GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 27, ISSUE 3 58
make threes? At the bare minimum ... why can't we
get three or four guys like that? It was silent in the
room. I just said, 'We need to go out and get the best
shooter we can get.' If the best shooter ends up being
the eighth-best player in the country, we're probably
not getting him. But we can go out and get somebody
who's a top-100-fringe player that we think is the best
shooter in our state, the best shooter in the Midwest,
just a great all-around shooter."
Purdue's success this season has been the result of
that emphasis.
But that success has also made Purdue's greatest
flaw even more maddening.
The Boilermakers have endured a turnover problem
this season, an issue that's had very little to do with
its actual passing and decision-making — typically
the leading causes of such problems — and more to
do with just general sloppiness.
For as efficient as Purdue has been when it's actual-
ly gotten shots off, it underscores that need to protect
the basketball better than it has, which would make
the Boilermakers an even higher-scoring team than
they've been and inevitably boost they're defense.
That category — turnovers — is probably where
Purdue's up-side lies from here on out. But in back-
to-back games in mid-December, Purdue had only 15
combined turnovers, nine against Notre Dame and six
vs. Western Illinois.
Purdue has been a good team, likely to be 11-2 and
ranked in the top 15 heading into Big Ten play, as is,
largely because of a uniquely balanced offense that
has created real dilemmas for opponents.
"It's just a tough matchup for people when we're
hitting shots the way we have been," Mathias said.
j
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