No. 6 Purdue enters its game with Marshall on Saturday in West Lafayette, Ind., with an unfamiliar feeling.
For the first time since 2020, the Boilermakers lost a regular season, non-conference game when they fell to No. 15 Marquette 76-58 on Tuesday in Milwaukee. But the early-season setback is all part of the learning curve that Purdue coach Matt Painter wants the Boilermakers (4-1) to go through before Big Ten play begins.
“Our first three games, we weren’t lights out,” Painter said. “(Then) we played really well against Alabama. We weren’t great before that. So we’re trying to find ourselves, trying to find some consistency. But this is what you want. Because we get thrown into (Big Ten play) at Penn State and Maryland in December. You want to be able to get off to a good start in the league; that’s a little easier said than done. I just believe if you’ve got a good enough team, you need to go out and get challenged, even if you’ve got to take a couple on the chin.
“That way, when you get into the NCAA Tournament, you’ve done everything in your power as a coach to help.”
Trey Kaufman-Renn leads the Boilermakers in scoring and rebounding with averages of 17.6 and 6.6, respectively. Fletcher Loyer is averaging a second-best 16.2 points per game, and Braden Smith is next at 14.6.
Purdue has shot 50.6 percent from the field and 43.8 percent from 3-point range. The Boilermakers had 15 turnovers at Marquette while the Golden Eagles had just six.
“We need to start by taking care of the basketball,” Painter said. “One of the things that probably jumps out for us is I don’t think we’re as good as Marquette defensively. So, in practice, we don’t see that. Doesn’t mean we don’t have athletic players, doesn’t mean we don’t have good players. But they have a more experienced defensive group. So we’ve got to grow at taking care of the basketball.”
A well-rested Marshall (3-1) most recently played last Saturday, knocking off Bellarmine 83-62.
Nate Martin led the Thundering Herd with 23 points and nine rebounds. Jalen Speer came off the bench to tally 20 points, and Obinna Anochili-Killen added 15 points and nine rebounds.
Marshall used an 11-player rotation. Thundering Herd coach Cornelius Jackson said team depth is a strength Marshall will draw on throughout the season.
“I feel like we are a deep team,” he said. “Each one of our guys can step in and play a role.”
As leader of a mid-major team from the Sun Belt Conference, Jackson said he reminded his players there likely will be more fans than they are accustomed to in Mackey Arena on Saturday and therefore it will be louder, but it’s still just a basketball game.
“The rims are the same size, the court is the same size,” Jackson said. “The seats might be a little different, but at the end of the day, it’s still basketball. Every guy on our team has played for a long time.”
