Purdue Trips Up against Texas 70-66
Feature image from @Boilerball
What Happened?
Purdue’s 18-game home winning streak dissolved after a two-minute, error-riddled stretch against Shaka Smart and Texas.
With 3:15 left to play, Purdue had a 5-point lead and the ball against a Texas team that was shooting 54% from the field (and 50% from three). What followed was, as many would say, not ideal:
Aaron Wheeler, who had a nice rebounding game but lagged on defense and was ineffective offensively, forgot how to use his hands and fumbled the ball out of bounds. Texas’ Gerald Liddell hit a three to break the momentum Purdue had built down the stretch.
Matt Haarms, who finished with a thin 9 points / 2 rebounds / 1 block line and doesn’t quite realize how good he actually is, committed an offensive foul and left Texas’ Jericho Sims open for his fourth easy dunk of the game.
Eric Hunter, who was otherwise extremely reliable tonight, picked up Wheeler’s case of the fumbles and lost the ball out of bounds.
Texas then ran the same pick-and-roll with Sims waiting under the basket. Sasha Stefanovic, who was an unexpected hero with 4 three-pointers in the first half, feared another open dunk and overhelped…leaving his man Jase Forbes open for three.
Just like that, two minutes ticked off the clock and Purdue had squandered away three possessions and a 5-point lead.
Yes, there was an egregious foul called on Wheeler during the ensuing foul game, which should have given Purdue the ball under its own basket down 2. But the game should never have gotten to that point.
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Nobody but die-hard college basketball fans will remember this game, but it’s a great resume-building win for a Texas team that, come March, will want to finally make a run at relevancy under Shaka. Given their talent, and assuming Matt Coleman continues to make ~400% of his shots, they’ll be a solid tournament team.
Purdue, meanwhile, squandered its first chance at a good nonconference win. There will be more than a few chances left (at Marquette, vs VCU on a neutral Destin court, vs Virginia), and there’s a ton of season left for an end-of-game presence to emerge, but there’s no doubt that this was a missed opportunity.
Let’s hope Purdue’s tournament hopes (or a favorable seeding spot) don’t hinge on those two minutes. A win at Marquette on Wednesday feels like the perfect opportunity to make up for it.
Player of the Game
I could say Eric Hunter or Jahad Proctor or even Trevion Williams, but why avoid the obvious – Texas guard Matt Coleman was easily the best player on the floor. 22 points on 7/9 shooting (4 threes), 7 assists, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, only 1 turnover, and 14,804 fans in Mackey Arena throwing their hands up every time he put up a shot.
The Good
The lefty trio. The momentum I mentioned before Purdue’s end-of-game foibles? It was set up by Purdue’s lefty trio of Eric Hunter, Nojel Eastern, and Matt Haarms. As a lefty, this warms my heart. Hunter, in particular, is so confident when he launches perfectly-balanced threes, and I’m convinced everything that leaves his hand will hit the bottom of the net.
Jahaad Proctor fits this roster so well. He attacks the basket when lanes open, he’s got a sweet shot, and can initiate the offense when it spirals out of control. I feel like he’s been a Boilermaker for years.
Trevion Williams’ offense. The big fella has done more than drop 50 pounds (which we will hear about every game), he’s been obviously pouring over Swanigan tape this summer. The way he passes out of the post with style, the way he relentlessly attacks the glass and uses his low center of gravity to dictate terms of engagement while he’s devouring everything in the paint? His play has Biggie Jr written all over it.
Sasha! Stefanovic made a surprise appearance in the first half, immediately drilling four three-pointers in his brief first half minutes. He was silent in the second half, and the absence of that threat was felt. This offense is completely changed when Sasha is dialed in.
The Bad
Slow second half starts. I hope this doesn’t become a trend throughout this year.
Transition defense, whether it was off a Purdue turnover or a long rebound. This is where Wheeler’s athleticism has to kick in, and it’s where Haarms’ nose for the ball is deemed ineffective because of his lead feet in transition. (Listen, he’s like the size of a redwood tree, I think we can give his lack of speed a pass.)
Matt Haarms’ pick-and-roll defense. Again – Haarms is so good, and I don’t think he realizes it yet. His hands swat away everything in the paint when his arms are out and up, particularly when guards are attacking the paint. But he gets a little too over-eager on pick-and-rolls, looking for the block while he leaves the bounce pass to his open man wide open under the basket. The solution – be decisive and make himself wide with his infinite wingspan. He’s got to either trap the guard and block his passing lane, or he’s got to lay back and play for the block while using his arms to guard the pass to his man. This takes reps, and by the end of the year I’ll expect B10 DPOY Haarms to have this down.
Aaron Wheeler’s disappearance. His combination of athleticism and a suddenly-reliable three makes him such a lethal, new weapon for Painter. Outside of a great 7 rebounds, he was ineffective tonight, and that was disappointing to see. He’s poised to break out this year, so I’m clearly predicting a triple double against Marquette.
The Ugly
Trevion Williams’ defense. The lateral quickness isn’t there yet, but he was making up for it by acting as Purdue’s only offensive engine coming out of halftime. He needed his teammates to make plays around him, particularly Aaron Wheeler, and they let him down.
Watching another loss against Shaka Smart. I’ll never get over 2011.
