In our defense, there is none

[Born Boiler]

Ohio State entered our game in 13th place in the Big Fourteen. Ohio State is still in 13th place. There’s no chalking this one up to supreme effort by the Buckeyes. Purdue was too generous, again.

Purdue is dead last in the league in forcing turnovers. Big Ten opponents give us only 7.9 per game. Ohio State had only six. Only one in the second half. Pressure? None at all.

Purdue is 13th in the league in turnover margin. Ohio State took away 14, more than Purdue’s eighth-place average of 11.5 giveaways. All those hacks and bitch slaps paid off.

Purdue is 13th place in steals, 10th place in three-point percentage defense, eighth place in blocks, sixth place in field-goal percentage defense and sixth place in scoring defense. Subpar at best.

Getting stops just doesn’t happen enough when things matter most. Turnovers don’t come from defenders standing by on a wing and a prayer. Channeling the ball inside, toward floaters and layups, only works in practice, since Boilermakers miss more bunnies than Elmer Fudd.

Time to get aggressive and let the players who never score use their fouls. Hack people back. Everyone knows, they can’t call ’em all. If they do, our free-throw defense is third in the league.

 

[Boiler Buck]

Agree with some of the above. Clever title btw.

But D is not mainly why we lost yesterday. Sure it was a contributing factor, but not the primary one.

This team is at its best scoring 80+. The way they play anytime they score under 40 pt halves, it opens the door a crack to get beat. Doing that in both halves like yesterday, leaves the door wide open.

 

[seminolesboilers]

Those are revealing defensive numbers…and not the mark of a marque team . I wish Zach was more of a rim protector…

For the season who has the most steals on Purdue…and who has committed the most turnovers??

 

[New Pal Boiler]

Ohio State entered our game in 13th place in the Big Fourteen. Ohio State is still in 13th place. There’s no chalking this one up to supreme effort by the Buckeyes. Purdue was too generous, again.

Purdue is dead last in the league in forcing turnovers. Big Ten opponents give us only 7.9 per game. Ohio State had only six. Only one in the second half. Pressure? None at all.

Purdue is 13th in the league in turnover margin. Ohio State took away 14, more than Purdue’s eighth-place average of 11.5 giveaways. All those hacks and bitch slaps paid off.

Purdue is 13th place in steals, 10th place in three-point percentage defense, eighth place in blocks, sixth place in field-goal percentage defense and sixth place in scoring defense. Subpar at best.

Getting stops just doesn’t happen enough when things matter most. Turnovers don’t come from defenders standing by on a wing and a prayer. Channeling the ball inside, toward floaters and layups, only works in practice, since Boilermakers miss more bunnies than Elmer Fudd.

Time to get aggressive and let the players who never score use their fouls. Hack people back. Everyone knows, they can’t call ’em all. If they do, our free-throw defense is third in the league.

Aggressive/risk taking defense is not, and has not been a priority for about a decade. Analytics says the TOs aren’t worth all the bonus and double bonus free throws, plus the easy buckets when they beat your pressure.

Not saying that’s right or wrong, but that’s the reasoning. 🤷‍♂️

 

[LedZep17]

Aggressive/risk taking defense is not, and has not been a priority for about a decade. Analytics says the TOs aren’t worth all the bonus and double bonus free throws, plus the easy buckets when they beat your pressure.

Not saying that’s right or wrong, but that’s the reasoning. 🤷‍♂️

And to that point Purdue normally also has the offensive weapons and efficiency to really not have to risk/reward a super aggressive defense and press. Still, it'd be nice to be able to do it more when our offense is struggling like yesterday and begin it sooner than just with a min or 2 to go in the game.

 

[New Pal Boiler]

And to that point Purdue normally also has the offensive weapons and efficiency to really not have to risk/reward a super aggressive defense and press. Still, it'd be nice to be able to do it more when our offense is struggling like yesterday and begin it sooner than just with a min or 2 to go in the game.

Wisconsin used to play an aggressive grabby defense, and they also stopped for what I'm guessing is the same reason.

 

[Boiler Addict]

Ohio State entered our game in 13th place in the Big Fourteen. Ohio State is still in 13th place. There’s no chalking this one up to supreme effort by the Buckeyes. Purdue was too generous, again.

Purdue is dead last in the league in forcing turnovers. Big Ten opponents give us only 7.9 per game. Ohio State had only six. Only one in the second half. Pressure? None at all.

Purdue is 13th in the league in turnover margin. Ohio State took away 14, more than Purdue’s eighth-place average of 11.5 giveaways. All those hacks and bitch slaps paid off.

Purdue is 13th place in steals, 10th place in three-point percentage defense, eighth place in blocks, sixth place in field-goal percentage defense and sixth place in scoring defense. Subpar at best.

