Purdue's Veterans Not Dwelling on Loss to Marquette, Focused on Improvement
Nobody on Purdue's current roster had an experience like the one Tuesday night. For the first time in their careers, the Boilermakers lost a nonconference game in the regular season. Though the outcome was disappointing, the team's veteran leaders were unfazed by the result.
Purdue didn't play well in Milwaukee on Tuesday evening, resulting in a 76-58 loss to No. 15 Marquette. The Boilers ended the game with 15 turnovers, shot just 40% from the floor and made just six-of-18 shots from 3-point range.
It's tough to win road games with those statistics.
Veterans like Trey Kaufman-Renn, Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith could've been angry or agitated over the performance on Tuesday night. Rather than dwelling on the loss, Purdue is looking for ways to grow moving forward.
"They're one of the top teams in the country," Kaufman-Renn said. "We expect to win every game, that's the culture we've built here. But we respect every team we play. Whoever is doing the rankings respects them, as well. They're a really good team and we'll take a lot away from this game."
Make no mistake, Purdue's veterans were disappointed in the performance. All three would have loved to keep that nonconference winning streak alive, especially against a quality Marquette squad.
Sometimes, in college basketball, you have an off night.
"I think everybody handled (the loss) well. It's a basketball game. We played in a great environment against a great team," Smith said. "We didn't play our best and that's what happens. We move on and keep working ... it's basketball, you're not going to win them all."
Kaufman-Renn, Loyer and Smith have all been in this position before. Well, not this particular spot, but they've lost games in a Purdue uniform before. Their focus? Get back on the court, correct the mistakes and prepare for Saturday's home game against Marshall.
But will the younger guys — Gicarri Harris, CJ Cox and Raleigh Burgess — be able to shake off Tuesday night's experience quickly and regain their confidence? That's where Loyer believes the veterans have to show their leadership skills.
"Time will tell. Me, Braden, Trey, Cam (Heide), Myles (Colvin) — we are wiring all those guys to be that way. It's what you've got to do. You've got to have confidence that you're a top-10 team in the country," Loyer said. "It's tough to win on the road. It's tough to beat good teams on the road. When you don't show up and play well every night, you're going to get beat. That's what happens. You can point fingers, but we just didn't play very good."
As much as coach Matt Painter talks about staying detail-oriented and process-based, Loyer acknowledged that Purdue might have taken its nonconference streak for granted.
No, the Boilermakers didn't stroll into Tuesday night's game expecting to pull out a win without breaking a sweat. But life was a little different without the veteran leadership of Zach Edey in the post, Lance Jones utilizing his quickness and Mason Gillis out-hustling everyone on the court.
Tuesday was a learning moment for Purdue. Now, the Boilers are striving to improve so that when Big Ten play arrives, they'll be properly prepared to defend their title.
"Winning on the road is not easy," Loyer said. "It's something we took for granted because we've been so good at it the last two years. I mean, people on Twitter probably think we're not very good now. People lose games.
"Now, we just got to get better and not let that happen come conference time."
Related stories on Purdue basketball
SMART PRAISES PURDUE'S PROGRAM: Marquette coach Shaka Smart gave a lot of credit to Purdue, saying it's one of the best programs in college basketball right now, behind only UConn. CLICK HERE
WHAT MATT PAINTER SAID: Purdue lost a nonconference regular season game for the first time since 2020 on Tuesday night, falling 76-58 to Marquette. Here's what coach Matt Painter said after the loss. CLICK HERE
PURDUE-MARQUETTE GAME STORY: No. 6 Purdue struggled against an active No. 15 Marquette defense, ending the game with 15 turnovers and shooting just 40% from the floor in a 76-58 loss. CLICK HERE
