How Purdue basketball’s loss to Iowa State reached historic magnitude

WEST LAFAYETTE — Purdue basketball’s worst offensive performance of the season, courtesy of Iowa State’s defensive clinic, infected the other end of the floor as well.

The most damning statement after the Boilermakers’ 81-58 loss was not one of the characterizations of its magnitude. Matt Painter dropped several folksy descriptions of his team’s undoing, referencing “intestinal fortitude,” a “smorgasbord” of defensive lapses and a team taken “to the woodshed.”

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He also plainly said he did not believe his team could grind out a win against a team as good as the Cyclones. A year ago, that might have been an assessment of a team lacking necessary ingredients, such as advanced rebounding ability and rim protection on defense. Saturday, it was an assessment of his team’s mentality.

“You can’t play through your offense,” Painter said. “You’ve got to find your energy through defense. You’ve got to find your energy through rebounding and getting 50-50 balls and making those plays.

“… Their determination and their fight was better than ours.”

Shots did not fall in the first half, either, when Purdue shot 2 of 10 from 3-point range. Yet the early drought did not seem to have the same psychological effect on the team’s defensive initiative.

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Braden Smith served as the tip of that spear with a couple of steals. The Boilermakers scored 11 of their first 14 points off of turnovers — completely stealing Iowa State’s M.O.

Purdue trailed only 35-31 at halftime because, when home rims proved unkind, it fell back on its defense.

So why did that not happen in the second half, too? How did this become the most lopsided home loss for a No. 1 team in the history of the Associated Press Top 25 poll?

We’ll take a closer look at the stretch from when Iowa State star Joshua Jefferson picked up a third foul — 30 seconds into the second half — until he returned almost eight minutes later. When the advantage should have shifted to the…

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Publish date : 2025-12-08 09:41:00

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