Takeaways: Purdue’s win over N.C. State
Our post-game analysis following 13th-ranked Purdue’s 71-61 win over N.C. State at the Rady Children’s Invitational.
PDF: Purdue-N.C. State statistics
A CLASSIC PURDUE WIN
Of all that went into this really high-quality win for Purdue, none of it matters without the baseline of sheer effort, energy, tenacity and physicality that the Boilermakers brought with them to SoCal.
True to the very foundation Purdue has historically aimed to build teams around, Purdue played really, really hard and did so in areas where it has to in order to reach its ceiling as a team.
N.C. State is not a great rebounding team, but it does have big, physical and athletic guys, yet Purdue, now playing “small,” dominated the glass by committee. Guards/wings Camden Heide, Myles Colvin, Gicarri Harris and Fletcher Loyer all grabbed at least four rebounds. Part of that was tenacity darting into gaps but part of it too was just players like Loyer out-punching their weight class.
Likewise, there was a play in the first half when Purdue nearly turned the ball over, but kept it alive long enough for Colvin to get on the floor to corral the ball, leading to Loyer getting to the line and making both shots.
Purdue got a lot of loose balls against the Wolfpack, but even more contested ones.
It played really hard, and that was really the most important part.
TREY KAUFMAN-RENN AS DOMINATOR
North Carolina State might have wanted Zach Edey back.
That’s overstatement, but not by much after Trey Kaufman-Renn abused N.C. State to open the second half, really the juncture when Purdue took control for good.
After Kaufman-Renn’s second foul benched him for most on the final five-and-a-half minutes of the first half and allowed N.C. State to get back in the game, he came out like a Terminator to open the second half, hunting Wolfpack bigs in space and dominating on the block, and setting a physical tone for the second half much like the tone N.C. State set to open the game.
This was another star turn sort of game for him, because this was him being unstoppable, more so than he was against Alabama. This was Edey-like levels of ‘everyone knows where the ball is going but their guy can’t stop ours’ dominance.
And when it came time to close the door, it was Kaufman-Renn dealing both of his assists to Heide for five points that helped keep N.C. State at arm’s length.
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It should be mentioned, too, that Kaufman-Renn is Purdue’s highest-motor player and that has to be wearing off on people around him to some extent.
STEALING POINTS
Easy offense is so important, and this was a game in which Purdue weaponized its transition potential, making N.C. State pay for its turnovers, but also played hard enough on the offensive glass to be rewarded often.
Nine second-chance points don’t sound like a lot but Colvin and Harris got putbacks at really demoralizing moments as the Wolfpack tried to come back.
At the same time, Purdue’s tenacity and physical edge drew a lot of fouls, leading to a bunch of free throws it didn’t necessarily have to really earn.
Would Purdue have still won without garbage points? Maybe, but this stuff and winning basketball aren’t necessarily two different things.
This was a big-time scrap-and-hustle game for Purdue.
