Trailing only by three at the half, Minnesota was blown out in the final 20 minutes, losing to #6 Purdue 85-57 in West Lafayette. Jalen Crocker-Johnson and Langston Reynolds combined for 17 points in the first half and the Gophers were keeping things close with the Boilermakers trailing just 32-35 on the road. But Purdue opened the 2nd half with a 29-2 run to end any hope of a second consecutive upset for Gopher basketball.
THE STAT: Rebounding has been a relative strength for Minnesota this season but Purdue absolutely dominated the boards last night. On offense, Purdue managed to rebound 43% of their own misses for 14 offensive rebounds. And on defense they secured 87% of Minnesota’s missed shots.
Advertisement
TURNING POINT: I would love to know what Matt Painter had to say in the locker room during halftime. Purdue was coming off a 23-point home loss to Iowa State on Saturday and they followed that loss with a lackluster effort in the first half against Minnesota. Whatever was said to get his team back on track, it worked.
HOT: Purdue’s All-American point guard, Braden Smith, led the Boilermakers with 15 points but also had 12 assists, six rebounds and five steals for an all-around fantastic game.
NOT: Isaac Asuma did not have his best game last night. The sophomore guard struggled shooting in the win over Indiana, but he still managed to find ways to score 15 points. In West Lafayette, Asuma was 1/3 from three, 2/8 from the field and fouled out with just five points. He did lead the team with five rebounds and five assists, but Niko Medved is going to need more from Asuma if this team is going to win Big Ten road games.
Bobby Durkin gets an honorable mention here after going 0/5 from three.
Advertisement
NOTABLE: Minnesota was 9/11 on free throws in teh second half, a stat that has typically not been very kind to the Gophers. Cade Tyson finished 7/7 from the line.
UP NEXT: Minnesota has a few gimme games on the schedule before the end of 2025. First up is Texas Southern on Sunday at noon on BTN.