Getting stops just doesn’t happen enough when things matter most. Turnovers don’t come from defenders standing by on a wing and a prayer. Channeling the ball inside, toward floaters and layups, only works in practice, since Boilermakers miss more bunnies than Elmer Fudd.

Time to get aggressive and let the players who never score use their fouls. Hack people back. Everyone knows, they can’t call ’em all. If they do, our free-throw defense is third in the league.

I found this weird write up and quotes from the interim OSU coach interesting.

Ohio State was led by its sophomore captain as Thornton finished with 22 points on 8-of-17 shooting. He drew six fouls and had three assists and two turnovers, and when Purdue opened with an 8-0 run it was Thornton who scored Ohio State’s first eight points to start clawing back into the game.

He also had to adjust to how the Boilermakers were guarding him early.

“Some of that was we had to help him and switch who was screening for him to loosen up the defense a little bit,” he said. “They anticipated us setting a lot of ball screens with our 5, which we did the first couple possessions. Whoever Edey was guarding, we had him go set a ball screen when we wanted to run a ball screen action. Bruce has also gotten so good reading adjustments and coverages teams make throughout a game. Then we started slipping some to create driving lanes or create some confusion.”

Bonus quote:

With Diebler in charge, Ohio State planned to push the tempo more frequently against Purdue.

“Some of that was the aggressive nature defensively that forced turnovers,” he said. “Some of it was intentional. Even on rebounds, we wanted to strike quick if we could. We pushed it, we ran hard and there were times we didn’t have an advantage and we didn’t just settle. Us getting out and trying to strike quickly, we did that more. We were intentional about that more than we’ve been and that was important this game.”


Zach Edey quote:
Purdue center Zach Edey was the primary focus of Ohio State’s scouting report. Although he finished with 22 points and 13 rebounds, the Buckeyes felt like their efforts to make life difficult for the 7-4, 300-pound big man were largely successful.

“It’s hard to look at a stat sheet and see a guy had 22 and 13 and think, man, we did a pretty good job on him,” Diebler said. “He’s a cheat code. He’s so special. He’s gotten better from last year to this year. We felt like going into this game our fight and physicality had to be at an all-time high and reduce the number of catches he got.”

 

[titaniumbolt]

I found this weird write up and quotes from the interim OSU coach interesting.

Ohio State was led by its sophomore captain as Thornton finished with 22 points on 8-of-17 shooting. He drew six fouls and had three assists and two turnovers, and when Purdue opened with an 8-0 run it was Thornton who scored Ohio State’s first eight points to start clawing back into the game.

He also had to adjust to how the Boilermakers were guarding him early.

“Some of that was we had to help him and switch who was screening for him to loosen up the defense a little bit,” he said. “They anticipated us setting a lot of ball screens with our 5, which we did the first couple possessions. Whoever Edey was guarding, we had him go set a ball screen when we wanted to run a ball screen action. Bruce has also gotten so good reading adjustments and coverages teams make throughout a game. Then we started slipping some to create driving lanes or create some confusion.”

Great post. Thornton was masterful in the high screen game. Really exposed the defensive liability that Zach is near the elbows.

 

[msfboiler3]

Those are revealing defensive numbers…and not the mark of a marque team . I wish Zach was more of a rim protector…

For the season who has the most steals on Purdue…and who has committed the most turnovers??

We are not athletic enough. Same problem for the last 40 years

 

[tjreese]

I found this weird write up and quotes from the interim OSU coach interesting.

Ohio State was led by its sophomore captain as Thornton finished with 22 points on 8-of-17 shooting. He drew six fouls and had three assists and two turnovers, and when Purdue opened with an 8-0 run it was Thornton who scored Ohio State’s first eight points to start clawing back into the game.

He also had to adjust to how the Boilermakers were guarding him early.

“Some of that was we had to help him and switch who was screening for him to loosen up the defense a little bit,” he said. “They anticipated us setting a lot of ball screens with our 5, which we did the first couple possessions. Whoever Edey was guarding, we had him go set a ball screen when we wanted to run a ball screen action. Bruce has also gotten so good reading adjustments and coverages teams make throughout a game. Then we started slipping some to create driving lanes or create some confusion.”

Bonus quote:

With Diebler in charge, Ohio State planned to push the tempo more frequently against Purdue.

“Some of that was the aggressive nature defensively that forced turnovers,” he said. “Some of it was intentional. Even on rebounds, we wanted to strike quick if we could. We pushed it, we ran hard and there were times we didn’t have an advantage and we didn’t just settle. Us getting out and trying to strike quickly, we did that more. We were intentional about that more than we’ve been and that was important this game.”


