Upon Further Review: Purdue's loss at Marquette

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 sixth-ranked Boilermakers’ 76-58 loss at 15th-ranked Marquette.

PDF: Purdue-Marquette stats

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(Video clips via FOX)

MARQUETTE DEFENSE VS PURDUE OFFENSE

Marquette’s pressure got to Purdue, which didn’t have a great passing-and-catching game to say the least, nor did it do a great job pass-faking and whatnot to try to game the defense. Credit Marquette for its energy and its carrying out of what its program is built to do. They recruit and develop energy, length and interchangeability for a reason. They live for deflections, they don’t give up on plays and they challenge whatever they can.

Their big dudes can switch, as CJ Cox found out the hard way at the end of shot clocks.

Marquette threw a lot of stuff at Braden Smith, its broad intent being to force the ball out of his hands, precisely the reason Purdue has wanted three-guard lineups on the floor this season. They hedged hard on him oftentimes or sometimes just flat trapped him when he crossed the timeline.

The Eagles are just taking their chances here playing 3-on-4.

Purdue got great looks to open the game, but missed a series of open threes that might have changed the opening chapters of this game. Smith waited out the hedge a few times, but didn’t make his trademark, hundred-miles-an-hour threes.

Marquette dropped off Gicarri Harris to bracket the post, and the freshman missed a few good looks. This will not be the only time this season someone dares Harris to beat them.

Marquette really threw a lot at Trey Kaufman-Renn, too, and he’s been having a great passing and decision-making season, but did get thrown off some by Marquette. This late double gets him here, but he may have got away with this if not for the opponent being hyper-eager to jump passing lanes.

Marquette showed its intent here by doubling big-to-big. Purdue beats it, but this is dangerous.

Purdue quickly adjusted to bring Will Berg out to the top as the entry man, pulling the help defender with him.

On TKR, Marquette did a bunch of different things, starting by fronting the post, then sitting Harris’ man right behind him and pressuring the entry man.

Again, the first possession …

HIGH-LEVEL PG PLAY

It’ll be a regular segment here just pointing out little stuff Braden Smith does that set him apart from his positional peers, even if this game was a bit different in terms of how he had to play it.

First off, what in the world is this pass? This is not normal.

Second, the best pivot foot in college basketball, and the best manipulator of angles, strikes again. When Smith gets really deep like this, this is where most point guards are just screwed.

When points are as hard to come by as they were at Marquette and you execute this well, but settle for just a split pair of free throws, as TKR did here, that hurts. Excellent BLOB play here to draw Kaufman-Renn’s man up the lane, knowing Marquette would go hard over the screen on Smith on the handoff.

When people force the ball out of Smith’s hands, he can be pretty good without, too, like here, when Purdue floods one side of the floor against zone, anticipating Smith’s man coming down to trap TKR on a post-up.

PURDUE DEFENSE

Marquette’s 4s and 5s really hurt Purdue. Note: 4 man David Joplin is basically a huge wing, and Purdue didn’t do a great job containing him.

Can’t say for sure what was supposed to happen here because I don’t know the game plan, but this just looks like a bad switch (and Marquette completely erasing Raleigh Burgess at the rim.)

Center Ben Gold‘s three threes were a big difference in this game. Matt Painter said they were willing to accept him getting some looks, but he made them.

Bad switch here …

Just a tough deal when Berg is on the floor. Harris falling didn’t help.

At the same time, here’s where Caleb Furst can really help. He blows this pick-and-pop up.

Anyway, it looked — looked — to the untrained eye like Gold’s threes opened some things up for his guards, as Purdue wasn’t about to leave him in the second half.

MISC

• This was a critical five-point swing attributable to Marquette’s tenacity, but also another example of Purdue beating the defense and not getting two points out of it.

• He didn’t make any shots, but Myles Colvin came out with a lot of rebounds and loose balls down the stretch again, at important moments in the game.

• What a pass by Fletcher Loyer to get Smith a shot on this play call.