilers have not allowed a B1G opponent to hit 70 points since the calendar turned to 2025. In fact, the Boilers are allowing just 59.3 points per game over the last seven B1G, the lowest in the conference in that span of time. It’s been a surprising result considering the loss of a defender like Edey that forced a change in philosophy a bit for the defense without a paint protector of that caliber.

The Boilers also got a solid contribution from Cam Heide who had 9 points on 4-5 from the free throw line while he grabbed 4 rebounds. It was a game that, had the Boilers shot to their average, is likely another 18 or more point victory for what may be the hottest team in the B1G. The fans turned out for this one as well as late in the game cheers of ‘Let’s Go Boilers’ could be heard ringing through the broadcast.

Purdue returns to Mackey on January 21st to take on the Ohio State Buckeyes and an opportunity to move to 8-1 in the conference.