No. 20 Purdue is about to dive into Big Ten Conference play for the rest of the regular season. Is it ready?
According to Purdue coach Matt Painter, the answer is a definite maybe.
“We are if we win our next game,” Painter said. “A lot of times, coaches talk about it, but they’re talking in theory. We haven’t won a road game. I like where we are if we win our next game.”
Purdue (9-4, 1-1 Big Ten) will get its next test when it visits Minnesota (8-5, 0-2) on Thursday night in Minneapolis. The Boilermakers are coming off an 83-64 win over Toledo on Sunday, which followed a pair of losses against then-No. 17 Texas A&M and No. 2 Auburn.
Painter wants to see more progress from his players when they tip off against Minnesota.
“We have to get some people on our team — really, collectively, everybody on our team — to do a better job and be more physical,” Painter said. “We have too many people with their feet nailed to the ground. You’ve got to hit somebody, then go get the basketball. Just be around the ball.
“We’re having some fundamental breakdowns. I didn’t think our defense was bad, but if you don’t get more possessions than your opponent, you’re not giving yourself a good chance,” he added. “It’s a physical league. Things aren’t called the same on the road, as we all know. Those are questions we have to answer, not that I have to answer.”
Minnesota will go for its third win in a row after knocking off Fairleigh Dickinson and Morgan State at home during the past week and a half. The Golden Gophers lost by double digits in each of their first two conference games against Michigan State and Indiana.
Golden Gophers forward Parker Fox said he and his teammates would need a full effort to knock off a team such as Purdue. Fox is averaging 7.2 points and 2.5 rebounds on the season.
“It’s going to take everybody,” Fox said. “We’re not a team who has five guys who are going to play 40 minutes. … We’re going to really rely on strength in numbers.”
Purdue is top-heavy with three players leading the way. Trey Kaufman-Renn leads the team with 18.3 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Braden Smith is next with 14.5 points and a team-high 8.6 assists per game, and Fletcher Loyer rounds out the top three with 13.6 points per contest.
The next three scorers — Daniel Jacobsen with 6.5 points per game, Myles Colvin with 6.3 and Camden Heide with 6.0 — all average less than half of Purdue’s top three scorers.
Minnesota is led by Dawson Garcia, who averages 19.1 points and 7.4 rebounds. Mike Mitchell Jr. is next with 13.3 points per game, and Lu’Cye Patterson (9.7 points per game) and Fox (7.2) round out the top four scorers.
The Golden Gophers are 8-2 at home this season. Purdue is 0-2 on the road.
–Field Level Media
