Mistakes Prove Costly as Purdue Suffers Loss to Penn State in Big Ten Opener
One moment essentially summed up No. 8 Purdue's performance in its Big Ten opener against Penn State on Thursday night. During a timeout at the 15:48 mark of the second half, coach Matt Painter was assessed a technical foul — his first in nearly a decade.
That was, in a way, a microcosm of Purdue's night in State College. The Boilermakers could do nothing right, ultimately resulting in a 81-70 loss to the Nittany Lions.
Purdue appeared ready to play after the opening tip. Trey Kaufman-Renn had two early trips to the free throw line and Fletcher Loyer knocked down a 3-pointer, giving the Boilermakers an early 5-0 advantage. That was essentially the end of the positives, though.
The rest of the night, Purdue fell victim to Penn State's aggressive defense and a slew of self-inflicted wounds. It started at the 13:59 mark of the first half, when the Boilermakers and Lions were tied at 9-9.
Purdue did not score another point until the 8:51 mark, going more than five minutes without a bucket. In that time, Penn State only built a nine-point lead (18-9), but it set the tone for the remainder of the game.
The Boilermakers ended the game with 24 turnovers, by far the worst performance of the season. They knocked down just eight-of-21 shots from the 3-point line and left a number of opportunities at the charity stripe.
Penn State, meanwhile, converted on 28-of-32 free throw attempts and capitalized off of Purdue's turnovers, scoring a whopping 32 points. Those two statistics were the biggest factors in the game.
That technical foul Painter picked up early in the second half? Kaufman-Renn hadn't gotten a favorable whistle for most of the game, and it appeared his head coach was showing his support. But it might've also been an attempt to spark his basketball team, which looked lifeless at times inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
Penn State got contributions from a number of guys. Ace Baldwin Jr. led the way with 17 points and six assists. Freddie Dilione added 14 points, Puff Johnson scored 13 and Zach Hick gave the Nittany Lions 11. Nick Kern came off the bench to give his team 12 points and eight rebounds.
It was a rough night for the Boilers, who got 15 points from Kaufman-Renn and Loyer. Freshman guard CJ Cox gave Purdue 12 points off the bench, but nobody else scored more than six points in the game.
Through the first nine games, Purdue has shown to struggle against teams that play a more aggressive brand of defense. The Boilermakers had 16 turnovers in a season-opening win against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Against Marquette, Purdue had 15 turnovers and suffered their first loss of the year.
Turnovers continue to be a concern for this team. Life doesn't get much easier, either. It's something the Boilermakers must figure out before upcoming matchups with Maryland, No. 22 Texas A&M and No. 2 Auburn in the next two weeks.
Related stories on Purdue basketball
PAINTER PICKS UP TECHNICAL FOUL: Purdue coach Matt Painter picked up a technical foul in the second half of Thursday night's game against Penn State. CLICK HERE
BALDWIN CIRCLED MATCHUP VS. PURDUE: At Big Ten Media Days, Penn State guard Ace Baldwin Jr. said he was looking forward most to the matchup against Purdue and Preseason Player of the Year Braden Smith. CLICK HERE
