Top-ranked Purdue cruises past UIndy in final tune-up

Plenty of combinations to dissect.

Lots to like. Several areas to address before next week’s opener and the much-anticipated regular season.

The top-ranked Boilermakers shook off the disappointment from the exhibition loss at Kentucky and played with a higher level of competitive spirit on Wednesday night, cruising past UIndy 92-49 at Mackey Arena.

Purdue, which won its 36th straight exhibition game, opens the regular season Tuesday against Evansville.

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Gicarri Harris’ offseason work was on display as the sophomore made four 3-pointers and finished with 20 points, including 13 in the first half as the Boilermakers led 46-28.

Trey Kaufman-Renn, Braden Smith, and Fletcher Loyer helped run the show, but Wednesday was an opportunity for the home crowd to assess the improvement of the other returners and catch their first glimpse of a handful of newcomers against another team.

The trio will determine what type of season the Boilermakers have, but the contributions from everyone else will push this team to its final destination.

In the first half, Matt Painter used 11 different lineup combinations, in part because of foul trouble.  

Two post players – Oscar Cluff and Daniel Jacobsen – battled first-half foul trouble. Cluff picked up three fouls in the opening period, and Jacobsen had two. Painter treated the two exhibitions as a regular game and started Jacobsen after halftime.

After making just 3 of 17 from beyond the arc at Kentucky, Loyer and Harris led an improved performance. Purdue made 15 of 30 from 3-point range as Loyer made three, freshman Antione West Jr,. had two, and C.J. Cox was 2 of 3.

Loyer, Harris, and Cox combined to make 9 of 12 from outside the arc. Loyer added 16 points and Kaufman-Renn scored 10. Jacobsen totaled 10 points, including a handful of dunks, and eight rebounds.

“THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE IS CONFIDENCE”

Harris shared his offseason focus as the Georgia native prepared for his sophomore season.

Ready to catch and shoot. Playing off closeouts. Coming off screens into different actions. Looking to shoot first. Finding a natural rhythm on the court.

What about 3-point shooting?

“Yeah, definitely,” Harris said.

His 4 of 5 performance from beyond the arc gives the Boilermakers another threat from the 3-point line. As teams focus attention on Kaufman-Renn, Smith, and Loyer, Harris is in a prime position to take advantage of openings on the perimeter.

“It’s a huge part,” said Harris, who scored eight straight points on a pair of 3-pointers and two free throws at the end of the first half. “Whenever Braden and Trey, or Braden and Danny go to that ball screen, and if both of those two guys are covered, that probably means I’m going to be open. Being shot-ready at all times is definitely very important.”

Harris made 31% from beyond the arc last season on 79 attempts, the sixth-most on the team. Based on his work in the offseason and what transpired during Wednesday’s game, it’s expected that those numbers will increase.

But what Harris contributes is more than just 3-pointers.

His ability to attack the rim off the dribble, excel in transition, and play tough defense will keep him on the floor. His confidence continues to grow after a solid freshman season, and more performances like Wednesday will maintain that mindset.

“I’m on the bench looking at those first four minutes and seeing what’s going on,” he said. “When my number is called, just being ready to play. But the biggest difference is confidence.”

One of his goals is to crack the starting lineup, but he could play starter minutes if his production remains consistent.

“Starting, not starting, you’ve got to have the mentality to play hard for however many minutes that you get,” Harris said. “That’s what the coaching staff taught me. If I get eight minutes in the game, I still gotta play hard. If I get 20 minutes, I gotta play hard that whole time. Just play my maximum effort every single time.”

“IT’S GREAT TO BE BACK”

The final stats sheet indicated that Jacobsen was credited with two blocked shots.

That’s true, but how many shots by the Greyhounds did the 7-foot-4 sophomore alter? Plenty.

“Daniel got some blocks there,” Painter said. “We only have three as a team, but I think he changed more. He’s got to get more blocks. I thought he had two or three opportunities to be more aggressive and block some shots. You’re a little passive once you get into foul trouble.”

The foul trouble by Jacobsen and Cluff didn’t change the approach, but Painter’s luxury is moving Kaufman-Renn to their position. Not many teams have an All-American as a backup at center.

Since Jacobsen has seen limited action after last year’s injury in the second game, his presence is striking in the middle. He received a nice ovation after entering the game, and the crowd added more applause as they watched Jacobsen in his first five minutes.

Three rebounds. Two blocked shots. One steal. He made a jumper and put down a dunk.  

“Obviously, it’s great to be back,” he said. “Three or four months ago, I wasn’t really feeling my full quickness and speed but now, I’m 100%. I feel great.”

Jacobsen was relegated to watching last season from the bench after suffering a leg injury, ending his rookie year.

“There was a lot of things last year that I felt I could have contributed and helped out with, especially like blocking shots, scoring around the basket, defending the rim,” he said. “I think I made a pretty big impact on that today.”

Jacobsen enjoyed more success above the rim to start the second half. He took an alley-oop pass from Smith and scored, delighting the sell-out crowd one more time.

He likely plays more in a regular-season game, but Painter used his timeshare approach to distribute minutes.

“If it’s a real game, he plays more than 16 minutes and Gicarri Harris plays more,” Painter said. “That’s what we’re going to have to be able to understand as a team, is that when we do have some of those guys that come off the bench and play like a starter, they’re going to get more minutes.

“I think you saw it last year in that role with the three guys that played alongside Braden and Fletch. Whoever played better, whoever shot better at times we would just stick with because that’s what we needed.”

“WE NEED TO GET BETTER”

Coming off the loss to Kentucky, the Boilermakers understood what needed to happen.

Although it was an exhibition, the sense of urgency was triggered.

“We have a group mindset that we need to get better,” Kaufman-Renn said. “Obviously, we won this game by many points … but we need to get better.

 “We still don’t communicate. We still have lapses on the defensive end. One of the things that our coaches are telling us is we’re not playing UIndy; we’re playing a national championship team right now. We have to continue to get better in those areas if we want to be there.”