The Boilers traveled to Fort Wayne to take on the Mastodons for the first time this season. The Boilers looked like they didn’t do much scouting before the game as the Dons’ defensive pressure caused a lot of problems in Purdue’s attack. As the half went on with the coaches and players settling down, the offense found more of a rhythm, while the defense was really chaotic in the second half.
Let’s throw in some numbers with our second installment of ‘Behind the Numbers!’
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42
Purdue may not have one player who dominates night in and night out like Biggie, Edey, Jaden, or TKR have in years past, but what they do have they can play at a very consistent level high off the bench. That level of consistent high play was on display as the Boilers got 42 led by Anthony West’s 16 points.
71%
Anytime you can shoot 70%+ from the field into the middle, whoever the opponent is, they’re going to press their best. That second thing was really a beauty as the Boilers made a concerted effort to get themselves in the paint while also getting the big men involved in the offense. You can really see the difference in the heatmaps from the first to the middle depending on how much work was done inside. That effort led to 22-31 shooting 71% in total for the second half for 50 points, but it could very well have been even higher as the Boilers brought in their deep bench players about 4 minutes into the game. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that the Boilers could have put up 60+ if their regular players had stayed the entire second half.
10
Whether you want to include him in the group of forward players or not, Jack Benter will rebound high. Benter is one of those players who understands the game on a different level than typical players of his age (probably because his father is a coach…like PJ Thompson). Simply put, he wins games and just seems to make the other four players around him better.
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Against PFW, Benter took what would have been a career 10 It rebounds just 18 minutes into the action. He’s not a traditional power forward, but when he was forced to do so last year, Purdue found his presence a lot of trouble for opposing teams to create. This isn’t necessarily out of nowhere as Benter had 9 games last season where he had 5 or more rebounds and if he can give Purdue more of that level in his minutes, he’s good for Purdue with the shooters he has on the floor.
7 vs
Purdue, without a traditional runner or a guard who can really shoot, isn’t likely to make many free throws. That just doesn’t happen for a team that relies on three pointers, but it needs to be a focus on Purdue given its ability to shoot 75%+ as a team this season. They are called ‘free throws’ for a reason.
On the flip side, if Purdue is not going to generate opportunities at the free throw line then they simply cannot make the amount of free throws that will keep the balance in a close game. A 14th free throw for the opponent 7 vs It can’t happen very often unless Purdue is shooting really well.
8 vs
8 points in the paint in the first half 34 in the second half. This is likely to be what will tell the majority of the story for Purdue this season. In years past, most of this would have been on the backs of Zach Edey or Trey Kaufman-Renn, but there’s likely to be some collective effort with the guards that Purdue has. That is, unless Daniel Jacobsen can stay on the court and continue his production, which he has shown in the first two games.
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In these two spectacular games and 32 complete minutes, DJ has an impressive 19 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, and 6 blocks. Is it likely that many minutes at a time? If he can stay on the court and continue to show that he is capable of the high praise that has been brought up by Coach Painter, there is no reason to think that DJ can’t average 14 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 blocks per game. That DJ creates huge problems with the level guard and wings Purdue can roll around.
58.9%
If you think this year’s squad is headed for the post-Big 3 era with a more conservative, low-tempo, mid-court grind that focuses on this team’s defensive capabilities, think again. During the two games of the show; 58.9% Purdue’s field goals went behind the arc (73 of 124). Is it even more encouraging? They are hitting them at an amazingly efficient 41.1% clip. With four different guards on multiple triples in each game, the sheer height of the perimeter makes it nearly impossible to double-team or collapse the defense.
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1,983
Purdue will enter with the 2026-2027 season 1,983 the highest progression wins. That total is good enough for 10th all-time in men’s college basketball with a legitimate chance to climb that number over the next several seasons. Purdue could very well hit that 2,000 win mark by the end of January.