ISC Purdue

11/25/2024 Boilermaker Water Cooler Chat: Up and Down Edition

Rants, ravings, and somewhat sensical opinions following the wild, wacky, and wide-wide world of Purdue sports.

I was blessed enough to spend this weekend with a group of buddies who we have been friends with since our time on campus. About a dozen of us Pur-Dudes procured some tickets for the Marshall basketball game, and decided to march around the old stomping grounds.

While I am not as young as I used to be (I quite literally hurt my back standing up out of my car two days ago), I still hobbled my middle aged ass around the bars as best as I could. Alas, the more things change, the more things stay the same. We might be older, but our livers can still hold up. We might be full on adults, but shenanigans are still afoot.

From Mackey to Harry’s. Brokeridge to Bruno’s. Brother’s to 9 Irish to Triple XXX. Thank you, West Lafayette, Indiana, for being as lovely as I remembered.

Basketball:

#6 Purdue 58, #15 Marquette 76

A game that was reasonably close until Marquette slammed the door shut late, Purdue was stifled by the suffocating Marquette Defense. Trey Kaufman-Renn led the way with 16 points and 8 rebounds. Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith scored in double figures, with Smith adding an impressive 9 assists. Cam Heide and Caleb Furst both added 8 points, but not much offense came from the rest of the roster.

Very impressed by the Marquette defense this team. They put Purdue in offensive hell, as Shaka Smart’s squad is really fearsome on the defensive end. This is why Matt Painter schedules a tough non-conference schedule. He wants to see different looks, and play excellent programs. This way the Boilers deficiencies are shown prior to the griding Big Ten schedule.

Marshall 45, #6 Purdue 80

Following the loss to Marquette, Camden Heide and Myles Colvin joined the starting lineup, as the “small ball” lineup has finally arrived. Wouldn’t you know who won the pony? Both of those players scored 13 points in their first start together. TKR scored 18, and the rest of the roster filled in with a constant support. Braden Smith did not score, but he did add 9 assists.

On the whole, this contest was the “jump out to a hot start and never look back” game. The offense impressively hit for much of the game, other than when Marshall was employing the “maul Purdue, they can’t foul us all out” defense. Regardless, whenever the walk-ons get in, its normally a good day for the Boilermakers.

Marshall Photo Gallery by Mark Elsner: https://iscpurdue.com/purdue-mens-basketball-vs-marshall-11-23-24/

Break It Down:

Purdue’s multi-year non-conference winning streak comes to a grinding halt this week. That’s ok. This team has an incredibly high ceiling, but they need to see some adversity in order to see how to improve.

Likewise, we all know, that Matt Painter rarely changes the starting lineup following a victory. After that Marquette game, Painter decided it is time for a change. The less than traditional lineup puts Purdue at a size disadvantage. What it does, however, is puts Purdue’s 5 best players on the floor at the same time. Defensive mismatch and rebounding problems be damned, lets get our 5 best players out there and see how it goes.

Football:

Purdue 17, Michigan State 24

Purdue played well for a half, but fumbled and dropped their opportunities.

Big Man on Campus:

Trey Kaufman-Renn is the BMOC this week. He has really taken to his new role, and showing what he can do with the ball in his hands. Whether he plays the 4, or the 5, TKR continues to be a rock-solid contributor.

A Look Ahead:

The (as of the writing of this article) #6 Purdue Basketball will travel to San Diego to play in the Rady Children’s Invitational for their yearly holiday tournament. In their first game, Purdue will take on NC State, a rematch from the 2024 Final Four. Following that game, Purdue will play either BYU or Ole Miss. The Boilermakers have had very successful holiday tournaments in recent years, and hopefully that trend continues.

Purdue’s Football season will mercifully end following a prime time game against Indiana in the annual Old Oaken Bucket game. With this game getting a 7pm kick, the TV folk presume this is a must watch game that will draw in ratings… for whatever reason.

Happy Thanksgiving, folks! Gobble Gobble!

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