Purdue 85, Southern Indiana 63

Yes, we had basketball last night. No, we did not forget. The limits of BTN Plus and a busy staff delayed the game wrap until now, and honestly, there isn’t a lot you can take form it. Purdue had only seven scholarship players available because of injury and suspensions and still won by 22 points.

The largest reason it won is because Isaac Haas is a very large human being and Southern Indiana had no one that could even come close to stopping him. He finished hte night 10 of 11 from the floor and had 25 points. He easily could have been over 30 if not for a dreadful 5 of 15 performance from the free throw line. That can be cleaned up, however. He was a solid 71.4% from the line last season, so I don’t think it is a huge concern yet. Haas is going to get to the line a lot because he is so big that many teams can only defend him by fouling.

Caleb Swanigan showed off a more polished all around game with 16 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists. He seems to be trying to take the title of “most likely player to score a triple-double” away from Vincent Edwards. Caleb missed his only two three-point attempts, but was 7 of 9 inside the arc.

Edwards finished with 11 points, 7 rebounds, and four assists, meaning that the Purdue frontcourt had 52 points, 20 rebounds, and 11 assists. I will go out on a limb and say this will be a strength this season.

The backcourt was a little more shaky, as Ryan Cline was suspended just before the game due to a weed-related incident in July. Newcomer Spike Albrecht finished with 13 points and was 3 of 4 from long range. Carsen Edwards had 8 points in his Purdue debut. P.J. Thompson and Dakota Mathias combined for only 10 points despite both starting. Mathias had a rough 1 for 7 night form the floor but was 5 of 6 from the line.

A troubling issue is that Purdue was outrebounded 37-34. The Boilers did force 22 turnovers and did have 28 assists on 33 made field goals. That is exactly how the motion offense should work. Albrecht, both Edwards’, Biggie, and Dakota all had at least four assists each.

Up next Purdue will face West Virginia in Columbus, OH in a closed scrimmage on Sunday.