What would you say in October when I told you that Purdue basketball would go undefeated into 2023 and rank among the number one teams in the nation with Naismith Award frontrunners? One would ask what I was thinking and how much I had to drink that day, but the Boilermakers came out swinging and this season, led by Zach Eadie, they were considered. After dominating Florida A&M tonight, Purdue finished the non-conference season 11-0 (2-0 in the ‘pre-conference’ B1G game) and will be on the AP vote again next year. may retain its number one position.
game outlook
Zach Eady: 14 points 10 revs 2 blocks 22 minutes
Brandon Newman: 18 points 4 revs 5 blocks 20 minutes
Trey Kaufman Ren: 11 pts 6 reb 2 ast 20 minutes
After missing last week’s game against New Orleans, Zach Eadie was able to go tonight, posting a 14-10 double-double in just five shots. Purdue didn’t rely on Edey, though, as eight different Boilermakers scored more than five points in this game. Brandon his Newman in his best performance of the season, shining on both offense and defense, scoring his game-high 18 points and scoring his five blocks his shots on the other side. Brandon was an effective shooter and across the arc he went 3-6 and overall he went 7-13. As a team, Purdue struggled to shoot his 3s again and in combination he went 6-25 across the arc. Ethan Morton and Fletcher Royer, in particular, continued to struggle as he shot 1-8 on combinations from the deep. Morton finished with his 1 point and Royer with his 7. Trey Kaufmanlen built on his 24-point performance last week, scoring his 11 points on 4-6 shooting and he had six rebounds. TKR is becoming an excellent low post threat when Edy is taking a breather, as he can effectively move and create space when the ball is deep. Rounding out Purdue’s starting five was Caleb First with a highly efficient 10 and 6, while Braden Smith finished with seven points and one assist. Mason Gillis had his 5 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists and David Jenkins Jr. had a great game with his 7 off the bench.
Takeaway
There are two things you get out of this game. Purdue continue to struggle from the deep and their defense can make the team work incredibly hard for points. When it comes to shooting, it seems like he’s been off night every night across the arc, and while he performed better today compared to the week before, Boilermaker still says he’s only shooting 24%. Against a smaller non-conference team it doesn’t make much of a difference, but it could make the difference in a good number of his B1G games. The trend has rolled into defensive points, as it was the Purdue defense that was effective in covering some of the shooting performance. The defense was very effective today and FAMU had to hit his shots consistently deep in the second half of the shot clock. Rotation was quick today and help was given when needed. Any time he held an opponent under 50 points, it was a good day defensively, and that mentality was present throughout the game. Matt Painter instilled a worker’s spirit in this team. And they really accepted me. This is a great sign for the season’s outlook.
uniform notebook
Today was the third game of three in the Boilermakers player branded uniforms. Florida A&M is the first team to have the LeBron-his-James logo on their uniforms after being announced for 2021. This follows on from previous matches against Marquette and Davidson, which showed the Michael Jordan and Stephen Curry logos respectively.
