No. 7 Purdue dismantles USC, extends winning streak to four

Based on its recent play, Purdue seemed poised to play ‘catch me if you can’ as the Boilermakers continue their pursuit of a third-straight Big Ten regular-season championship.  

Friday night did nothing to change that narrative.

Torrid early shooting, rebounding dominance, and a heavy dose of Trey Kaufman-Renn were factors in No. 7 Purdue’s 90-72 victory over USC before another sellout at Mackey Arena.

The fourth consecutive victory keeps the Boilermakers atop the conference heading into the weekend. They’re 11-2 and remain ahead of two-loss Michigan State and Michigan.

PDF: Purdue-USC statistics

Purdue moved to the top spot in the standings earlier this week after winning at Iowa and the Spartans losing to USC and UCLA on their swing through Los Angeles.

There are plenty of games left before the title race is decided, and the Boilermakers could take a big step in the next 10 days with matchups at Michigan State and Michigan. The way coach Matt Painter’s team is playing, especially on the offensive end, derailing this group will take a special performance.

Purdue made its first eight field goal attempts, leading 17-8, and Kaufman-Renn continued to punish the Trojans inside as the lead grew to double digits. Of the Boilermakers’ first 25 points, 20 were scored in the paint since USC had no answer inside.

A 7-0 run late in the first half helped put this game away, keyed by Kaufman-Renn and capped by Myles Colvin’s alley-oop dunk off the pass from Braden Smith, who recorded at least 10 assists for the 20^th time in his career. He had 13.

The Boilermakers held a 21-8 rebounding advantage at halftime and finished with a 48-31 margin. It took more than 10 minutes for the Trojans to grab an individual rebound.

Wesley Yates III kept the Trojans close, scoring 22 points in the first half and finished with 30. But the Trojans were 4 of 26 from the 3-point range and missed 13 free throws. They played without leading scorer Desmond Claude, who missed his second straight game (bone bruise).

In the first half, Purdue converted 17 of 20 shots from 2-point range to lead 48-36. Kaufman-Renn posted his third double-double of the season with 24 points and 10 rebounds. The junior left midway through the second half after getting hit on the side of the head but returned with 5:16 to play.

Caleb Furst continued his solid play with nine points and a season-high 10 rebounds.

Purdue has won 127 straight games when scoring 90 or more points. Its last loss was Nov. 26, 1987, to Iowa State, a span of 13,591 days.

MILESTONE WIN

Victory No. 111.

That’s a significant number in the program’s history, and it belongs to Furst. The senior from Fort Wayne has the most wins as a Boilermaker, securing the record-setting moment on Friday night.

Yes, Furst is the only member of the senior class. When Furst came to Purdue, Kaufman-Renn and Brian Waddell were part of the recruiting class. However, both players redshirted, leaving Furst as the only member.

Furst was one rebound short of a double-double in the win at Iowa and was one point short of the same accomplishment against USC.

“He’s given us a lot of energy,” Painter said. “He’s played really well, and it’s just an unbelievable accomplishment. We have seven games remaining, and he becomes the all-time winningest player in school history.”

At the start of the season, where Furst would play was a question. Daniel Jacobsen started the first two games at power forward, regulating Furst to a backup role behind the freshman and Kaufman-Renn.

But after Jacobsen’s season-ending injury (fractured tibia), the Boilermakers needed more from Furst. And he’s delivered.  

Purdue’s record with Furst in the program is 111-24.

“It’s got us from a good team to a great team,” said Fletcher Loyer, who scored 14 points. “Last year, we had a great basketball team. It was tough for him to find minutes because we were so good. He sat out half a year and watched Mason (Gillis) and Trey play the (power forward) to now play the (power forward) and start for us. It’s been mentally tough for him to stick with it and trust us.

“He was still coming off the bench at the beginning of the year, but we were like, ‘Caleb, stick with it. We know we’re going to need you, and you’re going to help us win games.’ ’

“HE’S GOT MY BACK”

Smith took to social media on Friday afternoon to express his displeasure that Kaufman-Renn wasn’t among the top players nominated for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, which recognizes the nation’s best center.

“Back with this B.S. again,” Smith said.

Last year, Smith was omitted from the Bob Cousey Watch List released in the middle of the season. All it did was fuel Smith even more as the Boilermakers won the Big Ten title again and made a deep run to the national championship game.

“I appreciate that he’s got my back,” Kaufman-Renn said. “That’s what this team is. Everybody has each other’s back. It’s great to be a part of a locker room like that.”

The development of Kaufman-Renn continues to shine.

When he first arrived at Purdue, he practiced against Trevion Williams, spent numerous sessions battling Zach Edey, and played alongside the two-time National Player of the Year.

Now, it’s time for Kaufman-Renn to enjoy the spotlight, and he shows improvement in every game.

“When you’re around greatness, especially at your position, you know what it takes on a day-to-day basis,” he said. “It also helps when you have really good teammates that give you the ball in the sweet spots and shooters around you.

“It’s one of those things where I got lucky. When I was getting recruited, I picked Purdue for this reason. I knew it was going to be a great culture, we were going to win, and it was something I wanted to be a part of.”

Helping round out his game is Kaufman-Renn’s free throw shooting. He was 8 of 9 against the Trojans and converted 14 of his last 15 in the last three games. He made 9 of 9 at Oregon in January.

“It’s just spending time after practice, before practice, and just the amount of work I put in the offseason,” Kaufman-Renn said. “I’m just glad it’s paying off, especially in games when we need it.”

DOMINATING THE GLASS

For the second time in a Big Ten game, the Boilermakers held a double-digit rebounding advantage. They were plus-17 against the Trojans, and the 17 offensive rebounds led to 23 second-chance points.

Purdue outrebounded Nebraska by 13 in early January.

The early shooting success prevented the Trojans from collecting a lot of rebounds, but the Boilermakers took advantage of the misses to get out in transition.

“It’s tough to rebound makes,” Loyer said. “When you can get out and push in transition, you get layups, and we can just get out and go. But I thought, honestly, we struggled rebounding tonight, and we won by 17 on rebounds.

“We’ve come a long way, but like coach always says, it doesn’t stop. You’ve got to rebound every single night. Some teams are better, but it’s a focus every night.”

Furst and Kaufman-Renn combined for 20 rebounds, C.J. Cox pulled down six, and Colvin added five.

As the game unfolded, Painter didn’t believe the margin would finish at 17. The Trojans collected 12 offensive rebounds, providing a different impression.

“I thought we, as a team, rebounded pretty well, even though we had that one stretch where we struggled,” Painter said. “I never would have thought that we’d outrebound them 17 after the way you feel during the game, giving up some of those offensive rebounds.”