Here's What Matt Painter Said After No. 6 Purdue's Road Victory Over Iowa
IOWA CITY, Iowa — The No. 6-ranked Purdue basketball team picked up a crucial 83-73 road victory over Iowa on Thursday night at the Carver-Hawkeye arena. The win puts the Boilermakers just one game out of first place in the Big Ten standings.
Head coach Matt Painter addressed the media after the matchup to discuss the team's win and how it managed to stave off the Hawkeyes in order to reach a 17-3 overall record.
Below is a transcript from the postgame press conference.
Q: On how the team handled Iowa's smaller lineup...
Painter: I think they didn't play their size as much so they could flip it on us on offense. It gives us a little bit of an advantage, but then we're at a disadvantage then.
It really makes it hard for us when they put both the Murray brothers out there as their four and their five. They put a lot of skill out there, that really puts us in a bind. We've got to get some different matchups But you would think, in theory, we would have the advantage on the other end.
It's like playing cards, who's going to get that break right there? I think for a while we were both getting the offensive break, but then we weren't stopping each other. We were just fortunate that we had the lead. It's difficult to guard those guys when they go small like that.
Q: On Trevion Williams and Zach Edey on the defensive side of the floor...
Painter: It was alright. The big guys have to be able to adjust to guarding smaller guys and more skilled guys. And then we have to have better recognition and awareness of helping them, also. At times, when guys are really skilled, you have to be in there and help off of Bohannon, but then you're really not going to stop the ball. You're going to bounce off and stay with him.
But the other guys, you can get in there and stop a little bit more. You still don't want them to have a rhythm 3, so we just have to get better at that. But we made enough stops at key times. I wish we would have been more consistent defensively, but we made enough stops.
The one thing they did was, they rewarded when we fouled them. They made their free throws, and we didn't make our free throws. And so I think that was kind of the difference in the game. How the game kind of stayed pretty close is that we kept getting good opportunities and then not making our free throws. And then they kept making us pay by making their free throws.
Q: On if he knows why free-throw shooting has been poor on the road...
Painter: I don't. You just have to do your routine and concentrate and knock them down.
Q: On the dynamic Iowa creates with brothers Keegan and Kris Murray on the floor together...
Painter: It's really good from an offensive standpoint just because when they stretch you out, they're going to try to post on your smaller guy. And then they're going to take the other one, whoever the bigger guy is, and take them out — rightfully so.
Their abilities to make 3s, their ability to drive the basketball and score. Obviously, Keegan Murray is one of the best scorers in the country, it really puts you in a bind.
You have to kind of pick your poison on what you want to do. And they were just driving it and getting layups. We were fouling them, they were making shots. Kris Murray shoots 60% from the free-throw line, he goes 9-for-9. That was huge because a lot of times with guys that do that, it kind of takes the wind out of your sail a little bit. Now, all of a sudden, you don't feel good about it because you're missing free throws.
They were building some momentum there, they just never could get to that point where they could take the lead.
Stories Related to Purdue Basketball
- PURDUE, IOWA GAME STORY: Purdue point guard Isaiah Thompson has been in a bit of a slump, but some hard work an a day of just shooting around with his dad like the old days paid off in a big way on Thursday night. He scored a career-high 18 points to lead the No. 6 Boilermakers to an 83-73 road win over the Iowa Hawkeyes. CLICK HERE
- JADEN IVEY SCORES 15 IN RETURN TO THE FLOOR: Purdue guard Jaden Ivey scored 15 points in an 83-73 road victory over Iowa after sitting out the team’s last contest. The sophomore was one of four Boilermakers to reach double figures in the win. CLICK HERE
- PURDUE, IOWA LIVE BLOG: The No. 6-ranked Purdue basketball team took on Iowa on Thursday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, and it was a big game for both teams. CLICK HERE
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D.J. Fezler is a staff writer for BoilermakersCountry.com. Hailing from The Region, he is from Cedar Lake in Northwest Indiana and has spent the last two years covering Purdue football and basketball.