Purdue Big Men Caleb Furst, Raleigh Burgess Making Most of Opportunity vs. Alabama
Seventeen minutes. Those were the combined minutes Purdue big men Caleb Furst and Raleigh Burgess were on the floor in No. 13 Purdue's 87-78 win over No. 2 Alabama on Friday night. It may not be much playing time, but the impact the two made was immeasurable.
Purdue found itself in a major pinch in the first half. Starting center Will Berg picked up two fouls within the first five minutes, bringing Furst into the contest. Just 21 seconds after checking in, the senior forward got a big bucket at the rim while drawing a foul on Alabama's Aiden Sherrell, giving the Boilermakers an early 7-4 advantage.
Then, at the 8:49 mark in the first half, Trey Kaufman-Renn picked up his second foul of the contest. Matt Painter called on Burgess to provide the Boilermakers with quality minutes.
Burgess knocked down a wide-open 3-pointer off a pass from Fletcher Loyer, giving the Boilermakers a 26-21 lead at the 7:46 mark. A minute later, the freshman tipped in a missed shot from Loyer.
At the end of the first half, Burgess and Furst combined for nine points and helped Purdue to a 42-40 advantage over Alabama at the break. The two came off the bench and provided a lift offensively, but they also made a big impact on the defensive end.
"Both of them are versatile, especially Caleb from a defensive standpoint," Painter said. "To be able to bring those guys off the bench — they bring us athleticism, versatility when we switch and do some different things. That really helps us."
Most of the contributions from the two Purdue bench players came in the first half. Burgess didn't get back into the game and Furst saw limited time in the second half — although he did knock down two important free throws with two minutes left.
The lack of time on the court shouldn't negate the impact Furst and Burgess had on the game.
"For Caleb to make those free throws at the end, and he plays 13-and-a-half minutes — that's very hard to do. That's huge," Painter said. "Raleigh scores two baskets when he gets in and one of them is a three. That was huge for us."
Talk with Painter enough and you're likely to hear him say, "It's hard to be consistent with inconsistent minutes." But because of Purdue's talent and depth, sometimes it's difficult to get players on the floor.
Yet Furst and Burgess were ready when their numbers were called. By the end of the night, Furst had six points, two rebounds and took a charge. Burgess totaled five points and an offensive board.
On Friday night, Trey Kaufman-Renn, Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer and CJ Cox got a lot of credit — deservedly so. In the biggest game of the season so far, all four delivered on a big-time stage.
But the impact that Furst and Burgess made in such limited time on the court shouldn't be forgotten. They may not have filled up the stat sheet, but both played a critical role in Purdue knocking off Alabama.
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