No. 6 Purdue eyes better start in Marquette matchup

Sixth-ranked Purdue will be looking to build on a decisive bounce-back victory when it hosts Marquette in a nonconference game on Saturday in West Lafayette, Ind.

Purdue (9-1) defeated visiting Minnesota 85-57 on Wednesday, led by a dominant second half after holding a 35-32 edge at the break. The Boilermakers were coming off their first loss of the season, 81-58 to then-No. 10 Iowa State on Dec. 6, a result that dropped them out of the top spot in the poll.

"I didn't walk away from the Iowa State game and say, 'Well, we're not No. 1 anymore,'" Painter said following the Minnesota game. "I walked away from the Iowa State game saying we got our ass kicked and how could I have stopped that?"

Purdue opened the second half against Minnesota with a decisive 21-0 run, the Boilermakers' third run of 20-0 or longer this season.

"Obviously you can't go on runs like that unless you get stops," Painter said. "And so, I thought our attention to detail defensively was pretty good."

Purdue's Braden Smith, Trey Kaufman-Renn and Oscar Cluff each finished with a double-double.

Smith had 15 points with 12 assists, six rebounds, five steals and two blocks. Kaufman-Renn recorded his fifth double-double this season with 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Cluff had his third double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds.

Purdue averages 85.2 points per game while allowing 67.9. The Boilermakers have been dominant on the glass, outrebounding opponents by 10.4 per game.

Fletcher Loyer averages a team-high 14.0 points per game for the Boilermakers, while Kaufman-Renn adds 13.9 points and 10.6 boards. Cluff averages 11.4 points and 9.1 rebounds, and Smith contributes 13.3 points and 8.8 assists -- the latter figure ranking second in the nation.

Marquette (5-5) has been inconsistent in losing four of its past six games. The Golden Gophers are coming off a 96-76 nonconference road loss against in-state rival Wisconsin on Dec. 6.

The Golden Eagles hit just one of their first 13 shots against Wisconsin and one of their first 12 3-point attempts. In their previous game, a 75-72 overtime home win over Valparaiso, Marquette started 1 of 13 from beyond the arc.

Marquette scored eight of its 10 points in overtime from the free-throw line to beat the Beacons. Against the Badgers, the Golden Eagles made just 9 of 19 shots from the stripe.

The Golden Eagles average 80.9 points while giving up 76.4, but they are shooting just 42.5% on the season, including 31.1% from 3-point range.

Marquette shot 42% against Wisconsin after shooting just 35% against Valparaiso. In three of their losses, the Golden Eagles shot 38.5% or less.

"I thought we got a lot of good shots that did not go in," Marquette coach Shaka Smart said following the Wisconsin game. "So far the story of our season. So we've got to get better at making those, and we will."

Chase Ross averages 19.5 points per game, freshman Nigel James Jr. adds 12.2 points and Ben Gold chips in with 9.5 points and team-best 7.2 rebounds.

Marquette defeated Purdue 76-58 last season in Milwaukee behind a triple-double by Kam Jones.

"We have been blessed and fortunate to have some really good teams of late, and this team's behind those teams right now," Smart said. "That's a fact. And we need to get better and we will."

--Field Level Media