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Takeaways EIU

On3 imageby: Brian Neubert11/29/25brianneubert

Squeezing in a buy game between its MTE trip and next week’s Big Ten opener at Rutgers, No. 1 Purdue shook off a sleepy start Friday morning to rout Eastern Illinois.

Our GoldandBlack.com post-game analysis from the 109-62 Boilermaker win …

PDF: Purdue-Eastern Illinois stats

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A POST-THANKSGIVING WAKE-UP CALL

This was a sleepy start for Purdue and a reminder of the sharpness that’ll be required at Rutgers, then vs. Iowa State, Minnesota and Marquette.

There is a reason these buy games are scheduled after an MTE trip (and in this case, Thanksgiving). Lulls are common, and taking your lulls in games you can’t lose is best. All due respect, Eastern Illinois, but it is what it is.

The Panthers’ only offense to start the game was Purdue’s turnovers. One-hundred percent. Of EIU’s 28 first-half points, 15 came off Boilermaker turnovers. The rest: A conglomeration of prayer threes, mid-range jumpers and such.

The second half warped the scoring and percentages, but this was a 30-some-point sort of defensive showing from Purdue if not for turnovers.

Nothing new here, but the turnover thing is same as it ever was. Purdue is fine on defense, but not so good it can hand offenses easy ones. Beyond that, Purdue is too good on offense to fritter away at-bats. The Boilermakers barely broke a sweat today and averaged 1.6 points per possession and shot 63 percent.

If you are looking for this Purdue team’s poison pill, it is clearly the same as it has been: Turnovers.

Maybe being reminded of it on Black Friday ends up being worthwhile.

OSCAR CLUFF’S SURPRISING VALUE FOR PURDUE

Through seven games, the Boilermaker center has recorded 15 assists against just two turnovers. His assists are all organic. Short of some dribble-handoff stuff, he is not a featured passer and decision-maker in this offense.

But he is doing a tremendous in high-low passing, passing out of double-teams and especially in finding shooters off offensive rebounds.

The value of a “role player” on a team like this is how well they cash in on opportunities, how efficient they are on a per-touch basis while not commanding touches and how much they affect the possessions margin for the better. Cluff has been an immense success in all areas.

Throw in Daniel Jacobsen’s rim efficiency and shot-blocking and most everything you could have hoped for from the center position has materialized.

THERE IS MORE THERE

The Texas Texas and Alabama illustrated that Purdue has an extra gear there when needed.

Today, it was not needed. This was powered-down Purdue on an occasion when no starter played more than 23 minutes and Braden Smith just did that thing he does where he simply decides not to score.

Chances are, the team you see in the next few weeks is more like Alabama and Texas Tech and more like what you can expect to see the rest of the season.

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