Another game against a ranked opponent, another loss for the Boilermakers.
Purdue chopped a 17-point second-half deficit all the way down to seven near game's end Wednesday in Kentucky, but Louisville came out on the positive end of the 71-64 final score. The Cardinals put on a defensive clinic through much of the night, particularly in the first half, where the Boilers scored just 19 points.
Purdue shot just 35.8 percent from the field on the evening, also turning the ball over 17 times.
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Despite Caleb Swanigan finishing with yet another double-double — he had 14 points and 11 rebounds — it was a tough night for the Boilers' stars. Swanigan and fellow big man Isaac Haas combined to go 0-for-8 from the field with one point in the first half. Haas was nearly oh-fer from the field, finishing 2-for-9 on the night with eight points. Vincent Edwards was 0-for-4 with just one point.
Purdue had a nightmarish first half offensively as Louisville excelled on defense. The Boilers scored only 19 points and were just 7-for-28 from the field in the first half, and they turned the ball over 10 times, leading to six points for the Cardinals. Louisville wasn’t that great offensively, either, unable to take too much advantage of long scoreless stretches by Purdue, one lasting five minutes. But the Cardinals did close the first half on an 8-0 run to take a 14-point lead into the break.
Louisville's lead grew as big as 17 a little more than six minutes into the second half thanks to a 12-3 run. Purdue chipped that lead to 10 with its own 9-2 spurt, and the gap was just eight with a little more than five minutes to play. But Haas and P.J. Thompson missed back-to-back shots in the lane, and even after Louisville missed a free throw, the Cardinals threw the ball off Swanigan and turned that possession into a 3-pointer and an 11-point lead with four minutes to play.
The Boilers kept chipping away, not gaining much ground until a Ryan Cline 3 made it just a four-point game with a minute and a half to go. But Purdue didn't get any closer than that as Louisville held on for the win.
Big Ten
Despite the Boilers boasting the two star big men in Swanigan and Haas, it was the Cards owning a huge advantage in points in the paint, outscoring the Boilers there 32-18.
Swanigan and Thompson were the only two Purdue players in double figures: Swanigan with his 14 and Thompson with 13.
The Boilers dropped to 5-2 on the season with the loss, their second in as many games against ranked foes. The previous came to reigning-champion Villanova. Next comes a game against Morehead State on Saturday.