PDF: Purdue-Iowa statistics

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Purdue was far from perfect defensively Tuesday night against No. 4 Iowa, allowing just 70 points to one of the most potent offensive teams in college basketball.

"They scored exactly how many points we wanted them to score," guard Eric Hunter said, referencing an apparent pre-game defensive goal.

Problem was, the Boilermakers fell even further from perfect at the offensive end, falling in Iowa City, 70-55.

It was a disappointing turn of events for Purdue following an Impressive win against Notre Dame In which the Boilermakers cured their turnover Ills for one afternoon and reaped the rewards. Purdue committed just six turnovers against the Irish, only one of the live-ball variety.

At Iowa, 14.

On Purdue's very first possession, a botched handoff resulted in a turnover 13 seconds in, setting an ominous tone for the night.

"You see (against Notre Dame) what we're capable of when we don't turn the ball over, but then tonight we have turnovers from our guards," Coach Matt Painter said. "Just casual mistakes. ... I felt like we did ourselves in, didn't concentrate and we're real detail-oriented with our concentration and our decision-making."

Iowa has typically been rather generous defensively, as the Hawkeyes' up-tempo offensive style generally produces high-scoring, high-possessions games, the kind Purdue probably figured it might have on its hands in its Big Ten road opener.

Not at all.

The Hawkeyes fell almost 30 points below their scoring average coming in.

But, Purdue couldn't crack 60.

Its turnover issues resurfaced and its emphases on simplicity betrayed it.

"They didn't present any (defensive) challenges," Williams said of Iowa's defense. "We were just trying to get it all back in one play. We took a lot of tough threes. We were playing right into their hands. When shots don't fall for us, we struggle a little bit. We have to be better in that aspect."

Williams, for example, turned the ball in the first half on a high-degree-of-difficulty pass out of the post and missed a three-pointer his coaches likely frowned upon; in the second half, off a steal, Sasha Stefanovic threw an Ill-advised behind-the-back pass that was turned over and may have represented a four-point swing.

"When we did good things, we were right there," Painter said of his team's offense. "We didn't do enough good things at the offensive end."

Purdue's final deficit matched its largest of the game prior, but the Boilermakers did have an opportunity in the final minutes. With 3:52 left, Stefanovic's three-pointer from the corner drew Purdue to within just seven, capping an 8-0 run.

At the other end, though, Iowa's Connor McCaffery — the player Purdue sagged off, daring him to shoot — badly missed a three of his own from the corner, but the Boilermakers didn't block him out and he followed his own miss on the baseline for a putback that halted the visitors' run. Next time down, All-America big man Luka Garza made his fourth three-pointer — he scored 22 points — and Iowa's lead was safe.

Had Purdue been a little better offensively, things may have played out very differently.

"We were playing from behind today," Stefanovic said, "and it was hard for us to get any momentum on offense. It was a struggle for us."

Purdue swept Iowa last year in part because Garza got his, but no one else hurt Purdue.

This time, Garza was much more influential, scoring 22 points and stretching the Boilermaker defense out to make 4-of-8 threes.

He set a tone from the outset of the game with his tenacity, beating Purdue down the floor for an early and-one, then scoring on a putback.

"He's a fantastic player," Painter said. "A super player."

Garza contributed nine rebounds to Iowa's 37-35 win on the glass in an area of the game where Purdue probably needed an advantage. The Boilermaker probably needed to make a dent in the offensive glass, but finished with nine second chances, same as Iowa did, with the Hawkeyes' extra opportunities yielding more impactful plays.

And, this time, other Hawkeyes hurt Purdue.

Joe Wieskamp, twice a non-factor against Nojel Eastern and the Boilermakers last season, scored 17 and point guard Jordan Bohannon drained a trio of triples.

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