'It's A Joke': Purdue Frustrated With Lack of Fight in Loss to Penn State
A wave of frustration billowed out of Purdue's locker room following Thursday's 81-70 loss to Penn State. There was a consensus of disappointment with how the Boilermakers fought among the three Boilermaker leaders — Trey Kaufman-Renn, Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer. Coach Matt Painter wasn't happy, either.
Purdue started the game off strong, scoring the first five points and appearing to have somewhat of a handle on Penn State's defense. That turned out to be an optical illusion, though.
Things got derailed shortly after. The game was tied 9-9 at the 13:59 mark of the first half. The Boilermakers didn't score a point for over five minutes, digging themselves into an 18-9 hole. Although it was only a single-digit deficit, that set the tone for the rest of the game.
"You hate to say it's coming not ready to play, but we weren't locked in," Loyer said.
Purdue ended the game with 24 turnovers, which turned into 32 Penn State points. That was the story of the game, from a statistical perspective. But basketball is more than a numbers game.
It's also about effort, toughness and fight. Painter didn't believe his team had much of it on Thursday night in State College.
"We have a lot of good dudes, really good dudes. They care about Purdue, they work hard," Painter said. "But, if we're in the front line of a war like we were just now, we'd all be dead. Our fight wasn't even close to Penn State's fight. It wasn't even close — remotely close."
Purdue's veteran leaders didn't shy away from their coach's criticism. They all understood that — by the standards set in West Lafayette — Thursday's performance was unacceptable. Not merely because of the final score, but because of the lack of fight shown on the floor.
"It's having some stones, being ready to go out there," Loyer said. "It's not knocking down shots, it's not playing better than them, it's being ready to do your job, playing harder than them. It's getting on the floor, getting every rebound. It's a joke for us to not be able to go do it, it's embarrassing.
"I've got to do a better job as a leader. Me, Braden and Trey have to do a better job of starting it for us. Whether we've got to show it to the young guys or not, it's just a mentality that you're going to go out and you're going to kill."
Kaufman-Renn and Loyer were Purdue's most productive scorers in Thursday's loss, each ending the game with 15 points. Smith had a quiet night, scoring six points and dishing out five assists.
But the stat sheet was hardly the biggest complaint from those three veterans after the game.
"As leadership, we didn't get the team ready to play tonight," Kaufman-Renn said. "That part is on us."
In order to be successful this season, Purdue is going to need a lot of production from its three stars. But the Boilermakers have plenty of talent on the roster to make up for their shortcoming on an off night.
Where Kaufman-Renn, Loyer and Smith can't afford to let their guard down, though, is when it comes to the leadership roles. If those three don't embrace that aspect of the job every game, Purdue will become susceptible to more performances like the one we saw Thursday night.
"It starts with them. They play the most minutes, they've been the most productive, they've had really good careers," Painter said. "But you've got to be good in your next game, no matter what's happened.
Related stories on Purdue basketball
WHAT PAINTER SAID: Everything Purdue coach Matt Painter had to say following the Boilermakers' 81-70 loss to Penn State in Thursday's Big Ten opener. CLICK HERE
PURDUE MISTAKES COSTLY VS PENN STATE: Purdue had 24 turnovers, struggled from behind the 3-point line and couldn't convert at the free throw line, resulting in an 81-70 loss to Penn State. CLICK HERE
