Takeaways: Purdue’s win over Ole Miss
Our post-game analysis following 13th-ranked Purdue’s 80-78 win over Ole Miss to win the Rady Children’s Invitational.
PDF: Purdue-Ole Miss statistics
THE HERO DESERVED IT
It was fitting that hustle play from Myles Colvin won this event for Purdue because his growth into that sort of player has been one of the biggest stories of this season for the Boilermakers.
Ole Miss flubbed the rebound on Braden Smith’s would-be game-winner, and Colvin made his own luck by keeping his eye on the ball, and effort was rewarded, as it tends to be in basketball. Last year, had Colvin been on the floor in that situation, he might have watched. That’s not negativity, just the reality of what he was as a player before these first few weeks of this season.
The energy and effort and sheer substance he’s playing with at both ends of the floor have been a game-changer for Purdue, and he and Camden Heide have really given Purdue a scary transition-offense layer that mattered so much here in San Diego. Easy points are absolute gold, not that some of Colvin’s tough finishes Friday were easy.
Colvin has his whole career, basically, in front of him, but this was The Myles Colvin Game.
He got Purdue off to a great start, then finished the job.
TREY KAUFMAN-RENN’S STAR TURN
This wasn’t an elite field. There were no other power programs here and few All-America/NBA types, but that doesn’t matter. There was no distant second, even, for Event MVP. Trey Kaufman-Renn was the easiest pick ever after a two-game swing in which he was every bit as dominant as any of the great players Purdue has had in an event like this. This was not far off, if off at all, what Zach Edey did in Portland and Honolulu or what Jaden Ivey did in Connecticut the year before.
There’s a long Big Ten season ahead, but Kaufman-Renn isn’t going to slow down. This has been predictable around Purdue, and now that his body is positioned to dominate people physically, we can say that Braden Smith is not Purdue’s only All-America candidate.
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The updated field is set
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Dan Radakovich has CFP issues
- 3
Bama over Miami
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- 4New
CFP Top 25 revealed
Controversy is here
- 5Breaking
Kobe Prentice
Alabama WR to transfer
PURDUE IS A REALLY GOOD SHOOTING TEAM, AGAIN
It’s not that Purdue was an excellent 10-of-22 from three against a solid defense, but shooting blew the game open early, then took it home.
Lost in the last-second drama were really important threes made by Colvin (twice) and Fletcher Loyer with just under four minutes to play, cutting Ole Miss’ lead to one. There is meat being left on the bone as opponents dare Gicarri Harris to beat them, but Purdue overcame it, then Colvin came back in and was hot.
By the way, this shot-making is a direct reflection of Purdue’s point guard, as Smith is a master at finding open shooters and putting the ball right where they need it. Smith’s 18 and 11 assists don’t even tell the story of how Smith dominated this game.