Zach Edey quote:
Purdue center Zach Edey was the primary focus of Ohio State’s scouting report. Although he finished with 22 points and 13 rebounds, the Buckeyes felt like their efforts to make life difficult for the 7-4, 300-pound big man were largely successful.

“It’s hard to look at a stat sheet and see a guy had 22 and 13 and think, man, we did a pretty good job on him,” Diebler said. “He’s a cheat code. He’s so special. He’s gotten better from last year to this year. We felt like going into this game our fight and physicality had to be at an all-time high and reduce the number of catches he got.”

There were some times that it REALLY got physical, but not all game and mostly by Key. Simpson at Michigan would seek out that switch a few years ago and was very good at it with Haas. If you are more willing to switch than go under "if" you can't get on top then that is always a possibility. Some would suggest a matchup zone might help under that scenario. However, in parts of the game first half maybe??? Zach wasn't guarding anyone but just laying in the lane and then when Trey was doubling Thorton with Lance on top the other three just retreated into the lane where they could still close out if needed. Purdue got hurt with Zach's dunk that bounced off and led to 3 pts for Ohio State as I think the out of bounds called timeout (DJ watched him slide out of bounds and never called a thing until he was already out of bounds and turned over. The announcers even caught that. Still, Purdue was NOT sharp and slow to the ball along with some poor judgement. Nothing happened in the game that Purdue cannot clean up. Purdue must take more pride in the little things and better decisions so the little things don't grow to big problems

 

[qazplm]

Agree with some of the above. Clever title btw.

But D is not mainly why we lost yesterday. Sure it was a contributing factor, but not the primary one.

This team is at its best scoring 80+. The way they play anytime they score under 40 pt halves, it opens the door a crack to get beat. Doing that in both halves like yesterday, leaves the door wide open.

I mean steals and strips lead to points sometimes.

 

[typeviic]

Ohio State entered our game in 13th place in the Big Fourteen. Ohio State is still in 13th place. There’s no chalking this one up to supreme effort by the Buckeyes. Purdue was too generous, again.

Purdue is dead last in the league in forcing turnovers. Big Ten opponents give us only 7.9 per game. Ohio State had only six. Only one in the second half. Pressure? None at all.

Purdue is 13th in the league in turnover margin. Ohio State took away 14, more than Purdue’s eighth-place average of 11.5 giveaways. All those hacks and bitch slaps paid off.

Purdue is 13th place in steals, 10th place in three-point percentage defense, eighth place in blocks, sixth place in field-goal percentage defense and sixth place in scoring defense. Subpar at best.

Getting stops just doesn’t happen enough when things matter most. Turnovers don’t come from defenders standing by on a wing and a prayer. Channeling the ball inside, toward floaters and layups, only works in practice, since Boilermakers miss more bunnies than Elmer Fudd.

Time to get aggressive and let the players who never score use their fouls. Hack people back. Everyone knows, they can’t call ’em all. If they do, our free-throw defense is third in the league.

"Purdue is dead last in the league in forcing turnovers"
Increased athleticism helps create turnovers. For some reason, Purdue consistently struggles recruiting athletes.

 

[BoilerDaddy]

Ohio State entered our game in 13th place in the Big Fourteen. Ohio State is still in 13th place. There’s no chalking this one up to supreme effort by the Buckeyes. Purdue was too generous, again.

Purdue is dead last in the league in forcing turnovers. Big Ten opponents give us only 7.9 per game. Ohio State had only six. Only one in the second half. Pressure? None at all.

Purdue is 13th in the league in turnover margin. Ohio State took away 14, more than Purdue’s eighth-place average of 11.5 giveaways. All those hacks and bitch slaps paid off.

Purdue is 13th place in steals, 10th place in three-point percentage defense, eighth place in blocks, sixth place in field-goal percentage defense and sixth place in scoring defense. Subpar at best.

Getting stops just doesn’t happen enough when things matter most. Turnovers don’t come from defenders standing by on a wing and a prayer. Channeling the ball inside, toward floaters and layups, only works in practice, since Boilermakers miss more bunnies than Elmer Fudd.

Time to get aggressive and let the players who never score use their fouls. Hack people back. Everyone knows, they can’t call ’em all. If they do, our free-throw defense is third in the league.

Purdue’s defense is not designed to force turnovers, but overall it is third in efficiency in Big Ten games according to Torvik. The main factors that help Purdue are free throw rate against and defensive rebounding percentage against where Purdue is first and second, respectively. Effective field goal percentage against is fifth (fourth adjusted), but has been up and down. By staying sound, keeping opponents off the line, and limiting them to one shot, for the most part, Purdue has played good enough defense to be 12-3 at this point.

