Purdue basketball watched Braden Smith notch a milestone two days before facing Ohio State. But the Boilermakers witnessed Matt Painter explode in frustration after falling to the Buckeyes.
Smith may have led with 20 points and seven assists, but OSU escaped 82-74 on Sunday. The veteran head coach didn't mince words about the Boilermakers postgame.
“We come in and out of our focus and our concentration. Like we make good plays and do good things…and then we don't,” Painter said. “We're the king at ‘we'll guard you in the same action, and then turn around and guard that same action.' There's got to be accountability.”
Painter insists that OSU didn't do anything to throw the Boilermakers off guard. He believes Sunday's loss stems from a lack of mental focus.
Notable lapses in Purdue loss to Ohio State
Painter verbally illustrated some ebb-and-flow issues plaguing his team.
“We'll have three good possessions, and then we won't,” he said. “We need more consistency across the board.”
He concluded with: “I wish it was one guy, I wish it was two guys, but it's not. It's collectively.”
Ohio State buckled down on defense to force Purdue into notable lapses. Purdue shot just 37.9% from behind the arc and 44.4% overall. The Buckeyes also swatted three shot attempts inside the paint while Purdue registered zero.
The Boilermakers struggled with getting out of foul trouble too — slapped with 23 personals. Ohio State only had 17 on the day.
Painter additionally saw a seven-point lead evaporate, then needed to climb out of a 16-point deficit.
Trey Kaufman-Renn scored 19 points to finish second on the team. Fletcher Loyer added 15 on the day, while C.J. Cox chipped in 13. But the eighth-ranked Boilermakers are fading at the wrong time ahead of the Big Ten Tournament — having lost three of their last four.
