No. 12 Purdue basketball holds off Yale, gets No. 2 Alabama next

WEST LAFAYETTE − Three home games and three hard-fought wins against mid-major programs.

Yale was the best of the early-season bunch (which is only the case until Alabama visits on Friday), but Purdue basketball has found ways in crunch time to make plays.

In the first half, it was Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith.

In the second, Cam Heide and Myles Colvin.

The 12th-ranked Boilermakers needed every bit of it in their 92-84 victory.

Purdue vs. Yale player ratings: Braden Smith leads way, bench players step up

Insider: What Daniel Jacobsen’s season-ending injury means

Purdue basketball turning point

The hot hand of NCAA tournament hero John Poulakidas makes Yale a dangerous team. The sharpshooter kept Yale in striking distance.

When Yale had its opportunity, trailing by six early in the second half and after a Purdue miss, Trey Kaufman-Renn’s hustle was rewarded. Kaufman-Renn corralled a rebound that appeared to be Yale’s for the taking.

Kaufman-Renn threw the ball to an open Colvin on the wing and the sophomore sank a 3-pointer to go up 54-45 with 15:22 to go. Purdue wasn’t clear of the Bulldogs, but that was needed breathing room when the game looked like it could flip.

Exactly eight minutes of game time later, Colvin’s fastbreak dunk sent Mackey Arena into a frenzy when Purdue went up by 12. But Kaufman-Renn’s hustle was emblematic of the type of play Purdue will need to win against better opponents.

Boilermakers lack rim protector

Yale made it obvious from the start it was going to take advantage of the Boilermakers in their first game post-Daniel Jacobsen injury.

The Bulldogs’ first eight points came at the rim.

Yale stuck with what worked.

The Bulldogs scored 50 of their 84 points in the paint.

3 stars

Braden Smith, Purdue: In the game’s first nine minutes, Smith already had 11 points, including three 3-pointers. Purdue’s do-it-all junior point guard finished with 22 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals.

Fletcher Loyer, Purdue: The yin to Smith’s yang is on an absolute…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/no-12-purdue-basketball-holds-032645389.html

Author : IndyStar | The Indianapolis Star

Publish date : 2024-11-12 03:26:00

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