Top-ranked Purdue dismantles Eastern Illinois; Big Ten opener next

The good news: Another dominating rebounding performance.

The bad news: Too many turnovers in the first 10 minutes.

In the end, the top-ranked Boilermakers continued to flex its muscle on the boards and cleaned up the turnovers, cruising to a 109-62 victory over Eastern Illinois at Mackey Arena.

Some sloppy play was expected since Friday was the first game after blasting Texas Tech by 30 points a week ago in the Bahamas. However, it was good to flush out the kinks with the upcoming five-game stretch against Rutgers, Iowa State, Minnesota, Marquette and Auburn.

Similar to the victory over Akron on Nov. 16, the Boilermakers held the opposition without a rebound for extended minutes. The Panthers’ first rebound came at the 11:19 mark of the first half after Daniel Jacobsen blocked a shot and Malik Olafioye corralled the loose ball.

Purdue’s rebounding advantage grew to 16-2 with 4:46 left in the first half. The Boilermakers won the rebounding 37-17.

PDF: Purdue-Eastern Illinois stats

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PURDUE COACH MATT PAINTER

PURDUE PLAYERS

Meanwhile, the Boilermakers didn’t get a handle on the turnovers until after 11 minutes had elapsed. Those mistakes led to 15 points off turnovers for EIU, which remained connected in this game.

But once the turnovers disappeared, the shooting picked up, and everyone understood why the Boilermakers were a 40.5-point favorite.

And the lack of turnovers led to an efficient offense. Purdue outscored the Panthers 65-18 when it didn’t commit a turnover during a 19-minute stretch. The Boilermakers had one turnover during the final 29 minutes.

Braden Smith and Jacobsen put on a show in different ways.

Smith handed out 10 assists for the 27^th time in his career, including a pair of nifty behind-the-back passes. Smith also moved into second place on the Big Ten’s career assist list, surpassing Michigan State’s Mateen Cleaves.

Jacobsen recorded six blocked shots and also continued his hot shooting. The 7-foot-4 sophomore hasn’t missed a field goal over the last three games. Jacobsen flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 24 points and nine rebounds in 18 minutes.

“IT COMPLETLEY CHANGES THE TEAM”

Jacobsen has hit 19 straight field goals. That’s impressive.

They didn’t happen in one game, but over a span of four. He was 8 of 8 on Friday after making a combined 7 of 7 in the Bahamas against Memphis and Texas Tech. His last miss was Nov. 16 against Akron.

The 19 in a row is a program record, breaking the mark of 15 straight set by George Faber, who accomplished the feat during the last three games of the 1970-71 season.

While Jacobsen adds tremendous value on the offensive end, he’s a missing piece on defense. His shot blocking abilities is an element that was absent from last year’s team.

Jacobsen has 17 of the team’s 31 blocked shots.

“It completely changes the team,” senior Trey Kaufman-Renn said. “When you look at last year, that was one of our biggest weaknesses. Somebody like Daniel can come in, and how many blocks was it? Six blocks. Six blocks in the game is just tremendous. Just having a guy like that just completely changes your defense.”

As Jacobsen missed most of last season with a lower leg injury, he noticed the lack of rim protection. That’s an area where his absence was glaring.

“That’s definitely something that I’ve been focusing on, and I feel like I can really contribute,” Jacobsen said. “Last year, I really felt like I could have helped out.”

He’s helping out this season at both ends of the floor.

Jacobsen is a significant presence around the rim, where Smith’s lob passes set up the Chicago native perfectly for dunks. His ability to rebound, especially on the offensive end, adds another dimension, and closing out defensive possessions with more boards allows the offense to quickly find its transition game.

As Jacobsen continues to work his way back after not playing last season, he’s adding more physical plays to his arsenal. Competing for USA Basketball in the offseason helped him regain his confidence ahead of this year.

“At first, you don’t know if he’s going to be able to do it, then he was able to do it, and I think that gave him some confidence to be able to go out there,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. “I think everyone has a little bit of a grace period when you have a major injury like that.

“Just being positive with him, more than anything. You can see tonight, he made some physical plays. And things get easy for him when he can catch lobs, and he can move freely, but when guys are being really physical with him, he’s still got to be able to make those plays. I thought tonight he made a couple of really huge physical plays.”

“IT’S JUST CASUAL PLAY”

What helped the Boilermakers fix the turnovers and begin to pull away?

“It was a slow start, but then we picked it up defensively to push the lead,” said Fletcher Loyer, who scored 15 points on 4 of 4 shooting – all 3-pointers.

The contributions from Jacobsen, Omer Mayer, and Gicarri Harris allowed Purdue to get from Point A to Point B. Once the starters returned for their second stint, everything fell into place, and the lopsided rout was on.

“We knew our offense was working. We were just turning the ball over,” Loyer said. “It’s nine turnovers in the first half, and it’s obviously not where you want to be, but you still have the lead. Knowing that if you take care of the ball, you’re going to get whatever you want.”

The play from the bench helped settle down the situation. The reserves totaled 57 points, led by Jacobsen’s big game and a combined 22 points from Mayer and Harris.

At halftime, the Boilermakers were shooting 64.3% from the field, 50% from the 3-point line, and were 11 of 11 at the line. But the nine turnovers led to 65% of EIU’s points.

The rebounding, though, allowed Purdue to take control of the game.

“We’re fortunate it was only at 15,” Painter said. “Look at those percentages, and you should be up by a big number, but it’s the quality of play. You have eight turnovers in the first eight, nine minutes of the game, and it’s just casual play.”

UP NEXT: BIG TEN OPENER

The Boilermakers will face a variety of difficult stretches, and one is about to begin.

Purdue opens Big Ten play on Tuesday at Rutgers, a place where the program has struggled. Home games against Iowa State, Minnesota, and Marquette, along with a neutral site matchup against Auburn, take place before Christmas.

But the Scarlet Knights have his team’s attention.

“They’re a physical team, and they’ve played better,” Painter said. “They had a tough loss against Tennessee, but in the last couple of games, they have played much better and competed.

“Anytime you go on the road, especially to start a season, expect their best, and that’s what we have to expect because we know it’s going to be a big-time environment.”