PDF: Purdue-Chicago State statistics
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There's winning and there's winning ugly and Purdue's 93-49 rout of Chicago State Saturday would probably qualify as the latter.
Purdue didn't shoot especially well until the game was decided, but when you're rebounding all your misses, as seemed to the case between the end of the first half and start of the second, it didn't matter all that much.
The Boilermakers turned 23 offensive rebounds iInto 33 second-chance points, and spread a 39-3 run out over the end of the first half and opening of the second and rolled over the Cougars.
Isaiah Thompson led Purdue with 17 points, while Evan Boudreaux added 14 and Jahaad Proctor 13.
WHAT HAPPENED
Purdue languished through much of the first half, easily generating wide-open three-pointers, then missing most of them, allowing Chicago State — which, to its credit, made a bunch of shots, including a few tough threes — to not just hang around, but actually lead by three with less than five minutes to go in the first half.
"They played better than we did," Matt Painter said.
The difference, then, took hold, as Purdue strung together some stops, got out in transition, then dominated the offensive glass to turn the game on Its side.
Between a 13-0 run to end the first half and a 26-3 burst to start the second, that 39-3 run took this from ball game to blowout.
WHO MADE IT HAPPENED
Trevion Williams finished with just nine points and eight rebounds — like stats matter in a game like this one — in less than 16 minutes, but he was the face of Purdue's game-changing element: Offensive rebounding.
"We talked about being aggressive," Williams said. "Coach always harps on it, and the past few games we've struggled coming out for the second half, the first five minutes. We were just trying to bring energy and feed off each other.
"(Painter) said, 'Make sure you play to your strengths,' and that's what I tried to do. I couldn't get every one but if my effort was there, maybe somebody else can get it."
In the final minute of the first half, he parlayed an offensive rebound into a three for Jahaad Proctor, who scoring nine points in the final four minutes and change of the first half.
It sort of set the tone for an offensive rebounding onslaught to give Purdue its elusive and much-needed strong start to the second half.
The sparks that Williams and Proctor provided really mattered, but from a productivity perspective, it was a welcomed sight for Purdue to see freshman Isaiah Thompson drop five three-pointer and score a team-high 17 points In his fourth college game.
Evan Boudreaux Impacted the game, as well, not just in scoring 14 points off the bench, but on the glass and In the effort category.
WHY IT HAPPENED
The offensive rebounding was simply the singular difference in this game, aside from the obvious competitive-level gulf between a Big Ten program on its home floor and one of Division I's most challenged programs.
Purdue turned 23 offensive rebounds into 33 second-chance points.
WHAT IT MEANS
Very little. That's just the reality of it.
Not to take anything away from Purdue's win, but Chicago State was one of the most overmatched teams to walk into Mackey Arena in recent years, and Purdue didn't play particularly well for the first 15 minutes of the game or so, if not deeper into it.
The good news was that Purdue gave great effort when it needed it, made shots to blow the game open and maybe got Its lone freshman contributor going in Isaiah Thompson.
The better news is that Purdue doesn't play now for a week, so it gets to just practice, and it needs it.
More to come ...
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