Feature image from @Boilerball, the legends.

What Happened?

After digging itself into a first half hole, Purdue rallied to beat Valparaiso 68-61 in the empty, echoey confines of Mackey Arena.

This was the classic case of a young, dumb team playing a young, dumb game – Purdue got plenty of fine first half looks, but just couldn’t buy a bucket, digging themselves into an 11 point deficit at half.

Frankly, it felt like way more.

A lot of the right decisions were being made, particularly the extra swing pass to a post center in isolation or to an open shooter, but nothing was falling. Meanwhile, Valpo was outworking Purdue, particularly on the glass, and without a roaring crowd to rally the Boilers it was feeling like a dumb, unexpected loss from a very young team that might need that extra boost.

Except, this young dumb Purdue team rallied.

Now, I don’t want this to seem bigger than it was. This is a very outmatched Valpo team, who just couldn’t match up with Purdue’s size inside and (relative) athleticism on the wing and got into pretty severe foul trouble right after halftime.

But these young Boilers found their balance, chipped away at Valpo’s lead on the back of sweet Sasha’s shooting, and took a legitimately scary Valpo run midway through the second half right on the chin and kept fighting.

For a young, inexperienced team, that’s not nothing. Entirely flipping energy at halftime, slowly chipping away at a double digit lead, and closing the win – regardless of opponent – is great experience. And a great feeling for Purdue fans, who seemed to be losing collective minds over possibly being on the losing side of yet another 2020 close loss.

This team is still very inexperienced, and we’ll still see some unexpected losses as the season goes along. But this roster is extremely fun to root for, even when things aren’t going the way we’re hoping. When they’ve got some more experience and a full roster, they could turn into a scary bunch for the Big Ten.

Next up – a Tuesday night ACC matchup at Miami, a toss-up per the omniscient KenPom.

The Good

• Sasha Stefanovic continues to be Purdue’s steady rock when things aren’t going well. Just like the last game, Purdue leaned heavily on the junior wing when nothing was hitting the bottom of the net. Sasha, as always, delivered, going 4/6 from three in the second half. He finished with 19 points (16 in the second half), 3 assists, 3 rebounds, and the energy Purdue needed to rally back for the win.

• Mason Gillis may not have finished with a superstar line (3 points, 1 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steal), but don’t get it twisted – Purdue doesn’t win today without his effort and energy on both ends of the floor, particularly in the second half. Gillis looks to be aiming to fill role all Purdue fans remember of Grady Eifert, but his ceiling (particularly as a rebounding power forward) is obviously much higher. The fact that he’s already settling into this role, not worrying about his stats, and doing everything helping Purdue get the W bodes well for both earning Painter’s trust (and minutes), and his potential trajectory as Purdue’s steady big wing supporting the centers.

• Winning, especially if you spend any time on the wonderful world of Purdue internet. I don’t think any of us needed the collective angst of losing another unexpected game against a significantly less talented team.

• Trevion Williams’ rebounding numbers continue to look great, and his post passing is still gifted. He makes two unexpectedly wonderful no-look passes per game, and no matter what his field goal percentage at the time, those passes bring be joy.

• Isaiah Thompson – 14 points (9 from the free throw line), 2 assists, 3 rebounds, and no turnovers in 36 minutes running the floor. He has poise familiar of another Thompson in Purdue’s recent past, and his height and length makes him an excellent defensive pest – even though he’s got a lot of room to grow still on that end.

The Bad

• Cold offensive streaks continue to plague this team early in the season. Like last game, 4+ minute stretches with one field goal made this game more difficult than it should have been. A stronger, more skilled opponent will be able take advantage of a double digit lead against an inexperienced team.

• Still missing Jaden Ivey and Eric Hunter. Tonight might have been the first game where both of their absences were really felt, particularly in the first half. Aaron Wheeler and Brandon Newman didn’t provide much for Purdue tonight offensively, and with only an 8-player rotation that leaves a huge hole.

The Ugly

• This game. Woah buddy. 32 fouls called on Valpo, Purdue shooting only 26% from three (6/23) and less than 65% from the free throw line (24/37). Valpo only shot 2/14 from three in the second half. Brandon Newman didn’t make a field goal all game.

Tweet of the Game

C’mon, I couldn’t go without mentioning Purdue’s latest iron giant.