Purdue’s struggles at Marquette begin with not getting the ball inside

On November 20, 2024By Littum

MILWAUKEE – Purdue basketball’s offensive identity plays through the post.

Even as the latest Boilermaker big man selected in the NBA draft left, Matt Painter still believes it.

When Daniel Jacobsen broke his tibia, Purdue knew its most effective offense was still getting the ball in and working from there.

Shake Smart, a coach who had more success against Painter’s teams than most, knew that. So the Golden Eagles took it away on Tuesday night.

Marquette fronted Trey Kaufman-Renn, denied the ball inside and disrupted Purdue’s offense into a turnover frenzy, beating the sixth-ranked Boilermakers 76-58 at Fiserv Forum.

“They do a good job of pressuring the ball, making us think on our toes and blowing up our actions,” Purdue guard Fletcher Loyer said. “They did exactly what they wanted.”

Marquette did exactly what it wanted.

The Boilermakers, meanwhile, got one field goal attempt and three points from Kaufman-Renn in the first half.

Kaufman-Renn said he was happy with the low usage rate as long as the offense plays well. It wasn’t. But even if it was, the Boilermakers will need to activate Kaufman-Renn early every night.

“It took a long time for us to get him in scoring positions,” Painter said after Tuesday’s setback, Purdue’s first regular-season non-conference loss since 2020. “I think it’s maybe more than the guy passing it, and the guy receiving, that’s the coaching staff.

“We’ve got to be able to get him the ball and be able to make them make a decision. If they never have to make a decision and we don’t get people in rotations, we’re abusing that weapon we have in him.”

It wasn’t for lack of trying.

“They’re just known to always squeeze it in,” point guard Braden Smith said of Marquette’s defense. “It just makes it harder for us to get it in there.”

Purdue eventually adjusted.

Using a pick and short roll, Smith and Kaufman-Renn finally started showing the two-man game Purdue fans recognized in the first four games, all wins.

The second half was the Kaufman-Renn show. He finished with 16 points on 7 of 10 shooting.

Purdue basketball’s Trey Kaufman-Renn on Marquette’s defense

Trey Kaufman-Renn led Purdue with 16 points. Hear what he had to say after Marquette beat the Boilermakers at Fiserv Forum.

“They just do such a good job of fronting the post and doing some other things that it was hard to get it in there,” Kaufman-Renn said. “When we first started doing the pick and roll, it kind of opened things up.”

The boilermakers also had other shortcomings. Namely 15 turnovers.

Again, Marquette probably deserves a big dose of credit for them.

The Boilermakers can work to fix mistakes, but they can’t afford to walk away from their bread and butter. Even when other teams try to take it away.

“We never got to where they were in danger,” Painter said. “We had to get (Kaufman-Renn) to screw up a little bit.”

That will continue to be the case Saturday against Marshall. And in San Diego next week. And on to Big Ten play and beyond.

Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X and Instagram @samueltking.