At halftime it looked like Purdue's ghost of pressure past was rearing its ugly head as the Boilers started its west coast trip by heading to Washington on Wednesday night.

Purdue had 7 turnovers, didn't make a three in a half for the first time all season, and trailed the Huskies 30-22 going in at half.


Then Purdue's defense gave its offense a chance to get going. Braden Smith took a charge, then forced a steal, and then a Caleb Furst block led to a Caleb Furst steal and Braden Smith had Washington right where he wanted them at the other end. Smith had Washington's big, Wilhem Breidenbach, in isolation and Smith hit the big man with a crossover and then stepped back. Smith knocked down Purdue's first three-pointer of the game. The basket shot Purdue's offense into orbit and sparked a 31-9 run to start the second half.

Purdue soared from there, taking down the Huskies 69-58 on the road.

Purdue jumped on Washington early, going up 6-1 after Trey Kaufman-Renn found Caleb Furst for a hook shot, but Great Osobor would spend his night have a career shooting night that kept the Huskies in it.


Coming into the game, Osobor had just 4 made three-pointers on the year. He'd walk out, having added five more three-pointers on a perfect shooting night from the perimeter.


His first three of the game gave Washington its first lead, 14-12, near the halfway point of the first half.


That's when Washington's defense got going, pressuring and hedging hard out on Braden Smith and making Trey Kaufman-Renn's life miserable inside. Kaufman-Renn had five first half turnovers as Washington made him make quick decisions off the short roll and in the post.


Osobor's second three-pointer of the half gave Washington a 27-20 lead towards the end of the first half.


A Kaufman-Renn hook shot pulled Purdue within 8, 30-22 at the end of the half.

Purdue went to Kaufman-Renn early in the first half and he responded, knocking down a hook shot before Smith's three that pulled Purdue within a possession. Kaufman-Renn's next shot in the post would have Purdue down just 30-29.

Two Furst free throws and a Kaufman-Renn lay up off a Braden Smith feed would give Purdue a 33-32 lead.


An Osobor dunk would give Washington the lead back at 36-35, and then Purdue took over.


Braden Smith found Furst for a shot at the rim and Purdue went up 37-36. Then Smith would get a steal and Furst would clean up a Myles Colvin miss in transition before finding Loyer who drew a foul and extended Purdue's lead to three points.


Loyer who didn't score in the first half, got going in the second. Loyer got to the line, then to the rim, and pushed Purdue's lead to 53-39 with his first three-pointer of the game.

Osobor's next three, and the one after that, and then finally the fifth helped keep Washington within howling range, but Braden Smith delivered the final blow, hitting a fallaway jumper to go up 67-54 with just over a minute remaining.

There's the counting stats, 15 points, 6 rebounds, 4 steals, and 1 block.

Caleb Furst played just 26 minutes, but Furst might have had been Purdue's best player on the floor. He certainly was to start the second half. Furst, particularly on the defensive end, was everywhere for Purdue. In quick succession, he forced two turnovers and blocked a shot to start the second half, including closing off a possession by switching onto a guard and shutting down a drive to the basket.


Furst also continues to be productive on the offensive end of the floor. Furst was decisive and aggressive with the ball, got to the free throw line, and had some timely rebounds. Furst continues to reward Matt Painter for moving him into the starting lineup.

Again, Smith fills up the stat sheet, scoring 17, assisting five times, and grabbing 6 rebounds, but Smith also continues his assault on offense. He had 5 steals on the defensive end. Smith and Furst combined for nine steals and the two were everywhere in the passing lane, cutting off cutters, and getting to the ball.

After making 19 three-pointers against Nebraska in its last game, Purdue's three-point shot didn't travel to the west coast. Purdue didn't make a three-pointer in the first half and finished just 3 of 13 from three.


Washington on the other hand had a shocking night from three, going 9 of 22 from three. Five of those nine came from Great Osobor, who came into the game having hit just four three-pointers on the season.


But Purdue's defense was persistent. Purdue forced 17 turnovers and outscored the Huskies 18-4 off turnovers.


Purdue also dominated the paint, scoring 40 points to 22 from Washington.

Boiler Upload is an affiliate partner with Homefield Apparel, a premium collegiate apparel brand based in Indianapolis. They feature licensed vintage designs for over 150 different colleges and universities from the Colorado School of Mines all the way to most of the Big Ten. This, of course, includes Purdue. I can speak from experience that their Purdue line is fabulous, including the awesome 1967 Rose Bowl retro tee. Visit Homefield and use code BOILERUPLOAD for a discount on their unique designs.

In football, player development is everything. Check out how that is changing here in the portal and NIL era.