Matt Painter had seen it before: An opponent’s top scorer makes a tough shot — or more than one — and the defender gets rattled.
So Purdue’s head coach made sure to tell junior Dakota Mathias not to get discouraged if Iowa’s Peter Jok — the Big Ten’s leading scorer entering Wednesday’s game, averaging 22.6 points — because it’s something Jok could, and probably would, do.
But Mathias didn’t have to overcome any confidence issues in the Boilermakers’ Big Ten opener at Mackey Arena. In part because of Mathias, Jok never got untracked.
Jok scored only 13 points on 4-of-15 shooting, including making only one of seven three-point attempts, and his slow start hurt the Hawkeyes in an 89-67 loss.
“I think we did a great job,” Mathias said. “Thirteen points on 15 shots, that’s always what we want. He’s a tough guard because he’s always moving. In that system, they’re always setting screens for him and he’s always moving. He’s a great shooter, so you always have to be with him. He’s a tough challenge. We did a good job on him (Wednesday).”
Mathias started the game on Jok, who entered the game as one of the Big Ten’s best three-point shooters, making a league-best 42 threes over the first 13 games. On Jok’s first attempt, a three from the wing, Mathias set the tone: He was in Jok’s grill. The shot missed.
Jok made his next attempt — the only one he’d made among six first-half attempts — when he appeared to get free off a screen that Mathias couldn’t get through, and Jok went to the rim for the basket. That was how Iowa worked, running Jok off screens, whether they were on-ball or off. But Mathias, freshman Carsen Edwards and, sometimes on switches Vincent Edwards, kept working to keep Jok from getting free looks. For the most part, they did.
Though there was some impressive individual defense — Mathias had active hands, especially, and tipped a couple of balls intended for or in Jok’s hands — Purdue’s team defense really rallied.
When Jok shook off the younger Edwards, the other was there to defend on a missed jumper in the first half. When Jok got past a defender on the perimeter, Caleb Swanigan was there to take a charge in the first half.
“They didn’t do anything different than anybody else,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said of Purdue’s approach to Jok. “They face-guarded him and worked hard. They played with great effort. They were locked in collectively. He was out of rhythm early. You’ve got to give them credit for that. It took him awhile to get going. It really did.”
Iowa ramped up Jok’s touches in the second half. He scored 11 of the team’s first 13 points in the half, getting a three after a steal, running past Mathias and Isaac Haas to the rim, zipping past Mathias baseline after a post up and adding four free throws. But the Hawkeyes already were trailing by double-digits and, ultimately, Purdue’s defense again rose to the occasion.
Mathias stayed tight on a missed jumper from the free throw line, Ryan Cline stepped in to help in transition on a missed three-pointer, and another switch on a screen led to another missed three from the win. Then, Jok was out, having made only 27 percent of his shots, leaving the game with about five minutes to play and not returning.
“Obviously, he’s one of the best scorers in the country, so this was a bigger challenge than most,” Mathias said, “but I think the team defense was great. Guys were jumping to the ball, helping out, opening up on screens.”
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