Purdue's offense sputters in Big Ten tournament quarterfinal loss to Michigan

INDIANAPOLIS – Friday night’s game was long decided, but Trey Kaufman-Renn was still looking to jumpstart himself and his teammates.

A short jumper from just outside the lane, a staple of Kaufman-Renn’s skillset, was short and bounced off the rim. Purdue’s leading scorer slumped over, put his head down, and ran to the other end of the floor.

That’s the type of night it was for the Boilermakers.

One consistent part of the Big Ten season was Purdue’s shooting. The Boilermakers led the league in field goal percentage during the conference season, which was the one thing to count on during the 20-game season.

But that trend ended with a thud.

PDF: Purdue-Michigan statistics

The sixth-seeded Boilermakers struggled offensively throughout the Big Ten tournament quarterfinal matchup against No. 3 seed Michigan and dropped an 86-68 decision at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

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Purdue also suffered a scare when Fletcher Loyer landed awkwardly, hurting his left elbow. As Loyer walked to the bench, his elbow was swollen but the junior guard returned to the game with 11:19 to play.

The storyline from Friday was the poor shooting from the Boilermakers, who couldn’t get on track after an initial spurt and a 6-0 lead. But the Wolverines quickly responded, reeling off 12 consecutive points. Kaufman-Renn, Braden Smith, and Loyer made a combined 14 of 48 from the field. Gicarri Harris scored 11 off the bench.

“Just frustrated that some of the shots didn’t fall,” Kaufman-Renn said. “I just felt we had great looks, you get great looks, and then they don’t fall. It’s so frustrating, the amount of work that I put in for them not to fall.”

Kaufman-Renn had 24 points but needed 24 shots. Smith scored 12 points but attempted 18 field goals.

The 33.8% is a season low. The previous mark was 33.9% from the field in the win at Oregon in mid-January.

“You’re competing your butt off, and shots aren’t falling, especially when they’re good shots,” Smith said. “It’s not we’re taking bad shots out there; shots just weren’t falling. Obviously, we’re trying to figure it out. We have a week to figure some stuff out and get on the right track.”

Once the Wolverines settled in, they kept the Boilermakers at a safe distance with timely 3-pointers and watching coach Matt Painter’s team sputter on offense. It was a frustrating night because Purdue had the shots it wanted, but they didn’t fall.

Michigan made hustle plays, keeping the pressure on and snapping a three-game losing streak. It will face No. 2 seed Maryland in Saturday’s semifinals. The Wolverines didn’t give the Boilermakers many opportunities for easy baskets since they committed just six turnovers.  

Purdue’s defense hasn’t been good enough during the last month to overcome a poor shooting night. The Wolverines shot 51.7% from the field and totaled 25 assists on 30 made field goals. Danny Wolf led four players in double figures with 18 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists. Four players had five or more assists.

Like Thursday against USC, the Boilermakers trailed by 10 points midway through the first half. And similar to Thursday, Purdue clawed back into the game. Instead of being tied with the Trojans, coach Matt Painter’s team trailed 40-36.

The Boilermakers had one of their worst shooting halves during the Big Ten season. They shot 34.3% from the field, with Smith, Kaufman-Renn, and Loyer hitting a combined 9 of 28.

Loyer helped keep the margin close at halftime. The junior took his fourth charge in the last two games, giving the Boilermakers a chance to cut into the four-point deficit before intermission.

Both teams had chances to score more points but couldn’t consistently deliver second-chance points in the first half. Purdue had 10 offensive rebounds but scored only eight points. The Wolverines grabbed seven offensive rebounds but managed just three points.

The Boilermakers will head back to West Lafayette, regroup, set some extra rest and begin preparations for the NCAA tournament.

“There’s nothing magical about it,” Painter said. “You’ve got to stay positive and keep working and keep competing. I thought our effort was good, and our execution was good. We just didn’t finish things, and we weren’t good enough on the defensive end.

“We’re not going to go away, and we’re going to keep working. We’re going to keep trying. We’ve got a great staff. You got great players, and we’ve got to do our best in the tournament and get on a run. That’s what everybody tries to do. You can’t get on the run without that first game. We’re just looking forward to it.”