Blowout in Birmingham: No. 2 Auburn Throttles No. 16 Purdue
The game might be over in Birmingham, but the rims inside Legacy Arena are still rattling. No. 2 Auburn essentially turned Saturday's game against No. 16 Purdue into "Slam Fest 2024," handling the Boilermakers with ease in a 87-69 victory.
Auburn was able to get breakaway dunks and knocked down 10 triples. The Tigers crushed Purdue on the glass and won the turnover battle. Essentially, Auburn was playing with its food for most of the game.
Johni Broome led the way with 23 points and 11 rebounds for the Tigers. Denver Jones scored 15 and Tahaad Pettiford came off the bench to give Auburn 18 points.
Saturday's game started off interesting ... at least through the first eight minutes. Auburn led 17-15 at the under-12 media timeout, with the Boilermakers getting some big shots from Trey Kaufman-Renn, Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer. But the Tigers didn't let the Boilers hang around any longer.
Auburn went on a 24-11 run in the final 12 minutes to take a 41-26 advantage into halftime. The Tigers then scored the first six points in the second half to increase the lead to 21 points, ending any chances of a Purdue comeback.
There were a lot of issues for the Boilermakers in Saturday's loss to Auburn on both ends of the court. The most glaring? The inability to locate a fourth scorer.
Purdue relied heavily — that's putting it politely — on the production of Trey Kaufman-Renn, Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith through a majority of the game. At halftime, that trio combined for 23 of the team's 26 points. CJ Cox hit a 3-pointer as time expired at the end of the half to give the Boilers a fourth scorer.
Kaufman-Renn finished the game with 15 points, Loyer scored 11 and Smith ended the night with eight. Purdue did get 16 points from Cox — ending the game as the team's leading scorer — but nearly all of that production came after the game had been decided.
For most of the game, it seemed like sophomores Myles Colvin and Cam Heide were stapled to the corners on offense. Off-ball movement was non-existent. Open shots were at a premium. At times, Smith was dribbling until the leather wore off the basketball.
Purdue has lost games this season (four to be exact), but Saturday's felt like an eye-opener.
Auburn deserves a lot of credit, Bruce Pearl has assembled one of the best rosters in college basketball. The Tigers have a legitimate chance to reach the Final Four and win a national championship. Their length, athleticism and skill forced a lot of Purdue's problems.
But the Boilermakers appeared lost on the basketball court. How many times can you say that about a Purdue team over the last five years? This wasn't just about the score, it was how the game unfolded.
Once Auburn decided to flip the switch, Purdue's response was similar to a deer in headlights.
The good news? This doesn't count against Purdue's conference record. The Boilermakers have two weeks until playing a Big Ten game again, a matchup against Minnesota on Jan. 2. They'll have a final nonconference game against Toledo on Dec. 29.
There's still time to address the issues that have surfaced through the first 12 games of the season. But there might be more to correct than we initially thought when the 2024-25 season tipped off.
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PURDUE LEGEND FRANK KENDRICK PASSES AWAY: Former Purdue basketball player and assistant coach Frank Kendrick died at the age of 74. He played for the Boilermakers from 1971-74. CLICK HERE
