The Forest for the Threes
Purdue wins in several different ways ahead of their regular season-defining stretch.
Maryland gave Purdue a chance to show they would get their season back on track. The following three games gave them a chance to prove it. The Boilermakers were able to knock off Oregon, #7 Nebraska, and Iowa in succession, bumping their win streak to four and setting up them up with momentum for their critical trio of upcoming games. The latest win streak has also brought the biting of nails, the return of Fletcher Loyer’s jump shot (mostly), a theoretical blowout and an actual one.
OREGON (W, 68-64)
- Oregon entered the game losers of eight straight, but they had hope in the form of seven-foot center Nate Bittle retuning from injury. Bittle did his part, scoring 23 point as one of two Ducks in double figures. He also set up a small time share on the free throw line, making 10-14. The idea of what this Ducks team should be is visible in glimpses, but it’s a truly lost season for Dana Altman as injury luck has dispensed its random cruelty.
- Fletcher Loyer, fresh off his resuscitating performance against Maryland, continued his bounce back stretch and frankly saved the game. Down one with fifty seconds to go, Loyer drilled a deep top of the arc three, then salted the game away with a couple of free throws later. He made three threes on the night. Purdue as team only made five (for a matter of minor curiosity, so did Oregon). It still wasn’t against a ranked team, but Purdue needs Loyer to string as many of these performances together as he can.
- Frankly, losing this game would have been pretty unforgivable for Purdue. Yes, Oregon was closer to full strength than they have been in weeks. Sure, a ranked Nebraska team was up next. Purdue had several chances to make this game boring early before deciding to burnish its close game reps. Luckily, they did so productively.
#7 NEBRASKA (W, 80-77 OT)
- Good thing Purdue practiced their end game strategy against Oregon, because they seemed insistent upon making this game close. Leads of sixteen at the half, over 20 with 12 minutes to go and 12 with just under two minutes to go were tossed in the wind, and it remains both a minor miracle and a testament to the mentality of this team that they walked out of Pinnacle Bank Arena with a win. Wins over top-ten ranked teams, especially on the road, should never be taken for granted. It was within the last decade that a win like this would be the highlight of a Purdue season. Even with the raised expectations of the program, wins like this continue to be hard-fought, and should always be enjoyed.
- It couldn’t have been done without an absolutely monstrous performance from Purdue’s starting front line. Oscar Cluff and Trey Kaufman-Renn combined for 18 points and an absurd 33 rebounds, with Cluff snaring ten offensive boards by himself. They bullied the interior of Nebraska’s defense and fouled out top offensive threat Rienk Mast. It was the type of performance you hope to get on the road. Shots may not fall, but effort travels, and Cluff and TKR deserve all the credit in the world (except, perhaps, for their 2-6 combined performance at the free throw line).
- Nebraska, having a truly standout season for their program, was Purdue’s highest ranked opponent to date at #7. Thus, Fletcher Loyer shooting 4-17 from three cannot be unexpected. He led the team in scoring and managed to get to the line (4-5 FT), but he has not been able to shake the ranked vs. unranked shooting splits that have haunted him all year. The team itself shot 13-46 (28%) from 3, which ordinarily would lose them this type of game. Fortunately, Cluff and TKR vaccuumed the lane sufficiently.
IOWA (W, 78-57)
- The headliner of any Iowa scouting report is the sizeable and talented guard Bennett Stirtz. In their first matchup, Purdue held him to 19 points, just below his season average. He then scored over twenty points in his next seven games, including back-to-back thirty-point nights leading up to the rematch. Purdue, sticking to what worked, held him to 19 again, part of an all-around team effort that let them breathe easy for the first time in three games.
- Purdue got one of their more balanced games of the year offensively, with four players in double figures yet none scoring more than 14. CJ Cox and Gicarri Harris both hit that number, as the sophomore guards combined for seven 3PM.
- Braden Smith had a quiet night in the scoring column but continued his march to history with 12 assists. After a stretch where his assist numbers dragged a bit, it was good to see the bearded point guard get back to the double-digit mark here and against Nebraska. If nothing else, it means the team was hitting shots.
NEXT UP
Saturday, 2/17/26
Vs. #1 Michigan Wolverines (24-1 (14-1))
Mackey Arena, West Lafayette, IN
The biggest three game stretch of Purdue’s season also features the biggest single game. Go ahead and debate if that’s hosting the number one team in the country in Michigan, or getting a chance to even the season series against the hated Hoosiers. A contrarian might even point to the third game of the set, one against a likely top fifteen ranked Michigan State. It’s always fun to beat Tom Izzo, isn’t it?
First things first. Michigan will roll into Mackey with a record many Purdue fans hoped and thought Purdue might have at this point in the season. Just a single loss to a feverishly up and down Wisconsin team mars the Wolverines slate, which seems to feature many more thirty point wins than close games. Michigan features a supersized front line of 7’3” C Adam Mara, 6’9” F Morez Johnson Jr., and 6’9” F Yaxel Lendeborg, who was the top player in this past offseason’s portal. Fellow transfer G Elliot Cadeau runs point, while holdovers F/hype-pest Will Tschetter and G Roddy Gayle Jr add depth amongst others.
Michigan just beat UCLA by 30. They are easily KenPom’s top rated team in the nation, with the best defense and fourth best offense in the entire country. They play at a quick tempo and overwhelm teams with their size. It’s not often Purdue’s front line looks up at their opponents. Cluff enjoys knocking people around, but he’s going to have to bring his sharpest elbows for this battle. Questions swirl around who will guard Lindeborg. It’s likely Cox & Harris, but Benter and even TKR may get some reps depending on lineups. It would be shocking to see Painter stray from his rotations, but pairing two bigs with Benter at the three may be a move he has to go to.
It helps that the game is being played at Mackey, but it helps more that Purdue is playing some of their best basketball of the season (especially defensively). Late game collapses at Nebraska aside, Purdue has at least been hovering around the level they’ll need to be at to beat a team like Michigan. It just may not be this week.
Prediction: #1 Michigan 85, Purdue 80
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