Matt Painter Talks About Purdue's Defensive Improvement Since Return to Big Ten Play

Just like the Purdue teams of old, the 2024-25 Boilermakers have started to use their defense as a hat rack. Since the return to Big Ten play earlier this month, Matt Painter's team has looked completely different on that end of the court, and it's produced some tremendous results.

Purdue is 7-1 over its last eight games and sits in second place all alone in the Big Ten standings, behind only Michigan State. During that stretch, the Boilers have held seven of those opponents to under 70 points.

Where Purdue has seen the biggest improvement has been in forcing turnovers. In this eight-game stretch, the Boilermakers have forced teams into an average of 15.9 turnovers per game.

Coach Matt Painter said one of the biggest keys to Purdue's recent success is staying in front of the basketball.

"If you're always in help and you're always rotating, you end up getting behind plays, you foul too much, you don't have great defensive rebound balance," Painter said during the Purdue Basketball Live radio program.

Another factor in Purdue's recent defensive success? Following a Dec. 29 win over Toledo, Painter decided to tweak his starting lineup. He inserted senior forward Caleb Furst and freshman guard CJ Cox into the rotation, and both have provided a nice spark in their new roles.

"After playing Toledo I was like, 'We have to have good ball pressure.' I think CJ has really given us that," Painter said. "I think from a physical standpoint, I think Caleb really helps us — you can guard different people."

Furst has been extremely active on the defensive end since his first start against Minnesota. On the stat sheet, he's only averaging 4.9 points and 3.0 rebounds per game, but his presence and versatility on the floor has been invaluable.

Cox has had a similar impact, although his pressure on the basketball has been particularly helpful. That was evident in Friday's win over Michigan, recording three steals which led to some easy Boilermaker buckets.

But, as you might have guessed, a lot of Purdue's success defensively comes from junior guard Braden Smith, who has become a more aggressive player over the last month.

"Braden has been really good and been very active, especially when he's not on the ball," Painter said. "We do a lot of doubling through the post and loading up when guys drive baseline or guys are in iso ball screens on the wing. We're at our best when he's the guy that's out on the other side playing free safety. He gets a lot of those steals."

In a handful of Purdue's games during the last month, it has shot the ball extremely well. But in games where it has struggled to knock down shots, defense has allowed the Boilermakers to still get wins.

Painter says that's the message he wants the team to learn through as the Boilers enter the second half of the Big Ten schedule.

"The three things that travel are defense, rebounding and fundamentals. They're always packed. You're jumper sometimes isn't packed," he said. "But if you can take care of the basketball and you can be fundamentally sound and you can rebound and defend, you're going to give yourself a chance against elite people, even if it doesn't quite go your way."