TUSCALOOSA, AL — Trey Kaufman-Renn whipped his long right arm through the air, Purdue basketball’s senior forward celebrating a moment and swatting away a week of frustration.
That moment came early in the No. 1 Boilermakers’ 87-80 victory at No. 9 Alabama. Kaufman-Renn leapt in the air for a loose ball on the baseline and threw it off of a Crimson Tide player.
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He grabbed seven other offensive rebounds over the course of the night — propelling his team to dominance on the boards both physically and emotionally. The senior forward displayed no hesitation over the hip injury which kept him off the floor in Purdue’s first two games, throwing himself onto the Coleman Coliseum floor for loose balls on multiple occasions.
“Actually I’ll say yeah to that,” Kaufman-Renn said, when asked if he played even harder than usual. “At that 4 position, I know coach Paint’s wanting me to rebound more, so I showed him I could today.”
If Purdue did not look like a championship team last week, it’s because it wasn’t. Not a complete one, anyway. A big chunk of that preseason No. 1 ranking directly traced back to Kaufman-Renn’s multi-faceted impact.
The Boilermakers could not have won at Alabama without Kaufman-Renn’s 19 points, 15 rebounds and five assists. He collected that stat line despite still being on the comeback from injury and encountering some obvious stamina issues late in the game.
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As the Crimson Tide bombed away from 3-point range in the first half — as the Boilermakers knew full well they want to do — Kaufman-Renn provided the counter-punch.
“He was unbelievable,” center Daniel Jacobsen said. “His energy was great and it carried us through the whole game.”
How Trey Kaufman-Renn ignited Purdue’s rebounding dominance
Purdue obviously missed its All-Big Ten forward while playing Evansville even on the boards and being outrebounded by Oakland by two.
In body and spirit, Kaufman-Renn seemed determined to reverse that trend — single-handedly, if necessary. He scored twice off offensive rebounds in the first five minutes and total four offensive boards in the first 10 minutes.
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He was a trendsetter. Purdue piled up a 19-7 edge in offensive rebounds, leading to a 16-7 edge in second-chance points. One one point in the second half, Alabama coach Nate Oats seemed to be imploring the home crowd to get louder and become a factor as momentum swung back and forth. Moments later, he was imploring his team to get a rebound, any rebound, and prevent the Boilers from extended so many possessions.
Purdue finished with a 52-28 rebounding advantage. Oates said the tougher team won and called his team’s performance on the boards “embarrassing.” A Boilermaker team unsatisfied with its own performance in that realm last week, though, felt they set the agenda on the glass.
It all traced back to the spark Kaufman-Renn provided in the opening minutes.
“He definitely ignited it today,” senior guard Braden Smith said. “He was jumping for those first couple/three that were out there — just grabbing it over people and getting offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds, all of the above.
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“Obviously I don’t do a whole lot with rebounding — like that, at least. The big guys see that and then they play harder. And it’s not that they don’t in the first place — it’s like momentum. When Trey crashes the boards like that it helps us all around.”
Trey Kaufman-Renn’s passing played key role down the stretch
As Purdue tried to put away this consequential road win, Kaufman-Renn laid on the baseline next to his team’s bench.
This had nothing to do with the hip injury. Athletic trainer Chad Young worked on Kaufman-Renn’s quad and calf with a Theragun. Turns out, when you play extended minutes after so much time off, cramping becomes an issue.
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“I was definitely worried,” Kaufman-Renn said. “I had a really good two days of practice leading into it — like my body felt really good. I was happy with how practice went, but playing a team like them, you wish you had those game reps.”
Immediately before that episode, Kaufman-Renn’s passing and court awareness changed the game. He assisted on baskets on three consecutive trips — a lob dunk by Jacobsen, a 3-pointer by Fletcher Loyer and another layup for Jacobsen. Purdue finally had some separation, leading 79-71 with 5:11 to play.
Kaufman-Renn cramped up with 4:35 left, after Labaron Philon Jr.’s runout dunk cut the lead to 80-77. He returned shortly before Houston Mallette’s 3-pointer tied it 80-all with 1:42 remaining.
Smith immediately responded with a layup to break the tie, and Purdue led the rest of the way. Kaufman-Renn scored only two points in the second half. Smith, the other preseason All-American, scored 21 of his 29 points after halftime.
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Kaufman-Renn laid the foundation and Smith brought it home.
This was Purdue returning to its most natural state, and its most impressive.
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Trey Kaufman-Renn adds rebounding, passing, scoring in Purdue win at Alabama
