Coach's Corner: Purdue looks ahead to BIG Tournament after beating Illinois

Former Purdue assistant Dave Wood (1986-89) and long-time high school coach at West Lafayette (1994-2021) lends his thoughts on Purdue’s blowout win over Ohio State on Feb. 19 and its Saturday Night primetime matchup with Indiana in Mackey Arena.

Wood’s basketball credentials are Hall of Fame worthy. He is a Silver Anniversary Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame team member after playing college hoops for Indiana Central (now UIndy). Wood was a three-sport standout in high school for Pike High School, awarded Marion County Athlete-of-the-Year in 1972.

Coach Dave Wood’s takeaways from Purdue-Illinois

1.       The first half was the best half Purdue played during the Big Ten season.  It played well, challenged Illinois shots, and shot well from 3-point range.

2.      Late in the first half, it was the best five minutes Purdue has played without Zach Edey.  That was the winning run for the Boilermakers, adding 12 points to the lead just before halftime.

3.      Once again, the game proved that, at least in this instance, the most insignificant stat in a game is the halftime score.  Purdue shot poorly, played poorly, did not challenge enough Illini 3-point shots, and came very close to losing the game in the first 17 minutes after intermission.  Then the Boilermakers got it together to dominate the last two or three minutes of the game.  Purdue won three of the four five-minute segments at the beginning and end of each half.  That usually results in a victory, which it did on Sunday.

Purdue-Illinois stats | Stat Blast | Final Thoughts

4.      Brandon Newman is much better starting than coming off the bench.  But he is starting because he is playing a much better floor game now. In his two starts, he has not forced shots.  How many times have we said it or written it? Shooting well is critical for this team! Purdue is a great team when Newman shoots as he did in the first half against Illinois.

5.      Illinois is probably the most physically talented team in the Big Ten.  When the Illini get in rhythm, they are very good on both ends of the court.  They showed that in the second half.

6.      Interesting strategy in the last six minutes by Coach Matter Painter.  He went offense-defense with Furst and Gillis, and with Loyer and Morton.  The strategy does not hurt players when there is not much flow to the game because of fouls. Some people think that hurts the players in the game’s flow; however, it can only happen during stoppages of play.  There was very little flow in this game in the last six minutes.  That is why even casual fans could tell what the strategy was.  

7.      It is on to the Big Ten Tournament.  I think Purdue has to get to the championship game to keep its number one seeding unless UCLA, Alabama, or Houston falter in their respective tournaments. That may give the Boilermakers the incentive to play well in Chicago.

8.      This team was picked sixth or seventh in the league and won the championship by three games!!  No matter what happens from here, this is one of the best coaching jobs in the country, period!!