WEST LAFAYETTE — The Purdue basketball team couldn’t quite defeat Penn State on Saturday, leading by one at halftime, 93-85.
Boilermakers coach Matt Painter wants more from the defense, which has allowed 73 or more points in three straight games after holding its five previous opponents to 60 or fewer. However, he also wants to give credit where credit is due — specifically to Nittany Lions linebacker Freddie Dilione V.
advertise
Dillion scored a career-high 25 points to help Penn State have one of its best three-point shooting nights of the season. The Nittany Lions needed that motivation for the second straight game without injured leading scorer Kayden Mingo.
The other game was a 74-72 loss to No. 1 Michigan. On Saturday, Penn State trailed by just seven points with 5:38 left in the game before Purdue pulled away.
“Sometimes we think about things of this nature, like, man, you’re up 10 points, why not extend that lead to 18,” Painter said. “Well, Freddy DiLeon didn’t let us do that. He looked really good to me today. I don’t know what you guys were looking at. He looked like a real player. He was awesome.”
Purdue did suffer from defensive lapses. Penn State’s three-point shooting percentage is 32.8%, the worst in the Big Ten. 12 out of 27 times (44.4%). The clip helped keep the Nittany Lions in trouble until the second half.
advertise
Meanwhile, the Boilermakers employed other defensive strategies that affected the outcome. Penn State committed turnovers on three consecutive possessions in the first half and went on a 9-0 run. They scored 10 points in the game to just three for Purdue, which was led 18-4 by turnovers.
“Some of these guys are just aggressive with the ball and making steals,” Painter said. “I think the biggest thing for our team is when guys show weakness, we need to be aggressive. When they don’t show weakness, we need to be tough.”
Nathan Baird and Sam King have the best Purdue sports coverage and sign up for IndyStar’s Boilermakers newsletter.
This article originally appeared in the Indianapolis Star: Purdue basketball coach Matt Painter praises Penn State’s Freddie DiLeon V
