Top-ranked Purdue cruises past Eastern Kentucky to close out nonconference schedule

An uneven start, which was understandable since Friday night was top-ranked Purdue’s first game after the Christmas break.

It’s been more than a week since the Boilermakers last played and seeing some rust was expected. Despite the rocky beginning of unforced turnovers, Purdue wasn’t in danger of seeing its impressive streak of nonconference victories snapped.

Once the lead reached double digits midway through the first half, the Boilermakers were on their way to an 80-53 victory over Eastern Kentucky, the program’s 35^th straight nonconference win.

Purdue (12-1) hasn’t lost a nonconference game since 2020 when it was beaten by Miami (Fla.).

Turnovers slowed the Boilermakers early, but once Fletcher Loyer started hitting jumpers and a pair of 3-pointers from Mason Gillis, they maintained control through the final buzzer.

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Loyer totaled 12 points and Gillis produced an efficient six points and six rebounds in 10 minutes in the first half. Lance Jones dribbled through the Colonels’ press to score at the rim and Braden Smith was effective from midrange, despite jamming his right index finger on the game’s first play.

Camden Heide brought the sellout Mackey Arena crowd to its feet with a pair of highlight dunks off passes from Smith and Ethan Morton in the second half. Smith also delivered two behind-the-back bounce passes to Zach Edey, who posterized Eastern Kentucky defenders.

Smith totaled eight assists, the sixth time he’s reached or surpassed that mark this season.

“The second one, I didn’t know what I was doing. I think it’s like candy – you eat it once and you know,” Smith said of his passes to Edey. “The first one felt really good and the second one was like, P.J. (Thompson) asked, ‘What are you doing out there?’ I was like, ‘I don’t know.’ “

Loyer finished with 14 points and Edey scored 10 of his 13 in the second half and attempted his first career 3-point shot. Gillis reached double figures for the third time this season with 10 points and added nine rebounds. Trey Kaufman-Renn scored 10 or more points for the second consecutive game.

“I HAVE TO EMBODY IT”

This was a typical Gillis performance.

Hard-nosed. Crashing the boards with five rebounds in his first four minutes, matching Eastern Kentucky’s total. Between the rebounds, Gillis drained a 3-pointer and added another one late in the first half. Plenty of second-effort hustle plays from the senior in 17 productive minutes.

“That’s what we need; that’s what we need from everybody,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said.

Throughout his career, the Boilermakers are better with Gillis on the floor. That was the case Friday, highlighted by a team-high three offensive rebounds.

“That’s my job – to chase rebounds and be ready to shoot,” Gillis said.

Gillis knew the drill for the first game after an extended holiday break. It requires an extra ounce of energy, discipline and focus since the time off can impact players in a negative way.

But that’s how Gillis approaches every game. He also needs to set an example.

“Some nights, it’s a better game than other nights, but my mentality – I try to keep pretty much the same thing,” he said. “I know what my role is, I know what my job is, and I try to preach that to the guys that if we do our job, we’re easily the best team in the country. If I’m preaching that, I have to embody it.”

AGGRESSIVE START

We’ve seen Loyer begin games with an eye toward providing an early spark on the offensive end.

He did it against Arizona. He led the charge against Tennessee in Hawaii. The sophomore guard has set the table for his teammates to eventually take over and carry the Boilermakers to the finish line.

His 5 of 8 shooting, including two 3-pointers, in the first half paved the way for the Boilermakers to dispose of the Colonels. And Loyer did it on his dad’s (John) 59^th birthday.

“I’m doing whatever it takes to help the team win,” Loyer said. “For this team to go beat really good teams, for this team to make a run in March and win another Big Ten championship, I think they need me. Some nights, I can just be another guy but some nights they need to me go score.

“Tonight, we won fairly easily but the aggression from everybody – Braden’s shooting the ball to Mason coming in – it’s just a bunch of guys doing their job.”

BACK TO BIG TEN PLAY

Conference play resumes Tuesday at Maryland, which upended the Boilermakers last year in College Park. The Terrapins didn’t lose at home last year to a Big Ten team.

That’s just one challenge Purdue faces as it looks to defend its regular-season title. The Boilermakers haven’t won a true road game, losing their only one at Northwestern, but re-enter league action on a five-game winning streak and a 1-1 conference record.

“I think the biggest thing is our mentality and preparation in practice,” Gillis said. “The games look one way, but it matters what we do in practice. Our coaches’ preparation to prepare us I think is the biggest thing for Big Ten play.

“We’ve had a great preseason and nonconference schedule and we’ve competed.  Think that’s what has gotten us ready for the Big Ten. But again, it’s us. We have to take care of what we need to do, and we’ll have a good time in the Big Ten.”

Turnovers will likely define if Purdue can repeat as champions. In the overtime loss to Northwestern, the Boilermakers committed 17 turnovers and only forced three. But that’s been the recent trend when Painter’s teams have struggled in conference games.

“What jumps out more than anything is the turnovers in the game that we lost,” Painter said. “When you go back and dissect the games we’ve lost in the last two to three years, that’s probably the No. 1 common denominator. That probably holds true for a lot of people.”

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