Purdue 90 USC 72

Purdue vs. USC

USC was without their leading scorer, Desmond Claude, who was out with a bone bruise.

Purdue dominated inside throughout the game, shooting efficiently and outhustling USC on the boards. The game was never in doubt for Purdue as they maintained double-digit leads throughout the game.

USC’s Wesley Yates stepped up in Claude’s absence with a career-high 30 points. It wasn’t enough as the rest of the USC squad struggled with scoring.

USC head coach, Eric Musselman, refused to participate in the post-game media press conference and was unavailable for any comments.

Key Stats

Purdue outbounded USC 21 to 8 in the 1st half and 48 to 31 for the game.

Purdue had 52 points in the paint to USC’s 36.

Purdue shot 67% in the 1st half but cooled off with only 36% in the 2nd half. USC shot 41% for the game.

Key Individual Performances

Purdue’s Braden Smith had 9 points,13 assists, and added 5 steals.

Purdue’s Trey Kaufman-Renn had 24 points and 10 rebounds before exiting midway through the 2nd half with a head injury. When asked if he will be OK, Kaufmann responded “we’ll see.”

Purdue’s Fletcher Loyer scored 14 points.

What it means

Purdue moves to 11-2 in conference play and remains atop the Big Ten standings.

Purdue remains a solid projected 2-seed in the NCAA tournament.

USC missed on an opportunity to enter the NCAA tournament field and still has much work to do in order to be considered for a bid.

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