A closer look back at Purdue’s 104-68 — still not a typo — win Wednesday night over No. 17 Iowa.
Note: This is just the first half, due to time constraints
ATTACKING LUKA GARZA
I think it was a really important part of this game that Purdue didn’t stop Luka Garza, but Luka Garza didn’t stop Purdue either, because the Boilermakers went after him — or his area — offensively with great success.
Purdue did a great job all night throwing the ball behind Garza, taking advantage of his relative lack of length and athleticism, and actually beat him at his own game to cap the 17-0 run, when Williams ran the floor, got behind him, then made an unbelievable catch of Nojel Eastern’s particularly ambitious pass ahead. That was Williams doing to Garza what Garza does to everyone, hustling for a quick shot at the rim.
At 13:20 or so, Matt Haarms is posting and Garza is fronting him. Haarms does a really nice job jockeying Garza up the lane to create space between himself and the rim, making for an easy passing pocket for Aaron Wheeler to throw into for a routine bucket. There’s no help behind Haarms.
I have no idea what Purdue calls its plays or actions, but Iowa really struggled with a set Purdue ran where it would set up Wheeler and Haarms for a continuous screen up top, then have the guard use Wheeler’s as Haarms slipped to the basket. When the guard swung it back to Wheeler, the over-the-top entry was open to Haarms.
First off, Iowa zoned quite a bit and Purdue has always been one to believe in getting the ball inside vs. zone as opposed to simply shooting over it. It paid off right away, as Trevion Williams got the Boilermakers an inside-out three, made by Sasha Stefanovic, on their very first possession.
And then, this: Evan Boudreaux didn’t just play well for Purdue. He gave Purdue an honest-to-goodness advantage with his ability to play on the perimeter.
With 2:19 in the first, it’s simple pick-and-pop for Boudreaux. Garza can’t get out to him in time and Purdue’s senior knocks down the three. Then, Boudreaux takes a charge on Garza at the other end.
Next time down, Boudreaux again goes pick-and-pop, and Luka’s feet swim with the fishes, because he looks like he’s wearing cement blocks for shoes. Boudreaux shot-fakes and blows right past Garza for a nifty layup. Great example of Purdue using Iowa’s strength against it there.
Lastly, Boudreaux outruns Garza rim to rim for a layup at the other end off Iowa’s miss, made possible by no one from Iowa stopping the ball in transition, because Fredrick didn’t screen a basic screen and stood there while Stefanovic dribbled right past everyone, drew Garza and dumped to Boudreaux for another basket.
COME ON, IOWA
Purdue was good on offense in this game, obviously. Maybe 80 points good. But 104? Iowa had a lot to do with this.
A minute-and-a-half into the game, off an Iowa turnover, Eric Hunter gives off to Sasha Stefanovic — not exactly Allen Iverson — and Connor McCaffery has plenty of time, it seems, to cut off Stefanovic’s path to the basket. He does not, going full matador instead. Then, after Luka Garza comes over to stop Stefanovic, Stefanovic bounces a pass to a wide-open Williams, and McCaffery has the best seat in the house, making no effort whatsoever to break up the pass, break up the shot or foul a sub-50-percent free throw shooter.
Compare that effort to this and you get an idea why this game turned out as it did
With 12:18 to go in the first half, Iowa is in that zone, and Jahaad Proctor cuts through the lane so freely you could have pushed him in a wheelbarrow to an open shot. Connor McCaffery did nothing to impede his cut when Purdue had been rolling a guard through the zone to play inside-out. Williams has his man totally walled off, and Proctor catches the ball in the paint for the easiest jumper Purdue may have shot all day. No resistance at all, and McCaffery barely moved.
On the second of Proctor’s consecutive threes in the first half, if McCaffery just puts his hand up as the closeout there may not be a shot.
Last example, and I’m not picking on anyone here, just providing #Analysis: With 5:23 left in the first half, Matt Haarms dribble-handoffs (dribble-hands-off?) to Stefanovic, who uses his screen to dribble baseline. Garza cuts him off on the switch, but Stefanovic reverses the ball back to Haarms. Now, McCaffery has converged on Stefanovic after he was picked up by Garza. Now, however, he’s the nearest man to Haarms, a near-40-percent three-point shooter who just got a clean catch at the arc. Does he sprint out to Haarms to close out? Nope. Does he do anything at all? Nope. He is completely flat-footed, arms at his side, watching Haarms drain a wide-open three-pointer. Unreal. Does he then crash the glass in case the shot misses? Nope.
ERIC HUNTER’S PASSING
Eric Hunter was outstanding in this game, in a ball-handler/decision-maker/passer role more than anything.
Sasha Stefanovic’s second three — off another Nojel Eastern offensive rebound — was a classic case of a guard turning down a good three for a great one, as Hunter handed off to the even-more-open teammate.
