Purdue 52, Ohio St. 68 - Here We Go Again

Slow starts. Bad shooting. Turnovers. Missed free throws. Defensive breakdowns.

Ohio State handled Purdue easily at home, 68-52.

There were only two bright spots for the Boilers so we’ll start there.

Evan Boudreaux continues his offensive play, leading the Boilers with 18 points on an efficient 6 of 8 shooting, and showing his ability to get to the line.

Jahaad Proctor had another nice game, scoring 16 points, and acting as the only guard capable of getting his own shot on a day where the Buckeyes defense was on Purdue from the start.

The Boilermakers found a familiar script on the road: put themselves in a hole early and then dig the hole deeper by missing shots and turning the ball over.

Their defense wasn’t much better, despite forcing 16 turnovers. Caleb Wesson was a problem all day, with Purdue struggling to contain him on pick or pops or in the post when they’d double and then fail their rotations behind him. He had 13 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists despite sitting out the last six minutes of the first half.

For Purdue, their offensive struggled reared their heads in familiar fashion. Sasha Stefanovic missed all three of his three-pointers. Nojel Eastern missed all four of his shots on his way to scoring 0 points and turning the ball over 3 times. Eric Hunter Jr. turned the ball over 4 times. Matt Haarms was just 1 of 4 from the floor, including a couple point blank misses at the rim. Isaiah Thompson missed all 5 of his shots. Aaron Wheeler scored 0 points on 3 shots. Trevion Williams had just 4 points on 6 shots.

Purdue is still firmly in the bubble. A road loss is not the end of a season, but after the loss to Penn State, Purdue had a chance to solidify their resume with a tier 1 win. Instead, the doubts will linger longer. They continue to last mojo on the road, and the offense looks troubling.

Purdue came into this week with three wins and a lot of momentum. The NCAA seemed for sure, and that they were playing for seeding. After this week, all of that is now in doubt.

Purdue will now have to go on the road to Wisconsin on Tuesday.