Boilers move to 1-1 in the B1G and 802 overall following an important victory over the Terps
The Purdue Boilermakers grabbed an important 83-78 victory over the Maryland Terrapins to move to 1-1 in the B1G and 8-2 overall as they head into finals week. Purdue rebounded nicely from a disappointing outcome against Penn State where they had 24 turnovers to just 8 today that just 11 points for the Terps.
Let’s hear from Purdue Head Coach Matt Painter along with players Braden Smith, Cam Heide, and Trey Kaufman Renn.
Purdue Head Coach Matt Painter
Notes from Purdue’s Press Conference
- Painter spoke frequently about their struggles at Penn State saying they just couldn’t get the shots they wanted and then turned the ball over 24 times. Just couldn’t really get themselves going even though they shot the ball better than their opponent. Against Maryland, Boilers were able to get more of their shots and limited their turnovers to just 8 overall.
- Painter spoke about PJ’s ability to do a good job of calling games from an offensive standpoint but also speaking about Willard’s ability to switch his defensive looks over the course of the game. Forces teams to ‘just play basketball’ and with guys like Smith, Loyer, and TKR, that can play into their hands more than a lot of other teams.
- Purdue did a better job today of preventing Maryland from getting into the paint although the Terps did a good job of hitting open threes when presented with those chances going 11-26 from beyond the arc. Terps entered today shooting just 33% as a team but go 42.3% today, a nearly 10% improvement. Shooting to their average would have meant 3 less today and a much different game in the second half.
- Painter said Reese’s fouls played a big part in their rebounding in the second half and those fouls likely came from TKR’s ability to go right at him and be successful. To be honest, TKR probably drew 5 to 6 more fouls that just weren’t called, especially when he attacked off the right side of the floor. Reese’s aggressiveness dropping in the second half allowed the Boilers to out rebound the Terps 18-11 and end up just a 36-34 advantage for Maryland.
- Painter also spoke about Colvin’s ability to grab important rebounds at the ends of games but really his attention to rebounding and anticipating where the ball is going to come off the rim has improved exponentially. He had one putback slam off a rebound and missed another today that are just big time hustle plays that have defined his expanded role this season so far.
Incoming. – @mylesjcolvin
: @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/IbNsT8JD4T
— Purdue Men’s Basketball (@BoilerBall) December 8, 2024
Purdue Players Braden Smith, Cam Heide, and Trey Kaufman-Renn
Boilers will return to action on December 14th when they square off against a ranked Texas A&M squad in Indy at the Indy Classic. Texas A&M plays tonight (12/8) against Texas Tech on ESPN 2 for those wanting a sneak peek of the Aggies.