Defense fuels No. 20 Purdue past Northwestern

This victory was delivered courtesy of Purdue’s defense.

Aggressive. Relentless. Tough-minded. And plenty of hustle.

The Boilermakers imposed their defensive will from the opening tip and let the offense fill in the blanks during a 79-61 victory over Northwestern at Mackey Arena.

Granted, the Wildcats missed open shots and committed a few careless turnovers, but they were uncomfortable throughout Sunday’s game. Give credit to Purdue’s defense.

Leading scorers Nick Martinelli and Brooks Barnhizer averaged a combined 40 points. They totaled four points in the first half on 1 of 10 shooting and weren’t a factor. Northwestern had zero rhythm on the offensive end, and that’s because of how Matt Painter’s team dictated style and pace.

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By halftime, the Wildcats were shooting 25% from the field and 2 of 14 from 3-point range. They also had seven turnovers.

Purdue played with a high level of physicality on the defensive end, countering what the Wildcats typically bring to the court. The Boilermakers secured nearly every 50-50 ball, dove on the floor for loose balls, and protected the rim.

“They outscrapped us. They out-executed us,” Wildcats coach Chris Collins said.

Northwestern is one of the best teams in the country at handling the ball, averaging 9.2 turnovers. Midway through the second half, the Wildcats had 10 turnovers, and Purdue scored 19 points off those mistakes.

Braden Smith and Trey Kaufman-Renn headlined the offense, but production came from other areas.

C.J. Cox hit a 3-pointer to start the scoring and finished with 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Smith took over, hitting fadeaway jumpers, and Kaufman-Renn controlled the inside, but the contributions from Caleb Furst, Gicarri Harris, and Myles Colvin created enough separation.

Smith had 22 points, hitting three 3-pointers, and added seven assists and six rebounds. Kaufman-Renn finished with 12 and tied a career-high with four assists. Fletcher Loyer scored nine as the junior moved within four of 1,000 career points.

Barnhizer had 11 points to lead the Wildcats, and Martinelli added 10 – all in the second half. The pair needed a combined 23 field goal attempts to reach 21 points. Freshman Angelo Ciarvavino led Northwestern with 19 points.

“WE WERE AS ONE”

The blueprint for how the Boilermakers need to play defense was on display.

Can it carry over to the remainder of the Big Ten season? Different teams bring different challenges, and Painter and his staff’s plan to deal with the Wildcats will be different from Thursday’s approach at Rutgers.

But Sunday’s results were solid, led by the effort and energy from the start.

“As a team collectively, I think we were as one,” said Colvin, who scored seven points and added an impressive blocked shot in the second half. “Obviously, we had to be with Barnhizer and Martinelli – they both average 20. We got in the gaps, so they couldn’t get into their games. I think that was really huge. I just don’t think they really got going. It really gave us momentum on the offensive end to get stops and go score.”

The Wildcats bounced back in the second half after a poor shooting performance before halftime. They made 50% from the field, including 5 of 11 from 3-point range. But the damage was inflicted by Purdue’s defense.

The Boilermakers were better in nearly every phase.

“They were more physical. They were quicker to the ball. I thought we were a step slow to everything. I just did,” Collins said. “Give Purdue the credit.

“A lot of times, honestly, when you lose a game, coaches will just talk about how poorly their team played. You don’t realize there’s also a really good team that makes you play that poorly. They had a good game plan. They’re physical. They have veteran guys. They were smart.”

Collins added that Barnhizer and Martinelli looked to involve their teammates early, but no one could manufacture enough offense outside Jalen Leach, who hit three 3-pointers and scored 11.

“We weren’t able to capitalize with our other guys,” Collins said. “Leach hit a couple, but what happened was those guys tried to do too much. I thought (Brooks) got a little bit sped up. He was trying to take three and four guys on, and that’s where a lot of those turnovers came.”

FIRST-HALF SPURTS

A 7-0 spurt after the opening tip.

A string of nine straight points to push the lead to 12.

A 10-0 run as the advantage ballooned to 18 late in the first half. That was the game.

Starting fast hasn’t always worked out, but Smith’s early shooting success and Kaufman-Renn taking over inside opened up a comfortable lead heading into halftime.

“When you get good shots and you miss them, you’ve got to let them know that the scoreboard doesn’t say it’s a good start, but you’ve taken good shots,” Painter said. “But there’s no question that it helps when the ball goes in.

“If you can get stops and score, that’s how you’re going to lead to runs, and that’s what you want.”

Along with the play on the defensive end, Purdue won the rebounding battle as four players pulled down six or more and took advantage of Northwestern’s turnovers.

“We did a good job just rebounding and forcing turnovers,” Harris said. “We beat them in the possession battle. After we played Minnesota, we were prepared. Everybody was locked in.”

FURST SHINES

Another strong start for Furst, who played a role in limiting Martinelli.

The senior scored five points and grabbed six rebounds in his second straight appearance in the starting lineup this season. Furst had 11 points in Thursday’s win at Minnesota and played well enough against Toledo to force Painter into a lineup switch when Big Ten play resumed.

“How well we played in our Toledo game, we were better with him on the court,” Painter said. “I think sometimes you don’t have the hard stats to show that, but you have the results of your team just playing better while you’re out there.”

Painter called it “perfect timing” to move Furst into the lineup based on who Purdue was set to face. After dealing with Minnesota’s Dawson Garcia, Furst embraced the challenge of defending Martinelli, who has scored in double figures in all but one game.

“I thought he did a really good job matching up to Martinelli, trying to use his size, quickness, and overall physicality with those guys,” Painter said. “But it gets different because those guys can muscle you, but they also can drive by. He possesses both qualities to guard people, and he’s really helped us in the last three games.”