Later at 11:26 of the first half, the shot clock is inside 10, and Iowa is in zone. Hunter is faced with Garza away from the basket, and just makes a play, driving past him to the paint to draw Bakari Evelyn off Aaron Wheeler, then kicking out to Wheeler for his three-pointer. That was just Hunter making a play.
With eight minutes left in the first half, Hunter was really aggressive attacking off the dribble, and CJ Fredrick puts up little resistance, and Hunter hits Matt Haarms at the basket. It was a bad pass, a low bounce pass at short range to a 7-3 guy, but it got the job done, because Haarms scored through Ryan Kriener for an and-one.
Hunter was really good in this game as an overall offensive player, and I'm shorting him a bunch of highlights here by only doing the first half.
MISC.
• Anyone else find Fran McCaffery’s calmness unsettling? That’s the second time now the last couple years where Purdue has blown Iowa out in Mackey Arena where I remember thinking that the Hawkeye coach was calm, too calm, almost disengaged.
Not even a hint of #Franger. Just Francon 7-8 all night.
• It’s too bad Eric Hunter didn’t make the shot, because this might have been a highlight: Less than two minutes into the game, Nojel Eastern got on the floor to collect the rebound of Trevion Williams’ missed and-one shot, and from his back, in the lane, surronded by Hawkeyes, Eastern hit Hunter right in his shooting pocket for a wide-open three, in rhythm. That was some play. Moments later, after Purdue retained possession, Eastern rebounded Stefanovic’s missed three and hit Hunter again and this time his three went. Eastern bully-balled McCaffery on that second offensive rebound.
• What a play by Aaron Wheeler on the putback where he set a high ball screen for Eric Hunter, then dated through the lane to tip in Hunter’s missed runner.
This was Wheeler’s best game of the season, at least at the offensive end, and it was driven largely by running the floor, by being on the glass and just being ready in case Iowa should bounce the ball off its own foot, backwards, right to him for a dunk.
• One of the best plays of the night that you may not have even noticed.
With just under five minutes to play in the first half. Matt Haarms sets a high screen for Sasha Stefanovic dribblling left to right. Garza comes up high to contain — another example of Purdue attacking Garza — and Stefanovic hits Haarms on the slip (!!!!!). This time, Iowa defends it perfectly (!!!!!), as Joe Weiskamp (who seems like he’s trying on D, to his credit) rotates to the roll man. In another example of Purdue’s big men’s acrobatics on this day, Haarms catches the ball while met by the defender and in one motion passes the ball out to Jahaad Proctor, Weiskamp’s man, left open, and Proctor’s three is good.
Unbelievable play by Haarms, great offense beating good defense.
Note: This is just the first half, due to time constraints
ATTACKING LUKA GARZA
I think it was a really important part of this game that Purdue didn’t stop Luka Garza, but Luka Garza didn’t stop Purdue either, because the Boilermakers went after him — or his area — offensively with great success.
Purdue did a great job all night throwing the ball behind Garza, taking advantage of his relative lack of length and athleticism, and actually beat him at his own game to cap the 17-0 run, when Williams ran the floor, got behind him, then made an unbelievable catch of Nojel Eastern’s particularly ambitious pass ahead. That was Williams doing to Garza what Garza does to everyone, hustling for a quick shot at the rim.
At 13:20 or so, Matt Haarms is posting and Garza is fronting him. Haarms does a really nice job jockeying Garza up the lane to create space between himself and the rim, making for an easy passing pocket for Aaron Wheeler to throw into for a routine bucket. There’s no help behind Haarms.
I have no idea what Purdue calls its plays or actions, but Iowa really struggled with a set Purdue ran where it would set up Wheeler and Haarms for a continuous screen up top, then have the guard use Wheeler’s as Haarms slipped to the basket. When the guard swung it back to Wheeler, the over-the-top entry was open to Haarms.
First off, Iowa zoned quite a bit and Purdue has always been one to believe in getting the ball inside vs. zone as opposed to simply shooting over it. It paid off right away, as Trevion Williams got the Boilermakers an inside-out three, made by Sasha Stefanovic, on their very first possession.
And then, this: Evan Boudreaux didn’t just play well for Purdue. He gave Purdue an honest-to-goodness advantage with his ability to play on the perimeter.
With 2:19 in the first, it’s simple pick-and-pop for Boudreaux. Garza can’t get out to him in time and Purdue’s senior knocks down the three. Then, Boudreaux takes a charge on Garza at the other end.
Next time down, Boudreaux again goes pick-and-pop, and Luka’s feet swim with the fishes, because he looks like he’s wearing cement blocks for shoes. Boudreaux shot-fakes and blows right past Garza for a nifty layup. Great example of Purdue using Iowa’s strength against it there.
Lastly, Boudreaux outruns Garza rim to rim for a layup at the other end off Iowa’s miss, made possible by no one from Iowa stopping the ball in transition, because Fredrick didn’t screen a basic screen and stood there while Stefanovic dribbled right past everyone, drew Garza and dumped to Boudreaux for another basket.
