Breakdown: Purdue's loss at #25 Rutgers

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PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Purdue's vicious cycle continues.

Again, the Boilermakers fell behind by a wide margin early on the road. Again, the Boilermakers rallied to make a game of it. Again, that rally fell just short.

This time, it was a 70-63 loss at 25th-ranked Rutgers, a game in which Purdue trailed by as many as 17 early in the second half only to be within a single possession in the final minutes.

Our breakdown.

Another slow start doomed Purdue, a phenomena exclusive to games played away from Mackey Arena and an on-going question to which the Boilermakers have no answer.

"We always put ourselves in a hole and find ourselves fighting back," big man Trevion Williams said. "Coach always talks about the first five minutes of the first half and second half and coming out with energy, so we don't have to go through that, but it's something we've struggled with.

"When you're always fighting back, sometimes it's hard to come back and get that win."

For Purdue, it's been close, yet the reward remains far away.

The Boilermakers remain winless on the road in the Big Ten.

They did get close, however.

After Rutgers pushed its lead from 12 at halftime to 17 shortly after halftime, Purdue again persisted, using a 10-2 run to get within nine before Geo Baker sank a difficult three pinned down in the corner as the shot clock wound down.

That shot didn't sink Purdue, either, and with a little more than two minutes left, Evan Boudreaux's split pair of free throws brought the Boilermakers to within just three, 62-59.

But, a few clean looks from three-point range for Purdue missed — it was 6-of-22 from three, and made just one after halftime — and Rutgers made six free throws on as many tries in the final 27 seconds and the Knights remained unbeaten at home for the season.

Purdue, the opposite.

"You don't get rewarded for having a good fight," Coach Matt Painter said. "We keep putting ourselves into a hole. It's one thing to be down at half, but when you have 11 turnovers, you have to play better. You're going to use a lot of energy, and on the road, things go against you sometimes. If you're trying to fight and you're down 13-14 points, on top of overcoming being on the road, it just gets to be too much."

If Painter had laid out his team's path to a winning start at Rutgers — or any game like it for that matter — chances are his very first bullet point would relate to taking care of the basketball.

That's been Purdue's undoing in these environments before.

This time, here's what happened: Eleven first-half turnovers, leading to a 12 Rutgers points.

Rutgers' halftime margin: A dozen.

The Scarlet Knights scored 14 "fast-break" points in the first half, 24 for the game.

"I think it was more us than anything," guard Eric Hunter said.

Purdue has been a very good defensive team, but no one's very good on defense when they're chasing people instead of guarding them. That's the position Purdue's turnover woes, and probably some quicker-than-preferred long jumpers, put it in.

In that sense, this was the Nebraska game revisited. The Cornhuskers got too much scoring too quickly off transition. Rutgers did the exact same.

"We were just careless with the ball," Painter said. "With that being said, they're a good defensive team, so give them credit (too)."

For the second game in a row, Purdue's spark came from a senior. After Evan Boudreaux was the game's most influential player against Wisconsin, classmate Jahaad Proctor was really the reason the Boilermakers even had a chance in the second half.

Purdue's leading scorer through the non-conference season, Proctor was removed from the starting lineup before the first Illinois game and has scored 19 total points in the seven games since Big Ten play resumed at the end of December.

He scored 19 at Rutgers alone, but also impacted the game as a passer and seemingly defensively, as well. Proctor was 7-of-12 from the floor with four assists, and was a case where the plus/minus column does reflect reality — Proctor was +9. (Only Matt Haarms at +1 joined him as a plus in that category.)

"I knew one of these games, I was going to have to come along, piece it together and help my team get to a win," Proctor said. "It doesn't have to be offensively, which has been my biggest thing my whole career, scoring the ball."

Afterward, Proctor spoke of the difficulties of the past few weeks for him, as he's encountered struggles he's unaccustomed to. He also spoke of a realization that team comes first, and said part of what made Tuesday night possible was viewing things accordingly.

Trevion Williams went for 17 points and 13 rebounds, much of it coming in the second half.

The problem for Purdue: That was pretty much It.

Purdue's guards, Proctor notwithstanding, struggled mightily. Sasha Stefanovic's road struggles continued, as he was scoreless on 0-for-5 shooting, including some clean looks from deep. Hunter scored seven points, but four of them came in the final seconds as Purdue was nabbing quick two-point baskets to try to extend the game. Nojel Eastern scored two points. Isaiah Thompson scored three points, but that matched his turnover total.

It means the answer continues to elude Purdue and the vicious cycle lives on. The patterning is distinct and the solution — "energy," per Williams — seemingly so simple, yet so difficult for the Boilermakers to grasp to this point.

"We're trying to figure that out," Hunter said. "There's a disconnect somewhere. We'll go back to film and try to get it figured out as fast as possible, because we still have (five) more road games out of the next seven."

Next up: At Northwestern this weekend.

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