Boilermakers Run Away From Chicago State
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — It took longer than Matt Painter would have liked, but once Purdue got rolling on Saturday, it had no trouble running away from Chicago State in a 93-49 victory.
The victory ended Purdue's little two-game losing streak and evened its record on the season at 2-2. The 44-point win was the largest margin of victory for Purdue in nearly two years. The Boilers now have won 24 games by 30 points or more since the start of the 2015-16 season, the second-highest total in the country. Gonzaga (44) is first.
Despite the easy win, Purdue struggled out of the gate and only led by 10 points at halftime against Chicago State, a team that ranks dead last — No. 353 out of 353 — in the kenpom.com national rankings. Chicago State actually led 28-25 with 4 minutes remaining in the half before Purdue reeled off 13 straight points.
"I thought they played better than we did in the first half," Painter told the media after the game. "We had some shots not go down, but we had some breakdowns on the defensive end and I just thought they played better (than Purdue)."
From there, though, Purdue started dominating the offensive glass. They had 23 offensive rebounds, and outrebounded the Cougars 48-22.
Isaiah Thompson was the team's leading scorer on Saturday, coming off the bench to score 17 points. He made five of his 10 3-point attempts. Purdue shot a lot of 3s, 36 in all, making 11. The 36 attempts tied a school record. Thompson tied a school record for most makes by a freshman in a game.
Three other Boilers were in double figures. Evan Boudreaux had 14, Jahaad Proctor had 13 and Aaron Wheeler had 10.
Painter still wants more out his Boilermakers.
"The thing you have to strive to do is to beat good teams when you don't shoot the ball well and we're not there yet," Painter said. "You are going to face good defensive teams and the ball's not going to go in, and you've still got to find a way to win. We're just not there right now. Hopefully, the offense will be better."
RELATED: Purdue Box Score
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Tom Brew is an award-winning journalist who's worked at some America's finest newspapers, including the Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and the Indianapolis Star. He also owns the book publishing company, Hilltop30 Publishing Group, and he has written four books and published 16 others.