COME ON, IOWA
Purdue was good on offense in this game, obviously. Maybe 80 points good. But 104? Iowa had a lot to do with this.
A minute-and-a-half into the game, off an Iowa turnover, Eric Hunter gives off to Sasha Stefanovic — not exactly Allen Iverson — and Connor McCaffery has plenty of time, it seems, to cut off Stefanovic’s path to the basket. He does not, going full matador instead. Then, after Luka Garza comes over to stop Stefanovic, Stefanovic bounces a pass to a wide-open Williams, and McCaffery has the best seat in the house, making no effort whatsoever to break up the pass, break up the shot or foul a sub-50-percent free throw shooter.
Compare that effort to this and you get an idea why this game turned out as it did
With 12:18 to go in the first half, Iowa is in that zone, and Jahaad Proctor cuts through the lane so freely you could have pushed him in a wheelbarrow to an open shot. Connor McCaffery did nothing to impede his cut when Purdue had been rolling a guard through the zone to play inside-out. Williams has his man totally walled off, and Proctor catches the ball in the paint for the easiest jumper Purdue may have shot all day. No resistance at all, and McCaffery barely moved.
On the second of Proctor’s consecutive threes in the first half, if McCaffery just puts his hand up as the closeout there may not be a shot.
Last example, and I’m not picking on anyone here, just providing #Analysis: With 5:23 left in the first half, Matt Haarms dribble-handoffs (dribble-hands-off?) to Stefanovic, who uses his screen to dribble baseline. Garza cuts him off on the switch, but Stefanovic reverses the ball back to Haarms. Now, McCaffery has converged on Stefanovic after he was picked up by Garza. Now, however, he’s the nearest man to Haarms, a near-40-percent three-point shooter who just got a clean catch at the arc. Does he sprint out to Haarms to close out? Nope. Does he do anything at all? Nope. He is completely flat-footed, arms at his side, watching Haarms drain a wide-open three-pointer. Unreal. Does he then crash the glass in case the shot misses? Nope.
ERIC HUNTER’S PASSING
Eric Hunter was outstanding in this game, in a ball-handler/decision-maker/passer role more than anything.
Sasha Stefanovic’s second three — off another Nojel Eastern offensive rebound — was a classic case of a guard turning down a good three for a great one, as Hunter handed off to the even-more-open teammate.
Later at 11:26 of the first half, the shot clock is inside 10, and Iowa is in zone. Hunter is faced with Garza away from the basket, and just makes a play, driving past him to the paint to draw Bakari Evelyn off Aaron Wheeler, then kicking out to Wheeler for his three-pointer. That was just Hunter making a play.
With eight minutes left in the first half, Hunter was really aggressive attacking off the dribble, and CJ Fredrick puts up little resistance, and Hunter hits Matt Haarms at the basket. It was a bad pass, a low bounce pass at short range to a 7-3 guy, but it got the job done, because Haarms scored through Ryan Kriener for an and-one.
Hunter was really good in this game as an overall offensive player, and I'm shorting him a bunch of highlights here by only doing the first half.
MISC.
• Anyone else find Fran McCaffery’s calmness unsettling? That’s the second time now the last couple years where Purdue has blown Iowa out in Mackey Arena where I remember thinking that the Hawkeye coach was calm, too calm, almost disengaged.
Not even a hint of #Franger. Just Francon 7-8 all night.
• It’s too bad Eric Hunter didn’t make the shot, because this might have been a highlight: Less than two minutes into the game, Nojel Eastern got on the floor to collect the rebound of Trevion Williams’ missed and-one shot, and from his back, in the lane, surronded by Hawkeyes, Eastern hit Hunter right in his shooting pocket for a wide-open three, in rhythm. That was some play. Moments later, after Purdue retained possession, Eastern rebounded Stefanovic’s missed three and hit Hunter again and this time his three went. Eastern bully-balled McCaffery on that second offensive rebound.
• What a play by Aaron Wheeler on the putback where he set a high ball screen for Eric Hunter, then dated through the lane to tip in Hunter’s missed runner.
This was Wheeler’s best game of the season, at least at the offensive end, and it was driven largely by running the floor, by being on the glass and just being ready in case Iowa should bounce the ball off its own foot, backwards, right to him for a dunk.
• One of the best plays of the night that you may not have even noticed.
With just under five minutes to play in the first half. Matt Haarms sets a high screen for Sasha Stefanovic dribblling left to right. Garza comes up high to contain — another example of Purdue attacking Garza — and Stefanovic hits Haarms on the slip (!!!!!). This time, Iowa defends it perfectly (!!!!!), as Joe Weiskamp (who seems like he’s trying on D, to his credit) rotates to the roll man. In another example of Purdue’s big men’s acrobatics on this day, Haarms catches the ball while met by the defender and in one motion passes the ball out to Jahaad Proctor, Weiskamp’s man, left open, and Proctor’s three is good.
Unbelievable play by Haarms, great offense beating good defense.
