Purdue had an overall great game against the Illini, but it didn’t mean anything as Keaton Wagler turned in one of the greatest performances in Mackey Arena history to help Illinois win 88-82. It’s an unfortunate loss for a team that has struggled to stay in the lead the past few games, and it raises a lot of questions among fans and experts about Purdue’s ability to win the B1G and move forward in March. Can the boiler get back on track? They’ll have a great chance to do so Tuesday night at Assembly Hall against Indiana.
Let’s look at the “numbers” in the loss to the Illini.
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46
It’s a historic day for Illinois’ star freshman. Keaton Wagler emerged as the Illini’s leading scorer with 15.3 points per game against Purdue and is viewed as a possible lottery pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. Wagler lifts himself into thin air in stunning fashion 46 The scoring performance suggests the 6-foot-6 guard may be on his way to B1G Player of the Year and first-team All-American honors.
Mackey Arena is often a place where the best players tend to struggle. Stephen Curry paid him a visit and found it difficult to do anything with Chris Cramer and the Painters chasing him all game. What kind of history has Wagler created? He now owns the highest single-game scoring record by any opponent inside Mackey Arena and the third-highest total at any venue in Purdue’s entire program history.
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In a nutshell: This is how other teams feel when Carson Edwards comes out and hits everything after crossing half court.
27 and 12
Wagler’s performance was an all-time great, but Brayden Smith had his day. The senior guard got off to a slow start, but when the Boilers needed someone to match Wagler’s scoring, he showed why he has the potential to become a first-team All-American and win another Bob Cousy Award. Smith will go 27 points and 12 assists He only made one turnover in 37 minutes, and those three minutes were mainly because he sprained his ankle in the second half.
Smith continued to perform well, but he simply wasn’t getting the help he needed from his teammates, especially his seniors at TKR and Loyer. Purdue is still capable of achieving their goals, but that won’t happen if these two don’t perform at the level they should as upperclassmen.
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52.6%
Omar Mayer came to Purdue as a player who was known to have a scoring ability in the game that was probably beyond his years. He showed it in FIBA and in the preseason for Israel, but the season started pretty rough from beyond the arc. That hasn’t stopped Mayer so far, as he’s been outstanding defensively and seems to continue to contribute in just about every other way.
Through the first 12 games, Mayer struggled at nearly every position on the field. The freshman shot just 30/77 (39%) from the field and 11/41 (26.8%) from beyond the arc. He’s not expected to be a primary scorer, but he’s able to clearly create his own shot and has shown the ability to catch and shoot the ball, which should enhance Purdue’s offense. Over the past eight games, though, Mayer has turned things around.
Mayer seems to have found his groove, shooting 10/19 from beyond the arc. 52.6% Averaged 1.1 turnovers per game. That’s an important key for a player who will surely shoulder a greater scoring load next season. That need manifested itself after Smith was benched with a sprained ankle, and Mayer finished with five points, one rebound and one assist in a short period of time when he was needed even more. He actually scored fewer points but was more efficient.
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14
It’s not often that Purdue completely dominates on the glass like it did against the Illini in the past 40 years. one 14 A 33-19 rebounding advantage is one thing, but giving up 13 offensive rebounds to lead to an 18-2 second chance advantage is devastating. Purdue committed fewer turnovers and converted them into points (more on that later) and shot 57 percent from the field. Letting the Illini crumble on the glass is the one thing Wagler’s performance can’t afford.
The fourteen-rebound deficit was Purdue’s worst performance since Jan. 21, 2020, against Illinois.
20
Purdue once again showed their ability to run the ball at a high level, tying a program record (second time this season) with just three turnovers. The Illini, on the other hand, turned the ball over just ten times, but Purdue converted it. 20 point. Purdue is +17 in this area, which helps offset the Illini’s advantage in rebounding and second-chance scoring.
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25.9%
No one can dispute Fletcher Loyer’s impact on the game of basketball. He is rarely in the wrong position on defense and always seems to be in the right position on offense. The problem the past few games has been that he brings the most value offensively as a sharpshooter and the offensive mismatch just isn’t happening.
Over the past 9 games, Loyer has shot just 14/54 from the field. 25.9% From behind the arc. In fact, this may have been the most difficult shooting experience Loyer has experienced in his Purdue career. Frustratingly, Loyer has played at a high level elsewhere with the Boilers, but it’s his three-point shooting ability that gives him the most value. He’s not good enough to be a scorer from behind the arc on his own, and he’s not good enough defensively to warrant his primary role.
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For Purdue to reach its goals this season, Loyer will need to address his shooting woes. His struggles in previous seasons were followed by a long stretch of elite shooting, and there’s no reason it won’t happen again, which needs to happen if Purdue wants to win a B1G title.
5
Purdue was very solid with the ball against the Illini. In fact, this is fifth place Purdue has held consecutive games to single-digit turnovers. That’s what CMP knows, this team is capable of having ball handlers of the caliber of Smith, Loyer, Cox, Meyer, Harris and Bent. In fact, this isn’t even the longest stretch of this level of security Purdue has taken recently.
Last season, from its game against UCLA through its first-round game against High Point, Purdue had six straight games with single-digit turnovers. The Boilers did have five straight games in 2018-2019 and 2011-2012, but their ability to limit turnovers this season appears to be the best in the CMP era.
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6
Since the beginning of the Keady era, Purdue has rarely gone a season without suffering back-to-back losses. This happened just now 6 The total number of seasons spanning a span of forty-six years shows the grueling nature of the B1G schedule. These seasons are 2023-2024, 2016-2017, 1993-1994, 1989-1990, 1987-1988 and 1986-1987.
On the other hand, Purdue fans have had to endure some rough seasons. In the 2005-2006 season, the Boilers were just a bad basketball team, with a record of 9-19 and losing 15 of their last 18 games. Now, what about the worst losing streak for a Boiler team heading into the NCAA Tournament? This was the 1990-1991 team that lost five straight games and entered the tournament as the No. 7 seed, only to be defeated by No. 10 seed Temple in the first round.
Losing happens over the course of a long season, and losing consecutive games is more common than you might think. Even Purdue’s historically good teams have lost consecutive games, but that’s not necessarily a cause for concern. The key will be how the Boilers continue to use what they’ve learned throughout the season to find ways to improve, and that’s something this team and coaching staff have shown to be highly capable of.
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1007
Oscar Cluff breaks the 1,000-point mark with 9 points 1,007 His career spans three seasons at Washington State, South Dakota State and now Purdue. Clough is unlikely to break his single-season scoring record of 528 points, or any other individual record, but he’s exactly what the Boilers need (despite glaring scheme issues against UCLA and Illinois).
Chapter 943
With 12 assists, Brayden Smith now has Chapter 943 Career assists. This puts him 12th in total assists, trailing only Doug Gottleib’s 947 assists. With 11 games remaining, Smith trails Bobby Hurley’s assist record with 133 assists. In order to break the record, he needs to do the following:
11 games (no playoff games): 12.1 assists per game
13 games (2 playoff games): 10.23 assists per game
14 games (3 playoff games): 9.5 assists per game
15 games (4 playoff games): 8.9 assists per game
18 games (7 playoff games): 7.4 assists per game
20 games (9 playoff games – BTT Finals and National Championship): 6.65 assists per game