On the other hand, teams with great guards, such as Buie and Thornton, have at times shown an ability to exploit Purdue’s perimeter defense. I suspect that this will remain problematic because of the way that the team is constructed. However, if Purdue can stay strong and force tough shots, Purdue can normally exploit its own advantages on the offensive end and still win. This is a 23-3 team, after all, despite the loss at OSU.

I know that some here will immediately respond to my lack of despair and point to the NCAA tournament to which I say, Purdue will have weaknesses that teams will try to exploit and the Tournament might be a disappointment. Purdue is not a perfect team and the Final Four is not a guarantee. But, this is a team that has a legitimate chance to win the whole thing as well and I am not going to paint everything that happens to this team in the mean time with a doom and gloom perspective because of March worries. When that time comes, Purdue is just going to need to make plays.

 

[oldboiler52]

Two of the six 2024 recruits are athletic defenders. Cox and Harris are elite defenders and may become the two best in the B1G over the next 4 years. Raleigh Burgess is also a great shot blocker a different type of defender but an elite defender none the less. Harris, Cox, and Catchings are the elite athletes we are missing. I expected Purdue to struggle at OSU there is no doubt we need to be more than Zach and Braden. But getting up for the 13th place team proves just how much of this game is mental. No worries from me.

 

[Boiler Buck]

Two of the six 2024 recruits are athletic defenders. Cox and Harris are elite defenders and may become the two best in the B1G over the next 4 years. Raleigh Burgess is also a great shot blocker a different type of defender but an elite defender none the less. Harris, Cox, and Catchings are the elite athletes we are missing. I expected Purdue to struggle at OSU there is no doubt we need to be more than Zach and Braden. But getting up for the 13th place team proves just how much of this game is mental. No worries from me.

Man do you get me excited for these new guards! Sounds like they will fit right in, and start or not, get plenty of minutes next year.

 

[Gman544]

Purdue’s defense is not designed to force turnovers, but overall it is third in efficiency in Big Ten games according to Torvik. The main factors that help Purdue are free throw rate against and defensive rebounding percentage against where Purdue is first and second, respectively. Effective field goal percentage against is fifth (fourth adjusted), but has been up and down. By staying sound, keeping opponents off the line, and limiting them to one shot, for the most part, Purdue has played good enough defense to be 12-3 at this point.

On the other hand, teams with great guards, such as Buie and Thornton, have at times shown an ability to exploit Purdue’s perimeter defense. I suspect that this will remain problematic because of the way that the team is constructed. However, if Purdue can stay strong and force tough shots, Purdue can normally exploit its own advantages on the offensive end and still win. This is a 23-3 team, after all, despite the loss at OSU.

I know that some here will immediately respond to my lack of despair and point to the NCAA tournament to which I say, Purdue will have weaknesses that teams will try to exploit and the Tournament might be a disappointment. Purdue is not a perfect team and the Final Four is not a guarantee. But, this is a team that has a legitimate chance to win the whole thing as well and I am not going to paint everything that happens to this team in the mean time with a doom and gloom perspective because of March worries. When that time comes, Purdue is just going to need to make plays.

One overlooked weakness is that Purdue is small at the 1, 2 and 3. Not to bad for Smith but Jones ends up playing guys who are scorers and are two, or three inches bigger. Same for Loyer and also he lacks the strength and athleticism you see at the three. UConns top three guards are six-four, six-five and six-six.

 

[oldboiler52]

Man do you get me excited for these new guards! Sounds like they will fit right in, and start or not, get plenty of minutes next year.

Cox and Harris are both Physical specimens who play physical. Both are always in attack mode. In Cox you get blazing speed few can match with Harris he is just the toughest guy on the court regardless of the position. All three are game changers whom where never recruited to play slow. Harris reminds of Ray Davis with a much better offensive game. Cox's game is similar to Braden Smith's. I am down on Kanon for the moment.

 

[New Pal Boiler]

One overlooked weakness is that Purdue is small at the 1, 2 and 3. Not to bad for Smith but Jones ends up playing guys who are scorers and are two, or three inches bigger. Same for Loyer and also he lacks the strength and athleticism you see at the three. UConns top three guards are six-four, six-five and six-six.

When we play teams with 3 guards who are all good scorers, that’s where things get tricky. Nowhere to hide Fletch.

 

[tjreese]

Cox and Harris are both Physical specimens who play physical. Both are always in attack mode. In Cox you get blazing speed few can match with Harris he is just the toughest guy on the court regardless of the position. All three are game changers whom where never recruited to play slow. Harris reminds of Ray Davis with a much better offensive game. Cox's game is similar to Braden Smith's. I am down on Kanon for the moment.

Hope his head (Kanon) is right at PUrdue if that is an issue now