PDF: Purdue-Illinois statistics

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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Same as Rutgers, Purdue positioned itself to score a marquee Big Ten win on the road, scoring 19 straight points to lead at No. 15 Illinois 39-33 at the first media timeout after halftime.

Then, the Boilermakers' dizzying back-and-forth between their best selves and worst selves again took hold, and a Purdue-turnover-fueled 24-9 Illini run sent Purdue home disappointed again, 66-58.

"We have good stretches and we have bad stretches," Coach Matt Painter said. "We need to replace our bad stretches with just average stretches. We go in the tank a little."

Again, it was the Boilermakers' chief 2020-2021 nemesis: Turnovers.

The visitors committed 14 of them, but again, it wasn't the total as much as it was the impact, and timing.

Purdue's turnovers undercut its need to keep Illinois out of transition, in itself undercutting a step forward for this Boilermaker team defensively. Illinois' 66 points were a season-low, and 17 of those points came off Purdue's giveaways.

Additionally, Purdue lamented Its de-facto turnovers, too.

"A lot of our bad shots turned into turnover-type plays," junior Sasha Stefanovic said, echoing Painter's post-game message.

The actual turnovers showed up again at the worst time.

Aaron Wheeler's three-pointer just before the halftime buzzer broke a run of 10 straight Illinois points that seemed to break the game open. The Illini led by 13 at that point.

But Purdue scored the first 17 after halftime to take fleeting command.

Stefanovic made a three to open the second half, Trevion Williams got loose against the Illini bigs and Brandon Newman gave the Boilermakers an offensive spark, with six points in four minutes to start the second half, the last four of which gave Purdue a lead of a half dozen, the sort of run that would have stunned the home crowd had it not been made of cardboard.

Then, Da'Monte Williams snapped Purdue's run with a three. Newman then committed a turnover. Adam Miller made a three, tying the game. Then Williams was called for a moving screen.

Out of 10 possessions that followed the 19-0 run, the Boilermakers committed six turnovers.

"It's that simple: Don't turn the ball over," Stefanovic said. "Just get shots and get looks. Those empty possessions really hurt us on those runs."

A lot went into Purdue's game-changing run, but the play of Trevion Williams loomed largest.

After a slow start finishing shots over Illinois Goliath Kofi Cockburn, Williams found his rhythm late in the first half and carried it over to the second, starting with an assist to Newman for an and-one, an and-one of his own over Cockburn and then another score over Giorgi Bezhanishvili.

Williams finished with 14 points and eight rebounds, though Purdue was outrebounded for only the second time this season.

He said there was no adjustment made after his shots didn't go down over Cockburn to start the game, except for a jumper he made early on.

"I kept trying to get to my move," Williams said. "I'm just working on being simple."

Williams matched Newman for a team-leading 14.

Purdue's opened the season with road games vs. three of the Big Ten's top teams — Iowa, Rutgers and Illinois.

Its lost all three, but has given itself glimpses of Its potential in so doing.

The Boilermakers did lead Rutgers and Illinois during second halves. Obviously it's a zero-sum game, but one where a team playing so many freshmen can take heart following the most grueling road portion of its schedule.

"It definitely shows us what we're capable of," Newman said. "It shows us that if we do the right things, how good we can be as a collective group, as a team."

Painter seemed almost encouraged about his young team.

"We just have to keep growing," Painter said. "I like our pieces and I like our guys. We just have to be better together."

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