Purdue's Matt Painter Explains Why He Picked Up First Technical in Nearly 10 Years
You don't often see Matt Painter lose his cool. But on Thursday night, the Purdue coach picked up his first technical foul in nearly a decade, getting hit with the whistle during a timeout early in the second half against Penn State.
Trailing 50-32, Painter was assessed a technical foul at the 15:48 mark of the second half — the first media timeout. He seemed upset that there were a few missed foul calls on Penn State, particularly when Purdue forward Trey Kaufman-Renn had the basketball.
As it turns out, though, Painter might have actually just been trying to light a fire under his team.
"It's interesting how you get technicals when your team plays like shit. That's the gist," Painter said. "The story of the game is Penn State took it to us. When you get in that thing and you don't think you have enough fight, I'm going to fight for some calls and try to get our guys going."
Even in games when officiating is a big issue, Painter doesn't get hit with technical fouls. It only makes sense that he was trying to do something to get his team rolling rather than just simply sounding off on an official.
Painter's last technical foul prior to Thursday night came in 2015.
His effort didn't help much, as Purdue's struggles continued and the Boilermakers dropped an 81-70 decision to the Nittany Lions. Purdue fell to 7-2 on the year and Penn State improved to 8-1.
Purdue will get a chance to grab its first Big Ten win this weekend, hosting Maryland at Mackey Arena on Sunday (noon ET, Big Ten Network).
Related stories on Purdue basketball
BOILER BANTER: Purdue had a dreadful outing against Penn State on Thursday, but it's been in a similar spot before. Why this team might remind you of the 2018-19 Boilermakers. CLICK HERE
PURDUE FRUSTRATED WITH LACK OF FIGHT: No. 8 Purdue looked outmatched in Thursday's 81-70 loss to Penn State. After the game, junior guard Fletcher Loyer referred to the team's fight as "a joke." CLICK HERE
WHAT PAINTER SAID: Everything Purdue coach Matt Painter had to say following the Boilermakers' 81-70 loss to Penn State in Thursday's Big Ten opener. CLICK HERE
PURDUE MISTAKES COSTLY VS PENN STATE: Purdue had 24 turnovers, struggled from behind the 3-point line and couldn't convert at the free throw line, resulting in an 81-70 loss to Penn State. CLICK HERE