Defense, bench play carry Purdue past Penn State

Purdue vs Penn State

One month ago, Penn State defeated a Purdue team that lacked the services of star forward Robbie Hummel. Evidently, the Boilermakers learned how to handle the Nittany Lions without their most important performer.
 
Hummel--still bothered by an injury--sat on the bench for the rematch between these two teams, but Purdue flipped the script in a 61-47 victory Wednesday night in West Lafayette. Powered by overwhelming defense and the unlikely heroics of reserve guard Bobby Riddell, Coach Matt Painter's ballclub tied Illinois and Ohio State for second place in the Big Ten.

Just how good was Purdue's defense in this game? For one thing, the Nittany Lions went at least six and a half minutes without a made field goal attempt on two separate occasions in the second half. The Boilers alternately bruised and baffled Ed DeChellis’ roster to break open a tight game at the beginning of the second half, and then coast home for the double-digit win.
 
Purdue's first run of defensive dominance began at the 19:05 mark of the second stanza. Up by just two at 30-28, the Boilermakers locked down the Lions until PSU's Jamelle Cornley hit a 3-pointer with 12:29 left. Between the Lions' two lonely baskets, Purdue reeled off 16 straight points to take a 46-28 advantage. As long as the visitors from Happy Valley couldn't make a big run, the home team was going to hum a happy tune even without Mr. Hummel.
 
Thanks to another dynamic defensive display by Purdue, the Lions wouldn't roar down the stretch and sweep the season series.
 
With 8:36 left in the second half, the Boilermakers led by a 54-42 margin. Just over seven minutes later, Purdue's score stood at 59, as the Lions dug in their heels on defense to keep their opponent at bay. Given this development, one would have expected Penn State to make a game of it down the stretch, but that never happened, because Penn State's late-game defense was matched by the boys in the white jerseys. 

Purdue might have scored just a handful of points in the game's last several minutes, but the Nittany Lions didn't fare much better. When PSU's Cammeron Woodyard hit a 3-pointer with 1:16 left, Purdue's 59-point total was still good enough for a double-digit lead, as Penn State could only claim 46 points on its side of the scoreboard. Yes, two Division I-A college basketball teams combined to score just 9 points in 7:20 of game time, but that's been the defense-first world of Big Ten basketball in 2009. Penn State played okay, but Purdue performed at the top of its game, especially when one accounts for the absence of Hummel.
 
One other set of stats puts this Boilermaker win in perspective. In the previous meeting between the two teams, Penn State's potent backcourt combo of Stanley Pringle and Talor Battle combined to score 39 points on 13 free throws, four 3-pointers, and 11 made field goals. In this return engagement between the Nittany Lions and Boilers, the Pringle-Battle duo scored all of 5 points on 2-of-16 shooting, and 1-of-7 shooting from 3-point range. Neither guard even attempted a free throw.
 
Purdue will still struggle on offense as long as Robbie Hummel isn't in the lineup. But with the level of defensive quality seen against Penn State on a winning Wednesday evening, the Boilermakers will be a very tough out for any team in the country.

 

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