PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Our next-day review of No. 1 Purdue's 70-68 loss at Rutgers Thursday night.
STUFF THAT GOT PURDUE BEAT
Look, this isn't "hate," this isn't attacking anyone or blaming anyone, but rather a (hopefully) constructive review of some of the instances and failings that led to Purdue's loss. This isn't us being "negative," but rather analytical.
• Two games in a row, Purdue's really worked — as always — to get Zach Edey established to start the game, and on this night didn't get much going. Edey did back down Cliff Omoruyi on the first possession of the game, but probably didn't get deep enough and wound up shooting a longer-than-normal hook over the rim. The second time down, Sasha Stefanovic did a nice job in transition getting the ball to Edey one on one close to the basket, but his shot hit only the backboard. Looks to me like Edey might be expecting fouls to be called and on these two possessions to start the game, he didn't, and I'm not sure he should have.
Edey does score next time down, but with much deeper position than the first two series, because dribbled into Omoruyi's body to get that much closer to the basket.
• This play right here early on, Purdue has Rutgers up against the shot clock, and Rutgers gives Caleb McConnell a screen to get Jaden Ivey off him. Purdue's defense is built to try to funnel the ball to the sideline as much as it can and protect the paint. Edey is a step slow, though, cutting off the corner, McConnell gets around him, forcing Sasha Stefanovic — hung out to dry in help a lot in this game, for the second year in a row at Rutgers — to rotate to the basket and allowing McConnell to kick out to Mawot Mag in the corner for a three that reluctantly drops in.
A few minutes later, with Trevion Williams in, Rutgers does the exact same thing with the shot clock, winding down, and Williams nails it defensively, hemming McConnell in and allowed Jaden Ivey to catch up and form a trap. Rutgers scores anyway, though, after McConnell's pass is deflected and nearly turned over but ends up with Mawot Mag, who stiff-arms Stefanovic to grab the loose ball and make a jumper. Dumb luck.
• There's this pass that Trevion Williams makes at 13:30 to Mason Gillis, who's neither looking nor moving directly toward the basket, and he's between two Rutgers defenders. Purdue got away with it because the ball went out of the Knights, but the degree of difficulty on this pass was a bit ambitious, shall we say.
• 12:22 of the first half: Trevion Williams is on a tear, carrying Purdue. Eric Hunter dribbles all the way up and pulls up for a two-point jumper that misses badly, with 23 seconds on the shot clock. Purdue wants to be aggressive in transition but also pick its battles wisely. This was a poor decision. But Trevion Williams rebounded the miss and scored, so again, Purdue gets away with it.
• Here it is again. Isaiah Thompson is on Paul Mulcahy and does his job by funneling the ball to the sideline, but Edey again allows the corner to be turned, and that allows Mulcahy to drop it to the rolling Clifford Omoruyi behind Edey for a dunk.
(NOTE: TREVION WILLIAMS DID A GOOD JOB WITH THIS ON DEFENSE IN THIS GAME)
• On this Ron Harper three off an off-ball screen by Clifford Omoruyi on the pursuing Caleb Furst, obviously it is a big ask for Purdue to expect Furst to simply get through the screen and cover a guard.
I have no idea what the deal is supposed to be here, whether Jaden Ivey is supposed to come over to help or Zach Edey's supposed to switch here since his man was the screener. I don't know. Part of the reason I don't know is because no on the floor is reacting to Rutgers' best player flashing open at the three-point line. There had to have been some help built in here that never materialized.
• 6:15 of the first half: Sasha Stefanovic had some success beating Rutgers' over-playing defense off the dribble in this game, but his take here was a bit wild and just caromed off the backboard. It put Rutgers in transition. Mason Gillis did a great job closing out to Caleb McConnell, but he shook him with a pump fake and knocked down a jumper.
Next time down, Stefanovic — who has earned some leeway from an aggressiveness perspective — takes a leaning-away contested three that misses.
