Matchup Rewind | Purdue vs. Penn State

Purdue was able to overcome a hot first half from Penn State to outscore the Nittany Lions 45-26 in the second half to get a big road victory (yes, it should 100% be considered a road game) in the conference race. Purdue was able to snag two away victories after dropping an early home game to counter any struggles away from Mackey later in the season and puts them currently in the driver’s seat for competing for the 25th B1G regular season title.

Let’s take a quick look back at the matchups and where Purdue was able to gain an advantage over Penn State:

1 | Purdue’s Roster Depth vs. Penn State

Purdue didn’t really get a chance to stretch their legs in the terms of getting deep into their bench and controlling the game that way but the deeper and talented team was able to use their total skill as a whole to control the game. Jenkins and TKR played sparingly and that isn’t a knock on them, rather it was how absolutely great Edey and Smith were playing. Smith played 33 minutes and was a +11 while Edey played an astounding 36 minutes and was a +16 but that only places them 3rd and 4th on the team in the +/- for Penn State. Caleb Furst was an astounding +21 while Fletcher Loyer was +20 and those guys being great as well eats up the minutes available for the bench as well. Those four guys have shown an ability to play 34 or more minutes a game when needed and when they are just playing that well, you want to get them back in the game as quickly as possible.

Advantage: Purdue

2 | Free Points at the Free Throw Line

This is a tough one because neither team got to the foul line very often and Penn State Head Coach Micah Shrewsberry let his feelings be known on the matter in his post game media opportunity. The game was, to be very frank, poorly officiated overall with both teams combining to shoot 10 free throws overall. Purdue, who typically averages 22.5 attempts from the free throw line, only got 7 attempts for the entire game. That would be the lowest total for the Boilers for the season with the previous game against Ohio State being the second lowest with 10. This is something that needs to be addressed by the B1G as guys like Edey and Smith are getting hacked in their attempts at the rim but fouls are just being ignored and not called.

Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports

Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports

Advantage: Neither team really got an advantage here because of the low number of attempts but Purdue did hit 6 of 7.

3 | Purdue’s Offensive Rebounding Dominance

Purdue did win the rebounding advantage overall 36-25 but allowed Penn State to grab 10 offensive rebounds. Luckily though Penn State was only able to generate 6 second chance points from those offensive rebounds. Purdue was also able to grab 10 offensive rebounds but were able to turn those into 15 points due in large part to Edey’s overwhelming size and the Boilers patience to generate offense off long rebounds.

Advantage: Slightly Purdue due to Purdue’s ability to generate more second chance points off of their offensive rebounds

4 | BONUS: Defending the 3pt Arc

This is a tale of two halves really for Purdue in this game when looking at how they defended the 3pt arc. Now, some of those shots in the first half were really difficult ones that Penn State hit but Purdue allowed Penn State’s confidence to swell to a point where they felt confident enough to take them. In that first half, PSU hit 6-12 for 50% from behind the arc and took a 6 point lead into the second half but Purdue clearly had a focus on continuing to run shooters off of the arc and force them into taking tough shots again. Penn State shot just 2-10 in the second half but still shot 8-22 for 36% on the game. Purdue was able to turn the tide in the game by simply continuing to do what they have done all season on defense: run shooters off the arc, force them into mid range jumpers and floaters, and grab rebounds on the defensive end to prevent multiple possessions.

Advantage: Purdue

Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports