Takeaways and Wrap Video: Purdue’s loss at Northwestern

EVANSTON, Ill. — No. 1 Purdue stumbled out of the Big Ten gate Friday night, falling in overtime at Northwestern, 92-88.

Our GoldandBlack.com post-game analysis.

PURDUE SHOUD BE BETTER THAN THIS

Credit Northwestern for stepping up big on its home floor in every high-stakes moment and making shots to sink Purdue for the second time in as many years.

But this game shouldn’t have come down to those high-stakes moments. Purdue should be different now from the past couple seasons in that it shouldn’t need this hard lesson in what matters more in Big Ten play: Possessions and defense. This is three years in a row, Purdue’s roared through non-conference play — in this case, part of it — then not adjusted well to Big Ten basketball, where every possession matters a little more.

Seventeen turnovers did it. You could see this coming in Honolulu. This isn’t a basketball-arrogant team like its predecessor two seasons ago that thought it could just outscore everyone. But this team could outscore Northwestern. Seventy-six points in regulation should have done the trick. Without 17 turnovers, Purdue wouldn’t have needed five extra minutes to score 88. With five or six fewer turnovers, it might have done it.

Purdue has been vulnerable to turnovers all season. It’s just gotten away with it. Braden Smith — great as he’s been this season — committed six at Northwestern. The post-entry operation was guilty of several more. Zach Edey and Trey Kaufman-Renn playing together didn’t really pan out in this game, either.

Turnovers were the game, but Purdue flailed defensively, too. One on one or within its team construct, Purdue just had few answers for Boo Buie. Purdue didn’t even need to stop him to win this game; it just needed to not let him go nuclear. Suffice to say, 31 points and nine assists against no turnovers qualifies as nuclear. The Boilermakers’ inability to contain him without fouling or take away the actions Northwestern used to get him in the lane to shoot over a dropping Edey wasn’t a good look.

This is Big Ten basketball, and for the third straight year, Purdue got hit with a stark reminder around this time of year.

TIMELY PLAY WAS LACKING

Shots and stops, most notably.

Look, shooting percentages are what they are, but sometimes when you watch a game, what you see belies what the numbers say. Yes, Purdue shot a commendable 76 percent at the foul line, but there was also a stretch — a very important stretch — in which it did nothing but split pairs when it could have built some cushion. No team is going to make every free throw, nor is any player, but a few more timely free throws and this might turn out different. Purdue is not a bad foul-shooting team, but certainly hasn’t shown yet that it’s a great one capable of turning the screws on people at the stripe.

Additionally, Purdue’s drying out from three-point land was probably inevitable at some point, but there was a stretch in the first half when it grabbed back-to-back offensive rebounds but didn’t reward Mason Gillis‘ and Caleb Furst‘s energy by making the open threes they created. Either of those shots would have been big as Northwestern trudged through a vulnerable state.

PURDUE DID START WELL AT LEAST

The Boilermakers were sharp to open the game, which is significant as they ramp up a season in which everyone’s best shot will come their way and every away arena will want to storm the floor, as happened again to Purdue Friday night.

That said, it’s a backhanded compliment to note that Purdue didn’t step in a pothole right out of the chute. Finishing the game is more important, and Purdue did not do that. It had a chance to show it could win Big Ten style by defending and taking care of the ball when threes weren’t falling and it couldn’t do it.

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