At the other end, Purdue gets situated on D, but Ron Harper makes a long three over Mason Gillis — who needed to close out better on this one — to cap a 12-0 run. That run was a stretch where Purdue needed good possessions. Trevion Williams did not get a touch.
• 5:08: Trevion Williams gets a touch, but probably not what Purdue had in mind, as he shoots a three with 14 on the shot clock. He can and has made that shot, but in the middle of Rutgers scoring a dozen straight, not sure that's what Purdue would have preferred.
The play was set up for Williams to screen for Jaden Ivey to open the lane for a lob attempt. Cliff Omoruyi sort of drifted into passer Eric Hunter's view at the last moment though and he wisely didn't attempt the pass.
• 4:05: Purdue's out of sorts on offense as Rutgers is beating the hell out of them on their cuts and bodying up their guards pretty good, and Eric Hunter's pass to Brandon Newman is probably a bit hot. It hits Newman in the face after caroming off his hands and is turned over.
• 4:21 (yes I know time is now moving backwards; I'm not gonna go back and check): Jaden Ivey smokes Rutgers off the dribble, as he did often, but his no-look dish to Trevion Williams looks too hot from two close in. Williams can't handle it, and the dry spell continues.
QUICK BREAK TO POINT SOMETHING OUT
Here, Ron Harper comes on that flare cut (or whatever they call it) off Furst being screened. This time Trevion Williams — him again — jumps to the ball and takes the three away.
OK BACK TO BAD STUFF
• Rutgers is still on this 12-0 run and Purdue still hasn't scored in forever.
Purdue's possession looks like this: Trevion Williams spins through two guys 22 feet from the basket and goes iso, dribbling the ball behind his back and driving into a crowd. He does get to the rim, but maybe too deep and misses. Eric Hunter runs down the loose ball and kicks it out to Jaden Ivey, who shoots and misses badly what had to be a 30-footer with 19 seconds on the reset shot clock, as if the shot clock was about to go off.
(Maybe Ivey was onto something, because Williams' shot didn't hit the rim, I don't think, but they reset the clock anyway)
• Here's this again. Furst is screened, Harper makes the three, this time a four-point play. There's no help at all. Maybe Purdue was asking Furst to go it alone here, I don't know, or maybe Williams just flubbed what he did right last time.
In comes Ethan Morton now ...
Rutgers runs a different play, running Morton through two screens, the second of which was a clear offensive foul that wasn't called, but this time Eric Hunter comes over and meets Harper on the catch. He does prevent the shot, or even really seems to interfere with its, but at least there's another set of hands there and the shot misses.
• With 57 seconds to go in the first half, Eric Hunter's bounce pass to Sasha Stefanovic is easily intercepted by Caleb McConnell, who then steps out. Purdue gets away with one there.
• 30.5 seconds to go: Ron Harper Jr. comes off another screen on the wing, and Jaden Ivey comes off his man to fly at him, and blatantly fouls him. I don't know if he was helping on the screen or playing for a steal, but that was free points for Rutgers on a night where Purdue struggled to keep them off the foul line.
NOTE I AM SKIPPING AHEAD TO THE FINAL FIVE MINUTES THIS IS TOO MUCH
I'll just keep this brief, but Purdue's inability to not foul and its inability to deal with Rutgers' bigger guards posting up was the biggest issue here, or second-biggest issue past the offense's difficulties with Rutgers' physicality on the perimeter and on its cutters.
• I think Purdue did what it was supposed to do on the play where Jaden Ivey walked. Sasha Stefanovic did cut to the middle of the floor to start the play. That's where the ball has to go — there or back to Morton — — before the trap really takes hold. Lots of contact there, and Ivey just tried to plow through it.
Or use that last timeout there just to save the day, not that that would have been ideal with so much time left.
MISC
• Isaiah Thompson didn't play well defensively, didn't contain the ball well enough and at least once screened himself anticipating a screen that never came, leading to a dunk to start the second half. Part of the reason Eric Hunter was on the floor so much the whole home stretch.
