Matt Painter Talks Defensive Letdown from Purdue's Exhibition Game vs. Creighton

Creighton scored 93 points and shot 60% from the floor in the charity exhibition game against Purdue. Matt Painter was disappointed with his team's defense.

Purdue Boilermakers head coach Matt Painter reacts / Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

If Purdue wants to win a third straight Big Ten regular season championship, the defense is going to have to get better than what it was Saturday night in Omaha. That was one of the biggest takeaways for coach Matt Painter from the charity exhibition game against Creighton.

Purdue dropped a 93-87 contest to the Bluejays on Saturday. It was a game in which Creighton shot 60% from the floor and knocked down 13-of-28 shots from 3-point range.

Yes, the Boilermakers played 12 different guys in the game, but Painter doesn't think a shortened rotation would've helped that much in Saturday's game.

"Our defense was below average at the best," Painter said during his weekly radio show. "We played 12 guys in the first half, we played 11 in the second. But that's not here nor there — we could have played eight and our defense wouldn't have been that good. So, we have to get to work there. We've got to do a better job of simply doing our job and then competing through those rules. Once we start to do that, I think we'll start to see some progress."

Purdue is welcoming in five new freshmen. A handful of players from last year's team are expected to see more playing time. There are going to be a few lapses here and there.

But surrendering 93 points — even to an elite offensive team like Creighton — isn't a great recipe for success. Painter knows that.

The Boilermakers have one more exhibition game, hosting Grand Valley State on Wednesday, Oct. 30 before regular season action starts. We'll see if the defense looks any better than it did against Creighton.

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