Upon Further Review: Defensive breakdowns and more from Purdue's loss at Michigan State

Following each Purdue basketball game this season — or at least most — GoldandBlack.com will take a closer look back at some finer points in our long-standing Upon Further Review series. Today, the 13th-ranked Boilermakers’ 75-66 loss at Michigan State.

PDF: Purdue-Michigan State statistics

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(Video clips via Peacock)

PURDUE DEFENSIVE ISSUES

Now that opponents seem better prepared for what Purdue is doing now defensively and have stopped turning the ball over in bunches, it has put a spotlight on the Boilermakers to sharp and detail-oriented and physical without fouling in halfcourt defense. The past two games that has not gone well.

This is a startling note: The past two games, opponents are 35-of-50 — 70 percent — shooting during second halves against Purdue. A few games ago, Indiana was 14-of-24.

Purdue’s biggest defensive problem against Michigan State was the transition scoring the Spartans got off turnovers. That was the game. But a close second on the defensive problems scale was Purdue’s struggles in ball-screen defense.

In closing the game out, Michigan State didn’t exactly run the most complex offense ever. It just ran fairly basic pick-and-roll and let point guards Jeremy Fears and Tre Holloman go.

All those flip-up dunks, they were created out of ball screens.

Purdue was within four twice in the final minutes and had a real chance, but could not stop Michigan State.

First, here, yet another lob dunk.

Purdue responded to this basket, bringing it within four again.

Then, same play. This time, Purdue does an OK job on the ball, but the threat of the lob draws in help defender Fletcher Loyer, who now can’t do much to stop this drive. Great play by Fears here to read the back-end defender.

This was crunch time, but these problems occurred most of the second half, especially.

As Matt Painter noted after the game, the issue on these player is the on-ball defender getting too detached from the ball and far enough behind the play to not be able to challenge the pass.

And it was everybody. Gicarri Harris, Myles Colvin, CJ Cox, even Camden Heide, who Purdue had on the ball a few times.

Here it’s Colvin.

And Cox.

Here’s an example of what it’s supposed to look like. Good job by Cox recovering, and great jobs by Caleb Furst and Will Berg at their spots.

Here’s another success story, made by Cox away from the ball ‘tagging’ the roller after switching, slowing him up enough to blow up Michigan State’s timing here. I’m assuming this was purposeful on Cox’s part and not just him bracing for this big guy to try to post him up or something. I dunno, but it worked.

Purdue did have moments in the first half defensively when it played well. This is perfect, straight out of the textbook for what the Boilermakers want to do defensively. The ball is cut off every time a Spartan shoe flirts with the lane and every defensive angle taken here is pushing the ball to the sideline, baseline or into help.

The highlights show that all is not lost for Purdue defensively despite the ugliness of the past two games.

But the defense against the dribble has been pretty leaky.

I’m not sure what happened here, but Purdue always hedges/’downs’ this side screen with its 4 man, but here Furst is late and just misses. Not sure what happened there.

So, part of opponents’ approach lately has been to try to attack Purdue’s low man, very often Braden Smith, with bigger people. This was Michigan State’s tactic on its very first possession.

Score one for Smith here.

This defensive breakdown would have been the Spartans’ lone transition score that didn’t come off a turnover.

This is 100-percent the product of Loyer shooting this ball from this spot on the floor and no one filling in for him as Purdue’s safety. The guy furthest back is more often than not the safety and so it’s normally the 2 guard, but when that player drives or shoots from the corner, someone has to rotate into that role. No one did here.

TREY KAUFMAN-RENN

Just another nod to what a force Trey Kaufman-Renn has been.

These games at Michigan State are always cage matches. Tom Izzo always goes one on one — some wrinkles here and there — and demands his big men to fight to the death. This is how it was for A.J. Hammons, Trevion Williams, Isaac Haas, Caleb Swanigan and now for Kaufman-Renn, who was this game’s singular physical presence, at least on offense.

He finished all night through Spartan chests and once had one of these moments where he scores on everyone.

One of the best players in the country, folks.

IN-BOUND DEFENSE

MISC

• Michigan State really loaded on Braden Smith. Watch him beat their elbow help here.

• Did Trey Kaufman-Renn’s second foul change the game? It’s hard to really suggest that given that TKR played 33 minutes and dominated to the tune of 24 points against Michigan State’s mostly but not exclusively single coverage. But that that weird foul on a rebound came moments after Purdue leading by seven in the first half and followed closely by the tide turning in the Spartans’ favor, hey, it’s worth thought, as this is not the first time such shifts have occurred. That said, Painter handled that swimmingly with his offense-defense subbing and to his credit, Will Berg sure seemed to be a positive contributor in his few minutes.

But look at this possession without TKR in the game. He is Purdue’s pick-and-roll and post-touch destination, and all this side-to-side dribbling by Braden Smith would normally be associated with trying to generate angles for Kaufman-Renn.

• Fletcher Loyer played pretty well, with his eight points, five assists and only one turnover, but he also created two steals he didn’t get credited for.

I know people want to see him let it fly more, but offense isn’t really Purdue’s problem — turnovers at MSU notwithstanding — and higher volume does not guarantee similar efficiency.

• What is this?

• Really a brutal moment here for Purdue as it keeps getting tormented by buzzer-beaters. Harris getting on the floor for this ball likely forces a shot-clock violation, but he probably didn’t want to foul or get behind Jase Richardson and risk what ends up happening anyway.

It’s the nature of sports but how rough must it be when you’re struggling on defense to do everything right for 28 seconds then stuff like this happens?

• Don’t believe in the Agreement? Fouls are 5-2 in Purdue’s favor here.

The officials did not hurt Purdue in this game. In fact Purdue caught some real breaks.

But this sequence is absurd.

So, in a key moment, with the game still yet to be decided, this moving screen gets called on Cam Heide.

Earlier, this screen, which actually hurt Myles Colvin was not called.

Colvin looked OK leaving the arena; I inquired today today and did not get any info, as Purdue didn’t practice today, We’ll ask Painter Friday.

• I’m not gonna give Michigan State credit for stopping Purdue’s inverted ball screen here because TKR still gets a shot he wants, but they were clearly ready for it, as their bigs switch without the guards involved. Purdue normally runs this the other way, so this is the inverted inverted ball screen, you might say.