After watching the Nebraska game, I was both excited and shocked by what I saw. Purdue led by 22 points on the road against a top-10 team but prevailed in overtime. One of the many issues I saw in the game, besides live-ball turnovers, was that Purdue seemed to insist on taking shots with plenty of shot clock left, and the clock is Nebraska’s biggest enemy. Now, before I get into the details of the timing of all this, I want to point out that early shots aren’t necessarily a bad thing, and in many cases, it resulted in Purdue taking a big shot. So did two 3-pointers from C.J. Cox late in the second half, extending Purdue’s lead to 60-53 and then 65-53. Cox made shots with 16 and 12 minutes left in the shot clock. Fletcher Loyer also hit an overtime 3-pointer with 21 seconds left to extend the lead to 71-68, but it’s a different story when the game is tied or trailing.
Overall, Purdue missed 16 shots with 13 seconds left in the second half or overtime. Thirteen of those were 3-pointers, and 12 of the 16 came when Purdue was leading.
advertise
-
16:57 Fletcher Loyer misses a three-pointer with 17 seconds left. 46-29 Purdue University.
-
16:47 Brayden Smith misses a three-pointer with 14 seconds left. 46-29 Purdue University.
-
16:17 Brayden Smith missed a fadeaway jumper with 20 seconds left. 46-29 Purdue University.
-
15:23 CJ Cox misses a three-pointer with 18 seconds left. 48-29 Purdue.
-
12:49 Jikari Harris misses a three-pointer with 13 seconds left. 52-33 Purdue.
-
At 8 minutes and 37 seconds, Brayden Smith missed a three-pointer with 14 seconds left in the game. 54-43 Purdue.
-
7:36 Fletcher Loyer misses a three-pointer with 17 seconds left. 54-46 Purdue.
-
7:04 Trey Kaufman-Lane misses a two-point shot with 17 seconds left. 54-49 Purdue University.
-
5:37 Fletcher Loyer misses a three-pointer with 13 seconds left. 57-51 Purdue University.
-
At 2 minutes and 24 seconds, Brayden Smith missed a three-pointer with 14 seconds left in the game. 67-55 Purdue University.
-
At 2 minutes and 18 seconds, CJ Cox missed a three-pointer with 13 seconds left in the game. 67-55 Purdue University.
-
At 1 minute and 37 seconds, Fletcher Loyer missed a three-pointer with 13 seconds left in the game. 67-58 Purdue University.
Now that we’re in overtime, you can more easily justify these attempts early in the shot clock when you’re trying to get the lead and win the game.
-
At 1 minute and 51 seconds, Fletcher Loyer missed a three-pointer with 12 seconds left in the game. 75-75.
-
At 1 minute and 44 seconds, Oscar Clough missed two points with 17 seconds left in the game. 75-75.
-
:54 CJ Cox misses a three-pointer with 17 seconds left. Purdue trailed 75-77.
-
:16 Fletcher Loyer missed a shot and a 3-pointer with 16 seconds left. Purdue trailed 76-77.
So there you have it. If Purdue had played smarter in the second half, worked longer and found different shots, or even violated the shot clock on every possession, Purdue would have won this game in overtime. I understand you want to take a good shot when you have the ball, especially when Nebraska switches to a 1-3-1 zone, but if you want to keep taking shots, you have to be aware of the clock and for most of the second half it was basically Purdue’s sixth defender. By taking a shot so early in the game, Purdue gave Nebraska the extra possession it desperately needed to get back into the game.
Does Purdue pulling the trigger early strike you as out of character for them, or is that just me? Am I off base or something?