• Purdue's just got to be more alert or communicative or whatever defending off the ball. Rutgers got a layup for Cliff Omoruyi early in the second half, off Jaden Ivey's man, Caleb McConnell, back-screening Zach Edey and Ivey didn't catch on until it was too late.
• I don't know if there's a Big Ten Transition Defender of the Week award or anything, but Mason Gillis would have a shot this week if there was. He busted his you-know-what a couple times to either take away or swat away transition threes.
• This is one of the real facepalm moments of the game, IMO: With 10:31 left in the game, Brandon Newman closes out a bit overzealously on someone named Jaden Jones, who's in no position whatsoever to shoot, and allows Jones to go past him into the lane. Newman fouls him playing catch-up.
Jones misses both foul shots, but Harper rebounds the second over Trevion Williams and scores.
Williams was kind of tepidly blocking Harper out but not moving him at all and when he lets go of Harper to try to go get the ball, the free throw misses hard enough that it came off line drive style right over Williams and right to Harper.
• I don't know what the offensive foul was on Trevion Williams. Looks like he was just jostling for position, like normal. There was no violent act, no elbows, just Williams getting low and trying to shake defenders off. There was displacement, but one of those calls where you could probably call a half dozen of those per game on Purdue if you really wanted to and obviously they don't. That was no more displacement than those extended final steps into contact Zach Edey uses.
• Purdue needs more from Jaden Ivey on defense off the ball. He just disengages at times.
• 7:52 to go, this was huge: Jaden Ivey sets up Isaiah Thompson from his sweet spot in the corner. The ball goes in and out, the opposite of that shot Mag made early where it went out, then back in. That would have been a 13-point Purdue lead.
Next time down, a great offensive possession for Purdue leads to a wide-open three for Sasha Stefanovic.
Halfway down and out.
At 1:49, Stefanovic gets all the way to the basket and gets fouled, but his shot goes in and out. Would have been an and-one. .Instead, he makes one of two.
That kind of night.
STUFF THAT GOT PURDUE BEAT
Look, this isn't "hate," this isn't attacking anyone or blaming anyone, but rather a (hopefully) constructive review of some of the instances and failings that led to Purdue's loss. This isn't us being "negative," but rather analytical.
• Two games in a row, Purdue's really worked — as always — to get Zach Edey established to start the game, and on this night didn't get much going. Edey did back down Cliff Omoruyi on the first possession of the game, but probably didn't get deep enough and wound up shooting a longer-than-normal hook over the rim. The second time down, Sasha Stefanovic did a nice job in transition getting the ball to Edey one on one close to the basket, but his shot hit only the backboard. Looks to me like Edey might be expecting fouls to be called and on these two possessions to start the game, he didn't, and I'm not sure he should have.
Edey does score next time down, but with much deeper position than the first two series, because dribbled into Omoruyi's body to get that much closer to the basket.
• This play right here early on, Purdue has Rutgers up against the shot clock, and Rutgers gives Caleb McConnell a screen to get Jaden Ivey off him. Purdue's defense is built to try to funnel the ball to the sideline as much as it can and protect the paint. Edey is a step slow, though, cutting off the corner, McConnell gets around him, forcing Sasha Stefanovic — hung out to dry in help a lot in this game, for the second year in a row at Rutgers — to rotate to the basket and allowing McConnell to kick out to Mawot Mag in the corner for a three that reluctantly drops in.
A few minutes later, with Trevion Williams in, Rutgers does the exact same thing with the shot clock, winding down, and Williams nails it defensively, hemming McConnell in and allowed Jaden Ivey to catch up and form a trap. Rutgers scores anyway, though, after McConnell's pass is deflected and nearly turned over but ends up with Mawot Mag, who stiff-arms Stefanovic to grab the loose ball and make a jumper. Dumb luck.
