'We Beat Ourselves': Mistakes Becoming Familiar Trend for Purdue Basketball

Purdue basketball turned the ball over 16 times in a 64-58 loss to Northwestern on the road Sunday, including five in the final minutes. At 12-3 in Big Ten play, the Boilermakers still control their own destiny for a regular-season conference title, but players who were around for last year's collapse know that it was never going to be easy.

D.J. Fezler | Feb 13, 2023

In this story:

Purdue Boilermakers

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The Purdue men's basketball team, especially those who were around a season ago, knew that winning the Big Ten was never going to be easy.

Last year's team stumbled down the stretch by losing two of its final three games to finish at 14-6 in conference play, allowing Wisconsin and Illinois to share the regular-season title at 15-5.

Disappointing, to put it lightly.

"You start losing games and that's going to affect you, and that's where we were last year," Purdue head coach Matt Painter said after an 80-60 drubbing against Penn State on Feb. 1. "We were 14-6, which is a good record. Winning 70 percent of your conference games in this league is still good, but we should have been better. We let things slip away and that's my fault, and that's our guys' fault."

After a strong start to the 2022-23 campaign, that same trend is starting to rear its ugly head. The Boilermakers, who were once 22-1 after routing the Nittany Lions at Mackey Arena just two weeks ago, have since lost two of their last three games.

With a national player of the year frontrunner in star center Zach Edey and a pair of freshman guards playing well beyond their years, not to mention a selfless supporting cast executing their roles at a high level, Purdue seemed indomitable at times this season.

The team held off Marquette at home during the Gavitt Games, serving as a prelude to a trio of statement victories in the Phil Knight Legacy Tournament, where the Boilermakers handily defeated West Virginia, Gonzaga and Duke.

Fast forward to the middle of February, and what was once a four-game lead over the rest of the Big Ten is now just two with a handful of games left to play.

Purdue has twice watched on as opposing student sections flooded the court in celebration of its downfall. Most recently, in a 64-58 loss on the road against Northwestern on Sunday at Welsh-Ryan Arena, players couldn't shake the feeling that they were standing in their own way.

"It's just another game. I mean, we lost, but I felt like Purdue beat Purdue right there," freshman point guard Braden Smith said. "I didn't think they beat us. We beat ourselves."

The Boilermakers finished the matchup with 16 turnovers, including five in the final 3:12 as the Wildcats went on a 12-1 run to take the lead and seal the game. They combined for another 33 turnovers in the two games prior.

Against rival Indiana inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, the mistakes were too much to overcome and resulted in a narrow 79-74 loss. At home against Iowa, Purdue was fortunate to lead by as many as 21 points to stave off a second-half comeback attempt, coming away with an 87-73 win.

"We have yet to put two halves together these past few games," junior guard Brandon Newman said. "We were on the good side of it this last game, but it can go either way."

The common factor in the last three games was Purdue's ability, or lack thereof, to handle the pressure and physicality of its opponent's defense. That blueprint was laid out by Rutgers early in the Big Ten schedule when the Scarlet Knights escaped West Lafayette with a one-point victory.

But the Boilermakers know better than to bog themselves down by the weight of their recent mistakes. They're at the top of the conference and still control their own destiny heading into the final three weeks of the regular season.

"We still have bigger goals," Edey said. "We have to go and win more games going forward. We can take this loss and learn from it. We'll adjust and be a better team moving forward."

Losses were going to come one way or another, given the parity of the Big Ten Conference all year long. Purdue has come out on the winning end in plenty of close games, claiming six victories in games decided by five points or less.

If just 12 more points go in favor of the Boilermakers, three losses could very well be zero. But the same can be said for the narrow wins they've enjoyed, too. Either way, this team is far from perfect, and there's plenty still to learn from as postseason play quickly approaches.

"You're just as good as your next game," Newman said. "Take things a day at a time, don't be too high or too low. The season is long, there are a lot of ups and downs, so just stay the course."

The next chance for Purdue to show its growth will come during a tough road matchup against Maryland on Thursday. The Boilermakers won the first meeting between the two teams by a slim 58-55 margin on Jan. 22, but the Terrapins boast a 13-1 record when defending its home court.

The team's loss to Northwestern may be a catalyst for a revitalized group over the final stretch of the year. Purdue will look to close its remaining games with a strong push heading into the Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments.

"Any experience that you've had — good, bad, or indifferent — can make you tougher. Especially mentally tougher," Painter said. "We were in a position to control this game and keep at two to three possessions, and we let that go. But you can also say they took it from us, it's your perspective.

"You get everybody's best shot. We told them, you put yourself in those situations, now things can go either way even though they went our way, for the most part, this year. We allowed it to get into that situation, and we had to play better."

-----

Related Stories on Purdue Basketball