Purdue Basketball: Takeaways from Boilermakers in Big Ten tournament
The Boilermakers continue to beat themselves
Against Iowa, Purdue had a chance to hang their first post-season banner since 2009 — a Big Ten tournament banner — yet fell short due to costly mistakes throughout the entire game. The two most significant factors in the Boilermakers’ loss were turnovers, and free throw misses.
Turnovers
Purdue needed to knock off two well-rounded Big Ten teams to get to the title game: Penn State and Michigan State. Though the Nittany Lions failed to make the NCAA tournament, they were peaking at the right time and went on a short-lived winning streak to get deep into the conference tournament.
Against Penn State and Michigan State combined, the Boilermakers had 19 turnovers. Against Iowa, Purdue turned the ball over 17 times total, eventually leading to their demise on the court.
Free throws
Even with a plethora of costly turnovers, Purdue still had a chance until the closing minutes of the game. As a team, the Boilermakers made 11/17 free throws on the night — missing some of their crucial 1 and 1 opportunities and failing to get themselves back into the game. Purdue’s 64.7% free-throw shooting on the night will not be good enough to win games down the stretch in the Big Dance.
While it is true that Iowa may be the most tournament-ready team in the Big Ten, losing in such a fashion to a less talented team with a Big Ten banner on the line is unacceptable. Quite frankly, the loss is worrisome heading into the NCAA tournament, especially given Purdue’s recent lack of post-season success.
Matt Painter
Something that fans should keep an eye on during the NCAA tournament is Matt Painter, the Boilermakers’ long-time head coach. Since arriving at Purdue, Painter had a tremendous record during the regular season and numerous Big Ten titles to his name.
That being said, Purdue has not hung a post-season banner since the 2008-09 season. In fact, even with three Big Ten titles since 2010, Painter has only made it past the Sweet Sixteen once in his career with the Boilermakers — a career that dates back to 2005.
If Painter cannot make a deep run this season, many will start to question his competence as a head coach, and rightfully so.
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Even though the Boilermakers got a bad draw on Selection Sunday, Purdue is still one of the tournament’s most talented and dangerous teams. A first or second-round exit will raise some eyebrows about Painter — a Sweet Sixteen appearance should be the bare minimum from this Boilermaker squad — and an Elite Eight or Final Four should be the ultimate goal.