Purdue men’s basketball already had a vision of the defensive strength it wanted to be in 2026-27 before it left for Hartford on Tuesday.
UConn did not live up to expectations. It only reminded the Boilermakers what it will take to achieve that vision. Gonzaga, Monday’s season-opening opponent on Hall of Fame Opening Night in Las Vegas, is up for the first challenge that leads.
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“Discipline and attention to detail and in the scouts – that will help us a lot,” said Antione West-Antione, a second-year guard. “As the season goes on, I think for sure we’ll come around, and the team is known for its defense.”
Nothing that happened over the course of three exhibition games lowered Purdue’s potential defensive ceiling. If anything, that last pressure test against UConn will likely provide a valuable perspective on the gap between each of the state’s current players and their potential.
Case in point – when asked for his biggest takeaways from the show’s lineup, Omer Mayer didn’t mention shooting better or improving offensive flow or avoiding turnovers. He said he wants to be among the players who can call himself a really good defender, but he is not yet. “Ten,” as he called it, did not happen.
“It’s what I’m focused on,” Mayer said. “I don’t care about hitting. I don’t care about missing shots. I care about winning, I care about playing better for myself and the team, and that’s it.”
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Purdue can be swamped with unique defensive talent on the field on any given night. CJ Cox and Gicarri Harris already have two years of experience with tough Big Ten matchups. West has built a reputation as a champion in his last season.
Daniel Jacobsen could compete to lead the Big Ten in blocked shots. Caden Pierce and Jack Benter can create equal problems at 4. The French big man painter Enzo Shahrvin called potentially “the best big man defenders in the country.”
That line of defensive talent, though, doesn’t necessarily fit the elite defensive unit. That process is fruitful. Purdue made up for that mistake against UConn. The Huskies also showed a few holes in the tapestry this team is trying to weave together.
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Depth was key to the Purdue defense and UConn’s goals
Purdue opened the second half of the show with six shutouts on UConn’s first seven possessions. Jacobsen blocked three shots in three minutes. After the turnover, Mayer stole the ball back and turned it in for a bucket.
The Boilermakers cut a 17-point deficit to 10. On an incredible 2-for-25 shooting night from 3-point range, they began to build momentum with rebounding and defense. A small yet tangible example of the outcome of their strategy would be to meet a similar quagmire at this time.
Then Matter Painter was substituted with 16:22 remaining in the half. The second unit – the starters for the first two minutes against UConn – couldn’t extend that momentum. The group included in the west, first year Lucas Ertel and Shahrvin, who arrived during the summer and just recently got their eligibility.
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While this rotation has more depth than most seasons, Painter doesn’t want to sub that once the game days start to count on Monday. The decision-makers for when players enter the game and how long they stay will almost certainly include whether they can support that defensive connectivity.
After saying for weeks that he didn’t see much separation between the starters and subs, that separation was glaring at Painter on Tuesday night.
“You must be good at keeping the ball,” said Painter. “You have to be good at boxing. You have to be good at less. You have to do your duty.
“So when you tell the young guys, like, ‘Do your thing,’ that kind of blows their mind because, ‘Wait, what does that mean?’
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Gonzaga needs to claim all the potential Purdue faces defensively
Assistant coach PJ Thompson said last season West could be the best theater in the ball defense. He acknowledges that he is still learning to adapt to the dynamics of the game, and to maintain his focus without crossing over into too much territory.
His ball-on-ball habit was a strong one from which West could start his career. It is also only half the battle. Defending the ball – following the man without the ball, knowing when to help, etc.
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Painter marveled at Shahrvin’s ability to stay away and still make plays in practice – a testament to his athleticism and experience. That’s one reason why he sees true upside in what they can add to a one-year defense.
For everyone else playing at the back it tends to be still in the middle after the end of the game.
“I feel like the ball just comes naturally,” West said. “On the ball, it’s hard when you don’t know what’s going to happen. There are faster guys. There are bigger ones who put up bigger screens. There are a lot better athletes – a lot bigger, a lot stronger, a lot faster.
“It’s hard, especially when you don’t know what’s going to happen. You just try to get ahead, watch enough film and get ahead, and that helps me a lot for sure.”
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On the other hand, the ball pressure from Purdue’s guards will be a huge factor in what level the defense reaches. It’s the way opponents shoot Jacobsen, who blocked 10 shots in 54 minutes of the exhibition. Can help teams full of 3-point shooters also create fast break points.
To remain undefeated against Gonzaga all-time, Purdue will need to turn the ball away from the Bulldogs’ talented frontcourt. Braden Huff, a 6-10 power forward and Pierce’s high school teammate, scored 17.8 points per game last season. Another 6-10 forward, Izan Almansa of Spain, shot well in the performances. Davis Fogle, a 6-7 WCC Freshman last season, will be a tough matchup for one of the wings.
Naivian Lee may be a problem on the court. If he and the other guards are leaning toward Jacobsen intruding on their boundaries, it becomes an ugly concern.
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What happens Monday in Las Vegas will provide a definitive statement on Purdue’s defense or not. But it will give a different light to the view of the kind of teams that he hopes can finally be thwarted in March.
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This article first appeared in the Indianapolis Star: Purdue’s basketball season opens with a stress test against Gonzaga on its defensive reverses