Marquette's Defense Too Much for Purdue, Boilers' Nonconference Winning Streak Ends
Sometimes, you just tip your cap to the other team. That was the case in Milwaukee on Tuesday night, as No. 15 Marquette defeated No. 6 Purdue 76-58. It was the Boilermakers' first loss to a nonconference opponent in the regular season since falling to Miami (Fla.) on Dec. 8, 2020.
Kam Jones had a performance to remember, recording the third triple-double in Marquette's program history, finishing the night with 17 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists. Stevie Mitchell led the Golden Eagles with 21 points, Chase Ross added 12 and Ben Gold ended the night with 11.
It was really Marquette's effort on the defensive end that was the story, though.
Marquette shot the passing lanes, created havoc on the defensive end and made Purdue uncomfortable all night long. The Boilermakers ended the game with 15 turnovers, shooting 40% from the floor and made just six-of-18 shots from 3-point range — a recipe for disaster when trying to win a road game against a top-25 team.
Purdue's struggles began early. The Boilermakers missed each of their first four shots from 3-point range. Trey Kaufman-Renn didn't get his first shot attempt until the 5:17 mark of the first half, which came at the free throw line.
At the end of the half, Purdue was just three-of-11 from 3-point range, had turned the ball over nine times and Marquette's defense had collected seven steals. Even with that stat line, Purdue found itself trailing by only seven points, as the Golden Eagles owned a 35-28 lead at halftime.
Purdue had chances in the second half. It cut Marquette's lead down to 41-37 with a made 3-pointer from Braden Smith at the 16:50 mark. After a missed shot from Ross, Purdue got the ball to Caleb Furst under the basket for a chance to make it a one-possession game.
Mitchell blocked the shot and Ross knocked down a 3-pointer to put Marquette back up by seven points. It was one of the biggest momentum swings of the contest.
Just over four minutes later, Cam Heide hit a triple to cut the Marquette lead down to 51-46. But Purdue turned the ball over and CJ Cox missed a jump shot on the next two possessions. Mitchell then connected on four straight free throws to push the lead back up to nine points with 10:30 to play.
Purdue continued to hang around, but it's poor shooting, turnovers and inability to keep Marquette out of the paint — The Golden Eagles ended the night with 38 points in the paint — were too much to overcome. As a result, the program's regular season winning streak against nonconference foes ended at 39 games.
Kaufman-Renn ended the game as Purdue's top scorer, dropping 16 points to go along with 18 rebounds. Smith finished the night with 11 points and nine assists. Fletcher Loyer had 13, but made just four-of-11 shots from the floor.
Purdue drops to 4-1 on the season following the loss. The Boilermakers will return to action at Mackey Arena on Saturday, hosting Marshall at noon ET (Big Ten-Plus).
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