Purdue held off Yale in 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 court to start the game.
It was a familiar game for the Boilermakers on offense, with Braden Smith leading the way, Fletcher Loyer firing from deep, and Trey Kaufman-Renn patrolling the paint. Together, 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 to stop an experienced Yale squad at times.
While the offense looked good, the defense and rebounding left something to be desired most of the night. Yale’s 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 highly contested shots, where “good offense beats good defense.”
Speaking of good defense, Myles Colvin, not known for his defensive prowess so 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 drew my attention. He gave Poulakidas the most trouble of any Purdue defender, using his athleticism and long arms to help slow down the Yale sharpshooter at times. The light is coming on a little brighter for Myles every game.
A shout-out to Camden Heide as well, who after two games of running around performing “diligent cardio,” decided to add some shooting and rebounding, finishing with 9 points and 6 rebounds. When the game tightened up, Coach Painter’s “best 5” lineup against Yale included Heide and Colvin alongside 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, even if there were a few issues with defense and rebounding. For my money, this is Purdue’s best scoring lineup, and it’s not particularly close.
While handing out plaudits, I would be remiss not to mention the work of both Gicarri Harris and C.J. Cox. Cox, in particular, looked like another steal by Coach Painter and the staff. He put up 12 points on 3-5 shooting, utilizing a devastating pull-up midrange jumper in the screen-and-roll like he was beamed in from the mid-90s. He was on the floor late in the game, staying steady and hitting 6 of 7 from the line, including 4-4 in the last minute to help seal the win. 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 squad that hit contested shots to stay in the game late. Purdue didn’t get flustered and kept 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 late-game pressure with Alabama coming up on Friday. They’ll likely feel plenty of pressure against the Crimson Tide.
Purdue will need to play better against Alabama than they have in any game so far, but you can see the confidence building in the young guys from minute to 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 warmup was fun; now the race begins on Friday. Having a game like this under their belt should help.
