Timely shooting and improved rebounding propelled the Purdue Boilermakers to a crucial 90-81 victory on the road over Iowa on Tuesday night. Coupled with the Michigan State loss at UCLA a few hours later, Purdue is now in sole possession of first place in the Big 10 conference.
With the victory, Purdue improved to 18-5 overall and 10-2 in the conference, which is one-half game better than Michigan State’s 9-2 Big 10 mark. Iowa, who has lost five of their last six games, fell to 13-9 in all games and 4-7 versus conference foes.
The Boilers were led by their junior stalwarts Braden Smith and Trey Kaufman-Renn. Smith, the Big 10’s preseason conference player of the year, showed why the prognosticators thought so highly of him in the fall, and he is now a serious contender for National POY. He scored 31 points in the game on 11-15 shooting after putting up just two points through the first 15 minutes of the first half. Kaufman-Renn added 25 points and seven rebounds.
Iowa came into the game averaging a league-leading 85.4 points per game, and their first-half offensive performance showed why. The Hawkeyes hit their first four shots and bolted out to a 10-3 lead two-and-a-half minutes into the game.
Purdue largely answered thanks to Kaufman-Renn, who scored 12 points in the first seven minutes. Then, Gicarri Harris‘ three-point basket with 12:45 left in the half gave the Boilers a 16-15 lead.
The Boilermakers culminated a 10-0 run thanks to a Camden Heide three-ball, which made the score 21-15. However, Iowa clawed back, and Even Brauns’ put-back layup resulted in the game’s first tie score, 23-23.
Purdue missed their next six shots, and Iowa capitalized by establishing a lead at 33-27 with 2:50 left before halftime. That is when Smith started to heat up.
The Boilers’ point guard scored seven of his team’s nine final points of the half, including a long three at the buzzer. The result was a tie score at the break, 36-36. The score was even, and both teams shot an even 50% from the field in the first twenty minutes.
Head coach Matt Painter recognized the importance of Smith’s final shot of the half.
“It just helps you because we didn’t play great,” Painter explained. “I think they had a lot to do with that, but we didn’t play that great. But, hey, we haven’t played a great half here but it’s still tied. We got it in a good position. I think it really helps. We obviously had a nice run to start the second half.”
Smith continued his torrid shooting; he scored 19 points between the last five minutes of the first half and the first four minutes of the second half. His three-pointer with 17:59 remaining gave Purdue a 44-41 lead, and they would never trail the rest of the game.
C.J. Cox banked in a shot from distance, giving the Boilermakers a then game-high lead of ten points, 65-55, with 11:45 to go. However, Iowa refused to go away, and they eventually cut the lead to six on a Pryce Sandfort jumper at the 8:43 mark. Fletcher Loyer, held scoreless for the first 22 minutes of the game, drilled a three-pointer to squelch the mini-Hawkeye rally.
The game was still in doubt after Josh Dix converted a free throw with 2:42 remaining, making it a one-possession game, cutting the Purdue lead to 80-77. But that was as close as the Hawkeyes would get. The Boilermakers made eight of nine free throws down the stretch, including a perfect five-for-five from Kaufman-Renn, to salt the game away.
Painter was pleased with his team’s focus and energy after halftime.
“We just had to settle in. We didn’t grab any energy until we made shots. The way we started the game, I thought Iowa had better energy than us. Sometimes, when you get on the road, you can’t get out of that rut. We were pretty fortunate, I thought, to be tied at halftime. That allowed us to be in a game that we could manage a little bit better.” Said Painter
Despite their lofty ranking and gaudy record, one of Purdue’s foibles this season has been rebounding. However, the Boilermakers held a decisive 33-26 edge on the glass on Tuesday and limited the Hawkeyes to just seven on their offensive end.
Senior Caleb Furst played perhaps his finest all-around game of the season. He was one rebound away from a double-double, finishing with 10 points and nine rebounds in 27 minutes of work. Painter recognized the impact Furst had on the game.
“I thought Caleb was good, I thought he did a lot of really good things,” Painter said. “Would have had a really big night if he would have made his free throws. I thought his effort and his energy was really good, especially in that (second half) stretch.”
For the first time this season, the Purdue Boilermakers can boast of being a first-place team. However, they have only until Friday for the chance to retain that spot as they welcome USC, who fashion a 13-9 overall record, into Mackey Arena. Tip-off is set for 7 pm ET.
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