Matt Painter Discusses Biggest Keys as Purdue Prepares for Minnesota
Technically, the Big Ten season started in December, but No. 20 Purdue's quest for a third consecutive conference title resumes on Thursday night with a matchup against Minnesota. Although the Gophers have struggled early this season, Matt Painter knows the Boilermakers will have their hands full inside Williams Arena.
Much of Minnesota's success begins with veteran Dawson Garcia. The senior forward is averaging 19.1 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists per contest for the Golden Gophers.
"He causes a lot of problems. His ability to post, put the ball on the floor, make threes," Painter said. "Good players have a unique way of being able to acquire 20 points in a game. He can get more than that and dominate a game. You think you do a good job on him and he still gets 18 (points) and nine (rebounds).
"Whoever is on him just has to do a good job of keeping him off the glass. Not letting him have easy ones — not letting him have a post-up, not letting him have a wide-open three. He's going to score some points, there's no doubt about that, just make him earn it."
Painter also talked about defending Mike Mitchell Jr., a player who can knock down "step-back threes with guys on him." Limiting his number of open shots is also a focal point for the Boilermakers on Thursday night.
Mitchell is Minnesota's second-best scorer this season, averaging 13.3 points per game while shooting better than 48% from 3-point range.
Perhaps the most important aspect of Thursday night's matchup is Purdue's interior defense. The Boilermakers have struggled to keep teams out of the painted area this season, which is something they must do against the Gophers.
"You can't let them live in the paint," Painter said. "I think it's going to be important for us to contain the dribble and collectively keep the ball out of the paint and not allow second-chance opportunities."
Purdue had a rocky December, finishing with a 2-3 record for the month. The Boilermakers suffered losses to Penn State, No. 13 Texas A&M and No. 2 Auburn and earned wins over Maryland and Toledo.
Painter and his squad are hoping to start January off on the right foot.
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