• There's this pass that Trevion Williams makes at 13:30 to Mason Gillis, who's neither looking nor moving directly toward the basket, and he's between two Rutgers defenders. Purdue got away with it because the ball went out of the Knights, but the degree of difficulty on this pass was a bit ambitious, shall we say.
• 12:22 of the first half: Trevion Williams is on a tear, carrying Purdue. Eric Hunter dribbles all the way up and pulls up for a two-point jumper that misses badly, with 23 seconds on the shot clock. Purdue wants to be aggressive in transition but also pick its battles wisely. This was a poor decision. But Trevion Williams rebounded the miss and scored, so again, Purdue gets away with it.
• Here it is again. Isaiah Thompson is on Paul Mulcahy and does his job by funneling the ball to the sideline, but Edey again allows the corner to be turned, and that allows Mulcahy to drop it to the rolling Clifford Omoruyi behind Edey for a dunk.
(NOTE: TREVION WILLIAMS DID A GOOD JOB WITH THIS ON DEFENSE IN THIS GAME)
• On this Ron Harper three off an off-ball screen by Clifford Omoruyi on the pursuing Caleb Furst, obviously it is a big ask for Purdue to expect Furst to simply get through the screen and cover a guard.
I have no idea what the deal is supposed to be here, whether Jaden Ivey is supposed to come over to help or Zach Edey's supposed to switch here since his man was the screener. I don't know. Part of the reason I don't know is because no on the floor is reacting to Rutgers' best player flashing open at the three-point line. There had to have been some help built in here that never materialized.
• 6:15 of the first half: Sasha Stefanovic had some success beating Rutgers' over-playing defense off the dribble in this game, but his take here was a bit wild and just caromed off the backboard. It put Rutgers in transition. Mason Gillis did a great job closing out to Caleb McConnell, but he shook him with a pump fake and knocked down a jumper.
Next time down, Stefanovic — who has earned some leeway from an aggressiveness perspective — takes a leaning-away contested three that misses.
At the other end, Purdue gets situated on D, but Ron Harper makes a long three over Mason Gillis — who needed to close out better on this one — to cap a 12-0 run. That run was a stretch where Purdue needed good possessions. Trevion Williams did not get a touch.
• 5:08: Trevion Williams gets a touch, but probably not what Purdue had in mind, as he shoots a three with 14 on the shot clock. He can and has made that shot, but in the middle of Rutgers scoring a dozen straight, not sure that's what Purdue would have preferred.
The play was set up for Williams to screen for Jaden Ivey to open the lane for a lob attempt. Cliff Omoruyi sort of drifted into passer Eric Hunter's view at the last moment though and he wisely didn't attempt the pass.
• 4:05: Purdue's out of sorts on offense as Rutgers is beating the hell out of them on their cuts and bodying up their guards pretty good, and Eric Hunter's pass to Brandon Newman is probably a bit hot. It hits Newman in the face after caroming off his hands and is turned over.
• 4:21 (yes I know time is now moving backwards; I'm not gonna go back and check): Jaden Ivey smokes Rutgers off the dribble, as he did often, but his no-look dish to Trevion Williams looks too hot from two close in. Williams can't handle it, and the dry spell continues.
QUICK BREAK TO POINT SOMETHING OUT
Here, Ron Harper comes on that flare cut (or whatever they call it) off Furst being screened. This time Trevion Williams — him again — jumps to the ball and takes the three away.
OK BACK TO BAD STUFF
• Rutgers is still on this 12-0 run and Purdue still hasn't scored in forever.
Purdue's possession looks like this: Trevion Williams spins through two guys 22 feet from the basket and goes iso, dribbling the ball behind his back and driving into a crowd. He does get to the rim, but maybe too deep and misses. Eric Hunter runs down the loose ball and kicks it out to Jaden Ivey, who shoots and misses badly what had to be a 30-footer with 19 seconds on the reset shot clock, as if the shot clock was about to go off.
