Purdue Basketball: Boilermakers Hold Off Game Yale Squad 92-84

Purdue held off Yale at Mackey Arena to win 92-84. The win moves the 13th-ranked Boilermakers to a 3-0 record with a game against Alabama looming on Friday.

The first bit of intrigue was settled in pregame announcements, with sophomore center Will Berg getting the first minutes at center. He played well enough to justify staying in that role if Matt Painter wants a true center on the field to start the game.

It was a familiar game for the Boilermakers on offense, with Braden Smith leading the way, Fletcher Loyer shooting from deep and Trey Kaufman-Renn patrolling the paint. They combined for 53 of Purdue’s 92 points (Smith 22, Kaufman-Renn 17, Loyer 14) along with 12 rebounds and 12 assists. Braden also came up big on the defensive end with 5 steals, despite Purdue struggling at times to stop an experienced Yale team.

While the offense looked good, the defense and rebounding left something to be desired most of the night. Yale center Samson Aletan dominated the paint early, scoring more points in the first 10 minutes of the game than he had in the first two games combined. He finished with 14 points and 7 rebounds before fouling out. John Poulakidas led the Bulldogs in scoring with 23; many of his points came from hotly contested shots where “good offense beats good defense.”

Speaking of good defense, Myles Colvin, not known for his defensive prowess thus far in his career, came off the bench and provided a spark on both ends of the floor. He scored 9 points, including a 2-4 performance from deep and a thunderous dunk in transition. It was Colvin’s defense that caught my attention. He gave Poulakidas the most problems of any Purdue defender, using his athleticism and long arms to help slow down the Yale sharpshooter at times. The light turns on a little brighter for Myles with each game.

A shout-out to Camden Heide as well, who after two games of running around and doing “vigorous cardio,” decided to add some shooting and rebounding and finished with 9 points and 6 rebounds. As the game tightened up, Coach Painter’s “best 5” lineup against Yale included Heide and Colvin along with Purdue’s big three. That was the starting lineup I had in mind at the end of last season. It was nice to see it on the court, although there were a few issues with defense and rebounds. For my money, this is Purdue’s best scoring lineup, and it’s not particularly close.

While handing out praise, I’d be remiss not to mention the work of both Gicarri Harris and CJ Cox. Cox in particular looked like another steal from Coach Painter and the staff. He put up 12 points on 3-5 shooting, using a devastating pull-up midrange jumper in the screen-and-roll that he was beamed into from the mid-90s. He was on the floor late in the game, stayed steady and hit 6 of 7 from the line, including a 4-4 in the final minute to secure the victory. How do they keep letting Matt Painter get away with this?

All in all, it was a good, not great game from Purdue against a solid Yale team that hit contested shots to stay in the game late. Purdue wasn’t fazed, keeping Yale at arm’s length, despite Poulakidas catching fire from the perimeter in the second half. I like that the freshmen felt a bit of pressure in the late game as Alabama comes up on Friday. They will likely feel plenty of pressure against the Crimson Tide.

Purdue will have to play better against Alabama than they have in any game so far, but you can see the confidence in the young guys minute by minute. Losing Jacobson was a tough blow, but Purdue might have the firepower to overcome it if they can get better rebounding and rim protection from their centers.

The warm-up was fun; now the race starts on Friday. Having a game like this under your belt should help.