Purdue (0-0) rolls to a 99-41 victory in their exhibition win over GVSU

Boilers played just about everyone they could with every rostered player getting time on the court

The Purdue Boilermakers rolled to a 99-41 victory over the Lakers from Grand Valley State in their final tune up before the official start to the 2024-2025 season. The Boilers were impressive against a solid Division 2 opponent but were overwhelmed from the start with the Boilers scoring from both the interior with Trey Kaufman-Renn, the outside shooting of the guards and wings, and the playmaking ability of true freshman CJ Cox.

Purdue featured two true freshman in their starting lineup with Daniel Jacobsen joining Gicarri Harris. That was quickly followed up with Raleigh Burgess and CJ Cox checking in as the first subs of the game, making it all four available freshman in the first several minutes of the game. Jack Benter, the other true freshman, got into the game halfway through the second half. Those freshman accounted for 37 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals against GVSU.

Although those true freshman were certainly a big part of the plan for Purdue, it continues to be the big three of Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer, and TKR. While Smith only scored 7 points, he also accounted for 5 assists, 5 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 blocked shot while committing zero turnovers. That might be a far cry from his performance against Creighton, but this seemed very much so of a game where Smith knew he could get his teammates involved. That involvement led to TKR’s 15 and 10 double-double and Loyer’s 15 points .

Games like this provide a great opportunity for young guys to get into game situations against an opponent and that’s what benefits Purdue the most. With the game in hand, Purdue was able to get extended minutes for some of those young players they will rely heavily on this season. One aspect was giving Harris the opportunity to be the primary ball handler with both Smith and Cox on the bench in the middle stretch of the second half.

Overall, the Boilers shot 54.8% from the field and 8-22 (36.4%) from behind the arc. More impressive, however, was the 23-26 (88.5%) from the free throw line as the Boilers were able to take advantage of a very aggressive defensive team. The Boilers also limited their turnovers with just five overall the entire game with primary players on the floor.

Purdue will likely continue to look for combinations that help support their big three of TKR, Smith, and Loyer and while Harris may have separated himself from the other guards and wings with his two way ability to score the basketball and play defense, that second front court spot is likely still up for grabs. Will Berg showcased a quality skillset with 6 points, 6 rebounds without fouling while Caleb Furst chipped in a stat stuffing 3 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. Although the options for Coach Painter are there, it may be deeper into the season until confidence is there from a player who is able to distance themselves from the others.

Purdue will begin their 2024-2025 season on Monday, November 4th at Mackey Arena against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The program made back to back NCAA Tournaments in 2022 and 2023 under former Purdue Assistant Coach Steve Lutz who is now the head coach at Oklahoma State. Tipoff will be at 6:00pm.