(Maybe Ivey was onto something, because Williams' shot didn't hit the rim, I don't think, but they reset the clock anyway)
• Here's this again. Furst is screened, Harper makes the three, this time a four-point play. There's no help at all. Maybe Purdue was asking Furst to go it alone here, I don't know, or maybe Williams just flubbed what he did right last time.
In comes Ethan Morton now ...
Rutgers runs a different play, running Morton through two screens, the second of which was a clear offensive foul that wasn't called, but this time Eric Hunter comes over and meets Harper on the catch. He does prevent the shot, or even really seems to interfere with its, but at least there's another set of hands there and the shot misses.
• With 57 seconds to go in the first half, Eric Hunter's bounce pass to Sasha Stefanovic is easily intercepted by Caleb McConnell, who then steps out. Purdue gets away with one there.
• 30.5 seconds to go: Ron Harper Jr. comes off another screen on the wing, and Jaden Ivey comes off his man to fly at him, and blatantly fouls him. I don't know if he was helping on the screen or playing for a steal, but that was free points for Rutgers on a night where Purdue struggled to keep them off the foul line.
NOTE I AM SKIPPING AHEAD TO THE FINAL FIVE MINUTES THIS IS TOO MUCH
I'll just keep this brief, but Purdue's inability to not foul and its inability to deal with Rutgers' bigger guards posting up was the biggest issue here, or second-biggest issue past the offense's difficulties with Rutgers' physicality on the perimeter and on its cutters.
• I think Purdue did what it was supposed to do on the play where Jaden Ivey walked. Sasha Stefanovic did cut to the middle of the floor to start the play. That's where the ball has to go — there or back to Morton — — before the trap really takes hold. Lots of contact there, and Ivey just tried to plow through it.
Or use that last timeout there just to save the day, not that that would have been ideal with so much time left.
MISC
• Isaiah Thompson didn't play well defensively, didn't contain the ball well enough and at least once screened himself anticipating a screen that never came, leading to a dunk to start the second half. Part of the reason Eric Hunter was on the floor so much the whole home stretch.
• Purdue's just got to be more alert or communicative or whatever defending off the ball. Rutgers got a layup for Cliff Omoruyi early in the second half, off Jaden Ivey's man, Caleb McConnell, back-screening Zach Edey and Ivey didn't catch on until it was too late.
• I don't know if there's a Big Ten Transition Defender of the Week award or anything, but Mason Gillis would have a shot this week if there was. He busted his you-know-what a couple times to either take away or swat away transition threes.
• This is one of the real facepalm moments of the game, IMO: With 10:31 left in the game, Brandon Newman closes out a bit overzealously on someone named Jaden Jones, who's in no position whatsoever to shoot, and allows Jones to go past him into the lane. Newman fouls him playing catch-up.
Jones misses both foul shots, but Harper rebounds the second over Trevion Williams and scores.
Williams was kind of tepidly blocking Harper out but not moving him at all and when he lets go of Harper to try to go get the ball, the free throw misses hard enough that it came off line drive style right over Williams and right to Harper.
• I don't know what the offensive foul was on Trevion Williams. Looks like he was just jostling for position, like normal. There was no violent act, no elbows, just Williams getting low and trying to shake defenders off. There was displacement, but one of those calls where you could probably call a half dozen of those per game on Purdue if you really wanted to and obviously they don't. That was no more displacement than those extended final steps into contact Zach Edey uses.
• Purdue needs more from Jaden Ivey on defense off the ball. He just disengages at times.
• 7:52 to go, this was huge: Jaden Ivey sets up Isaiah Thompson from his sweet spot in the corner. The ball goes in and out, the opposite of that shot Mag made early where it went out, then back in. That would have been a 13-point Purdue lead.
Next time down, a great offensive possession for Purdue leads to a wide-open three for Sasha Stefanovic.
Halfway down and out.
At 1:49, Stefanovic gets all the way to the basket and gets fouled, but his shot goes in and out. Would have been an and-one. .Instead, he makes one of two.
That kind of night.
