Purdue's Uncomfortable Truths

As the media heads into the press conference room after #2 Purdue's stunning loss to Ohio State, two Ohio State employees are standing by the audio control panels right of the table set up for coaches and players to speak.

One of them leans towards the other and says, "If Painter comes he should be first."

The if is unnecessary though it's not their fault for assuming this is possible. After Michigan's predictable blow out to Purdue at Mackey Arena earlier this season for instance, Juwan Howard decided to treat the after game presser like a game played in Pennsylvania - he elected not to participate.

But the thing about covering a team as cursed as Purdue - the curse being that Purdue is both too good to lose these games and yet still fulfill a lot of people's narratives when it does lose these games - is that Matt Painter has had a lot of uncomfortable losses to answer for in the last three years of incredible success.

And Painter has done, every single time, what he implored his team to do in the summer after its #1 seed loss to #16 Fairleigh Dickinson, he sits in it. He answers questions. He's honest about it, and that's exactly what he needs his team to do after the 73-69 road loss that leaves Purdue with a one game lead in the Big Ten and still the second best resume in the country by a long shot.

"Just accept the truth," Painter said after the game. "Just like as a coach, I've always tried to accept the truth, and when you can do that, you can fix things."

While Ohio State did a lot right today and played probably its best game of the season, this game didn't come down to Chris Holtmann being fired last week. Ohio State's roster was talented with Holtmann as head coach and is still talented with his replacement, Jake Diebler.

This game was about #2 Purdue not responding to a team that was playing like it was taking on one of the best programs in the country.

"Nothing, nothing," Painter insisted about the differences between this Ohio State team post Holtmann. "If he was here the score would be 73-69 Ohio State. Nothing. He's his assistant. They didn't run anything different. They didn't do anything different. It's a player's game... They have good players."

Purdue is now in this place above the rest of the Big Ten, a place they've been in for a few years now, and it's as Painter reflected on after the game, testing the cliche that team's will always give their best against Purdue.

"When you say you're gonna get everybody's best shot," Painter said after the game. "You think it's like a folk tale, but you get everybody's best shot... Prepare for their best."

For the second straight game, Purdue didn't come out prepared. Purdue didn't bring its best when it was in an 8 point hole against Minnesota earlier in the week and it didn't have anywhere close to its best for anything other than the first couple minutes in Columbus when it jumped out to an 8-0 run on the Buckeyes.

Purdue has prided itself on being even keel throughout the season, but if Purdue is gonna keep getting everyone's peak, it'll need to raise its standards and efforts. Especially after getting out rebounded by Ohio State in the first half.

"The thing I'm most frustrated with," Trey Kaufman-Renn said after the game. "Is they kinda beat us to ball in the first half."

After a hot streak had Lance Jones looking like one of the best pick ups in the transfer portal, Jones inconsistent play and shot selection has hindered Purdue's offense in the last couple games as he's come flying back down to earth. Jones started this game 1-7 and Matt Painter elected to keep Jones on the bench for good portions of the late first half while Braden Smith struggled to carry an offense without Zach Edey on the floor and another ball handler that could create anything.

Braden Smith is terrific. He's a no-brainer All-American. There's not a guard in the country asked to do more for a team's offense. While Purdue's offense floundered, Smith was running around screens, setting up defenders, getting into the lane, and trying to find something with Edey on the bench with two fouls.

But Mason Gillis also had one of his worst games of the season. He's the usual scoring punch off the bench for Purdue, but he had just 2 points, half of the bench's production. Purdue's bench has struggled to make much of an impact as Purdue gets to the end of Big Ten play.

After the game I asked Painter if he needed more scoring from his bench.

"We need more production from our bench," he corrected me. Then he got deep into his bag, searching through his lexicon of experience and tellings to get the crux of what's at stake and what he needs from his guys. "When I played I'd always want the truth. And the truth hurts a lot, right? If you're a better offensive player than a defensive player, be a two-way player. We need more guys that if they're out there because of offense, to be better on defense. If they're out there because of defense, be better on offense. Just accept the truth. Just like as a coach, I've always tried to accept the truth. And when you can do that you can fix things."

We're not talking wholesale, but Purdue's team has folded in back to back halves with its best player on the bench. Smith is being asked to do too much on the court right now. Even if Purdue gets out of the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament and the worst outcome is erased, its not sustainable to put this much on Edey and Smith.

"We gotta be better when Zach's out," Trey Kaufman-Renn said after the game. Purdue's offense thrived early, finding Kaufman-Renn in the post and it extended its lead to 8-0 before Ohio State even had a basket.

But from that point on, Purdue's offense fell apart when it wasn't Smith or Edey deciding a play.

Fletcher Loyer and Lance Jones both went 1 of 7 in the first half. Both settled for mid-range jumpers and quick decisions in the first half. Both had lapses in defensive judgment.

Jones play picked up in the second half, and he knocked down a clutch three, but he was one of just two Boilers with a positive +/-. Edey had a +10, Jones a +2, and Smith's was close at -2, but Smith played 38 minutes, catching only a breath of rest despite being involved in almost all of Purdue's offense.

Myles Colvin was -8 in 4 minutes in the first half.
Fletcher Loyer played 25 minutes, went 1 of 7 in the first half, didn't get a shot up in the second and had a -5 and a costly turnover late.
Mason Gillis was -9 in 16 minutes and only got 3 shots up, and was uncharacteristically lost on defense.
Ethan Morton played 18 minutes and didn't take a shot, again.

Purdue needs more from everyone that isn't its everything. Playing one way led Purdue to a one game exit in March last season.

That isn't mean. That's just the truth. And as Matt Painter said after the game, you have to accept the truth to fix it.

This team can be fixed, and that work starts now, but it will need more from its pieces to become whole in March.

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