Breakdown: Purdue's win over Wright State

Our Breakdown of No. 6 Purdue's 96-52 rout of Wright State Tuesday night in Mackey Arena.

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It almost didn't matter when Purdue missed a shot on Tuesday, as the Boilermakers crushed Wright State on the glass, looking the part of what might be one of the top offensive rebounding teams in the country.

When the game was over, the platform that's the centerpiece of Mackey Arena's media room may have strained under the weight of the three players who loomed largest in this game — centers Trevion Williams and Zach Edey and forward Caleb Furst.

All three of them recorded double-doubles, and all three of them combined to make for an insurmountable challenge for Wright State on the glass.

Purdue missed 32 field goal attempts. It rebounded 19 of them. Those second chances led to 31 points. Williams, Edey and Furst combined for 16 offensive rebounds.

"It's pretty insane for our offense," said Edey, after finishing with 18 points and 12 rebounds, four off the offensive boards. "We have a scoring chance every single time someone shoots the ball and a scoring chance every time someone misses a shot."

As if Purdue needs another avenue for offense.

The Boilermakers showed themselves once again on Tuesday to be an offensive team formidable enough to validate the glowing rankings it's earned to open this year, the very acclaim they'll get a chance to prove themselves worthy of this weekend in Connecticut, where blueblood North Carolina awaits, then either Villanova or Tennessee. They're all top-25 teams, 'Nova being a top-10 team.

These are the games now where Purdue will be tested most, but insofar as the Boilermakers could be against Bellarmine, Indiana State and Wright State, there was much that seemed meaningful.

Purdue went 96-92-96 on the scoreboard, shooting consistently well, dominating on the interior and on Tuesday erasing any imperfections that came about — there were some turnovers early against Wright State — with offensive rebounding.

There was defensive progress, as well.

The Boilermakers held Wright State to just 17 first-half points en route to 51-17 lead at the break, one of the largest halftime gaps in school history.

"We were active, with our hands, and quick to our double-teams right away and didn't let them get established," Coach Matt Painter said. "We were fortunate because a lot of people are going to drag us out and either drive us or shoot threes against our 5 man, if they have someone who can do it. Once you can't do that (on offense) and you can't stop us down low (on defense), we've got you in a bind.

"Being active on those guards and not letting them get in (offense) and trying to bottle them up, I think you saw that. It wasn't one of those perfect halves defensively, but it was so much better than before."

Purdue's lead peaked at 49 in the second half.

At that point, intrigue lied only in whether Trevion Williams would clinch the rare triple double-double for Purdue, its first since December of 1977. He did, to finish off a rebounding clinic for the home team.

The final tally: 56-23.

"It has a lot to do with how we prepare for games and how we prepare in practice," said Williams, who led Purdue with 20 points and 13 rebounds. "We do a lot of rebounding drills in practice. A lot of teams may not do that, but Coach Painter's so about fundamentals, all about the basics. Sometimes people forget about the basics and that can happen to be the most important part of the games."

For Purdue, the big stuff seems in place. The Boilermakers have great players. They have a lot of very good players. They have offensive weapons few Painter teams that have come before this one could rival. They have unparalleled size to go along with more high-level athleticism than this program's accustomed to.

That being said, the little stuff holds outsized importance and may represent the difference between good and great for this team.

So far, so good.

"We're confident that we're a really good team," Edey said. "We have really good chemistry, everyone plays for each other, everyone loves one another and we feel we can beat anyone in the country."

Now they get their chance to.

There was no easing into this one as there has been the past couple games for Purdue.

Soon as Wright State took a 3-0 lead off Tanner Holden's three-pointer, the Boilermakers were off to the races. Furst got the ball rolling with a putback of the rare Edey miss, Sasha Stefanovic buried a three, Jaden Ivey hit Edey for a dunk, Ivey and Edey scored, and then Furst nailed a three-pointer.

That 14-0 run made it abundantly clear from the outset that this one would be less than suspenseful.

In the final minutes of the half, Ivey threw down a transition dunk, then Eric Hunter did the same off a steal, and Purdue's lead moved into the 30s.

Brandon Newman scored 15 points in the span of seven minutes after Purdue was up 35 in the second half to push the final margin even further.

More will be revealed about Purdue when they are pushed by better competition and have to get stops defensively in high-leverage defensively, but the Boilermakers look like an elite offensive team whose rebounding potential provides it a layer of insurance against off nights.

And they look like they're getting better defensively.

They have every reason to be confident headed to Connecticut.