Boilers Dominate Wolverines to a 91-64 Victory

Purdue forced 22 turnovers and negated the duo of Goldin and Wolf

The Purdue Boilermakers dominated the Michigan Wolverines in a way that most didn’t see coming following the disappointing loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes. It was as thorough of an undressing of a top 25 team inside Mackey Arena in several seasons with the Boilers getting a 91-64 victory. It was another defensive performance the solidified Purdue’s growth as one of the nation’s most disruptive teams in the country.

That defensive performance started on the first possession of the game as Braden Smith shot the gap and was able to get a pick-six turnover and layup for the first points of the game. That was quickly followed up by a CJ Cox open floor held ball to get Purdue another possession and a TKR offensive rebound for a bucket. It wasn’t much longer that Cox hit a big three after another Michigan turnover turnover to force a timeout with the Boilers up 13-2. At that point, it was all Purdue.

The defensive intensity was turned up higher than it seemed to be all season with Purdue forcing 6 early turnovers and getting 11 points off those turnovers by the time the first media timeout came at 14:17. The Boilers would end up forcing a season high 22 turnovers that ended up with 28 Boilermaker points. It seemed Purdue was in every passing lane and shut down the dynamic double big lineup of Goldin and Wolf that had seemingly befuddled so many opponents prior.

Due to that pressure, it forced Michigan to shoot from beyond the arc at a high rate which led to long rebounds for Purdue’s guards. Those long rebounds inevitably allowed Purdue to get into quick transition opportunities all throughout the game where they held a 19-9 advantage in fast break points. Those long shots and rebounds really negated Michigan’s size on the interior and Purdue dominated in that regard as well, outscoring Michigan 40-28 in the paint. Those runouts were highlights by Braden Smith’s runout and alley-oop to Cam Heide, a more common occurrence as Purdue has been able to get into a higher tempo offense of late.

Late in the first half, Michigan tried to change their defense up into a matchup zone that seemed to slow Purdue and force some tough shots. It was a quick timeout by Painter that allowed Purdue to understand a change in scheme and get a breather as both TKR and Cox had been sidelined due to two fouls a piece earlier in the half. That defensive change came when Purdue led 44-15 and provided a quick 6-0 run but Purdue countered to end the first half leading 51-26.

Following the sixteen point blown lead against Ohio State, lots of Purdue fans were still somewhat anxious coming into the second half. Purdue didn’t make the same mistakes that allowed a 17-2 run by the Buckeyes to suddenly make that a game. Instead, the Boilers largely played even with the Wolverines. That being said, there was still some worry as both Cox and TKR picked up their third fouls before the first media timeout in the second half.

Smith largely played the second half in search of his first triple double and nearly got there with another masterclass performance. Smith ended the game with 24 points, 10 assists, 7 rebounds, and 4 steals. There were times where it was very evident that Michigan didn’t have a player to defend Smith in any capacity as he got to his baseline fadeaway jumper, to the rim, and into the paint to find cutters at will. When he is at that level, there aren’t many teams that can keep up with the Boilers. Smith also became the only D1 player this century to record a stat line of 20+ points, 10+ assists, 5+ rebounds, 4+ steals, and 1 or fewer turnovers, according to OptaSTATS.

Alongside Smith, TKR and Loyer had their typical steady games to inevitably have a game where the big three for the Boilers were too much for their opponent. Loyer ended with 18 points on 5-10 shooting behind the arc while TKR had 15 on 7-12 shooting from the field along with 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. As a trio, they combined for 57 points on 23-42 shooting (54.7%) and when they get the support from their teammates like tonight, it’s going to be an absolute nightmare for opponents.

This was a game where all nine players that played in the first half scored points with CJ Cox leading all other Boilermakers with 11 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 steals while the bench chipped in 17 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 steals. That’s the kind of support that they need moving forward to be a contender in the B1G and make another push to a back to back Final Four.

The only player not mentioned up to this point may be the key to Purdue’s defensive turnaround more than any other. Furst was able to grab 6 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals of his own but his ability to defend the double big look Michigan provides was absolutely elite. His experience and ability to be interchangeable with TKR in post defense while also just playing within himself and being where he is supposed to be is so key. Furst is to this team what Grady Eifert appeared to be to that 2019 team in that he seemed to just be the puzzle piece necessary to unlock Purdue on both ends.

This is a performance that shows Purdue’s capabilities when the shots are falling and the defense is playing connected as a team. Purdue moves to 8-2 in the B1G standings are are second behind MSU who is 7-0. The Boilers will enjoy a week off after playing 8 games over the last twenty three days, which means Purdue has played a game every 2.9 days since January 2nd. The rest will be well deserved as the Indiana Hoosiers will come to Mackey Arena on the last day of January.