Upon Further Review: Purdue’s win over Northern Kentucky
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 14th-ranked Boilermakers’ 72-50 win over Northern Kentucky.
PDF: Purdue-Northern Kentucky box score
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(Video clips via BTN+)
ZONE OFFENSE, KINDA
When Purdue bogged down in the first half offensively, it wasn’t because of anything NKU did. Rather, there were just a few turnovers and a stretch where Purdue got good looks but missed them.
The Boilermakers otherwise did OK against the Norse’s matchup-y zone, often extended out to three-quarter-court. It wasn’t always zone offense, but rather it’s typical man-to-man ball-screen stuff.
It starts the game by just clipping off the top corner of the zone with a ball screen instead of doing it in the middle of the floor.
Here’s the middle ball screen, requiring Braden Smith to slip through before the second defender comes over and shuts him off. Once zoners are drawn to the ball, cuts open up. Great play by Myles Colvin here to give it up.
Purdue did a nice job moving the ball, attacking from the wings, especially Fletcher Loyer and this hockey assist from Gicarri Harris.
Plenty of zone offense, too, including this half-opening set in which Purdue deviated from its penchant for setting successive (“single single”) screens and just ran Loyer behind the top of the zone then brought Berg up to set one screen that essentially decapitated it, not only walling off Loyer but drawing the illusion of Smith just getting a ball screen. Three Norsemen (?) gravitate that way.
Later there was this set executed perfectly.
Broadly, Purdue fared well getting the ball to the middle of the floor and playing inside-out.
RALEIGH BURGESS ON D
Just want to highlight something: How well Raleigh Burgess moved on defense when he was in at center.
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This wasn’t ultimate quickness Purdue faced in this game, but he made some things happen on defense.
He made this play — a shot-clock turnover — by shutting down this last surge.
And he created this miss with this solid switch.
In ball-screen D, he did what their 5s always do: He was in drop. But he also could flatten these out a little more than some of the bigger guys would be asked to.
Just pointing it out.
DEFENSIVE NUANCE
Purdue’s biggest defensive problems is arguably turnovers and in this game, all those long rebounds added up, but again, there will multiple breakdowns where guys didn’t seem to be on the same page/communicating.
There was a transition-defense blip where Smith and Myles Colvin didn’t seem to know who had the ball and a bad switch between Colvin and Camden Heide earlier.
This here is a great defensive possession until no one accounts for the cutter, who darts between Smith and Fletcher Loyer after Will Berg shut down the play with this double, again coming from the baseline, as Purdue is doing this season.
MISC
• In addition to his three steals, Willie Deane doppleganger CJ Cox also drew an illegal screen, accounting for another turnover.
