Swanigan's dominant performance caps Purdue's solid non-conference run

PDF: Purdue-Norfolk State stats

Analysis ($): Stat Blast | Takeaways | Wrap Video | Blog

Without Caleb Swanigan, Purdue’s blowout victory over Norfolk State Wednesday wouldn’t have happened.

In more ways than one.

Before Swanigan would bust out one of the most dominant performances in program history, he needed his teammates to rise to his intensity level.

During the warmups, Swanigan thought the Boilermakers looked too “cool,” which was not the mindset he had. And was not the mindset they needed to finish the non-conference season strong, even against a struggling team from the MEAC.

So Swanigan, the super sophomore, pulled his teammates together and told them to pick it up.

They obliged, building nearly a 30-point lead by halftime and cruising to a 91-45 victory Wednesday in the final game before Big Ten play starts next week.

All Swanigan did was make 11-of-15 field goals and 9-of-10 free throws en route to scoring a career-high 32 points and then snatch — some violently — 20 rebounds. In a mere 30 minutes.

He is only the fifth player in school history to be part of the 30-20 club and the first since Bob Ford had 36 points and 20 rebounds on Jan. 16, 1971. It’s the second consecutive game Swanigan had at least 20 points and 20 rebounds.

“I thought I played well,” Swanigan said in the most understated way possible after such a monster performance. “I just played hard. That’s what I was trying to do. Just play every possession. Just play every team, respect them and play your hardest and give them your best effort. That’s all I can do every game.”

Swanigan had six points in a 12-0 run about five minutes into the first half that pushed Purdue to a 20-7 lead, and the Boilermakers never looked back.

Not that one could tell from Swanigan’s play.

Despite the early indications of a blowout, he kept plugging. He had a double-double with four minutes left in the first half, and his offensive rebound led to Ryan Cline’s three-pointer and a 43-21 lead.

Swanigan didn’t let up then either.

He finished the half in a flurry, grabbing four defensive rebounds and scoring eight points in the final 2:20. One of those buckets was a dunk.

And by halftime, he had 18 and 14, and Purdue was up 53-25. Game over.

“It’s cool to be in that kind of presence, somebody who can just go after all those rebounds and score almost every time he gets the ball,” said Isaac Haas, who had 14 points and seven rebounds. “It’s just good to have that extra counterpart as well on the block. Look forward to seeing him in practice on the 26th.”

Haas said that with a smirk. He’ll welcome a break from his bullish, in the best way, teammate. At one point Wednesday, Swanigan ran through Haas to get a rebound. Like nearly knocked him over.

But it’s that type of relentless effort that Swanigan has cultivated and is wanting to instill in his teammates that was so critical to Purdue’s non-conference run in which it finished 10-2. The only two losses were to top-15 teams (Villanova, Louisville), and both came with a fight. The Boilermakers showed that grittiness in wins, too, rallying from double-digit deficits to beat Georgia State and then-No. 21 Notre Dame.

But just as important, Purdue went the entire non-conference slate without a bad loss.

That should not be overlooked.

“Every time you step on the floor, you have to respect your opponents. No matter who you’re playing, you always want to play the right way,” said P.J. Thompson, who turned in another flawless performance with seven assists and no turnovers and added three steals. “My freshman year, we had a good team as well and we lost to Gardner-Webb at home and we lost to North Florida. We kind of learned from that over the years to know we want to come out with a better focus. Biggie … told us to pick it up so we can’t lose a game like this.

“I felt like we handled our business in the non-conference.”

Purdue also got better, it seemed, over the 12-game stretch.

Coach Matt Painter liked the defensive improvements made, he said, though he said no one should be calling Purdue a “great” defensive team by any stretch just yet, and the Boilermakers also seemed to resolve a turnover bugaboo from early in the year. In the last three games, Purdue averaged only nine turnovers.

“That’s a great sign,” Painter said of the turnovers decreasing.

But there were others, too, that the Boilermakers could be prepared to make a serious run at a Big Ten title.

“I think we had a good non-conference season,” Haas said. “We had a couple disappointing losses against Villanova and Louisville, both where we came back strong and made it a really close game. We tightened some things up defensively and ran everything smoothly on offense. We were finding the open man, getting deep post-ups, getting open shots. I think as long as we keep it that simple and work in and out, going into Big Ten season, it’s going to be a big help.

“Coach Paint was just telling us, it’s going to be a war every single game. We’re just really looking forward to that and ready to get out of non-conference and into the real stage.”

Membership Information: Sign up for GoldandBlack.com now | Why join? | Questions?

Copyright, Boilers, Inc. 2016. All Rights Reserved. Reproducing or using editorial or graphical content, in whole or in part, without permission, is strictly prohibited.