Quick Hitters – Purdue’s Big Bench Balling

Purdue’s Rebounding continues to shine

At one point in the first half, Purdue had 9 turnovers and was still winning the possession battle. That’s because it had an 18-3 edge on the glass. That advantage was stretched even further when Oscar Cluff gobbled up two more offensive rebounds on back to back possessions to start the second half.

It wasn’t that long ago that Purdue was struggling on the glass at home against an overmatched team.But Trey Kaufman-Renn’s return and an aggressive, consistent effort on the glass team wise has Purdue as one of the nation’s most dangerous rebounding teams. It was the advantage at Alabama, and again against Memphis and Texas Tech. It appears that Purdue is a legitimately elite rebounding team.It came into the game grabbing 42% of its misses, the 8th best mark in the country. That will only get better after another bell to bell beat down on the glass.

Purdue finished the game with a 37-17 rebounding edge.

Bench as insurance policy

Day after a holiday that features a lot of triptophan, and Purdue looked like a team still blinking off a nap after 8 turnovers in the first eight minutes of the game.

But what’s clear, is even when Purdue doesn’t quite have it, its bench is full of catalysts. Omer Mayer, Gicarri Harris, and Daniel Jacobsen were major impact players when they were on the floor. Jack Benter allows Purdue to play even faster on both ends of the floor.What’s becoming really clear is that Purdue probably has the best bench in the country. Mayer is getting better as he settles into Purdue’s system and his effort and energy as a teammate has been infectious. Gicarri Harris adds a speed element that stretches the floor for Purdue. Jacobsen is incredibly over qualified to be a back up big. Benter makes tracking the ball and another shooting even more imposing for defenses. All of them also fit well with Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer, Trey Kaufman-Renn, or whatever starter stays on the floor. There is no rest against this Purdue team.

Purdue’s bench scored 57 points on a night when Purdue gave up 62 points.

Daniel Jacobsen physically imposing

Jacobsen was just too big for Eastern Illinois.

As Jacobsen gets more comfortable on the court, his size becomes more and more a problem. Against Eastern Illinois, Jacobsen had his best half of basketball as a Boilermaker. He was a perfect 3 of 3 from the floor, using patience, height, and good touch to finish around the basket and he knocked down all five of his free throw attempts. He was also aggressive on the boards, doing a good job not just being bigger but moving out of place to get and get rebounds. He was a big reason for Purdue’s 19-6 edge on the glass in the first half.

On defense, Jacobsen loomed even larger with four blocks. Two of Jacobsen’s blocks were at the rim, thrown back with vigor. The other two came on the perimeter where his length allowed him to get to jump shots.

Jacobsen’s length is his great equalizer when switched on quicker guards and shooters. He’s gotten better at using it to contest shots and that’s a good sign for Purdue’s defense.

Jacobsen played even better int he second half. He finished with a career high 24 points to go with 9 rebounds and 6 blocks on perfect 8 of 8 shooting from the floor in just 18 minutes of action.