Purdue survives Illinois comeback attempt to move to 14-1

College Basketball

Published Jan. 5, 2024 11:49 p.m. ET

College Basketball Broadcaster and Reporter

The Purdue Boilermakers held off a furious comeback attempt by Illinois to pull out an 83-78 win at Mackey Arena on Friday night, their seventh consecutive victory.

Here are three rapid-fire takeaways from the Boilers’ victory:

1. Purdue rode a hot start to find a way, one the Illini have to be kicking themselves over

Eight minutes into the game, you could get out your sharpie — or at least think that way. If you take away those opening eight minutes, in which Purdue was ahead 20-4, Illinois would have been in a good position to win this game! The Illini missed 9-of-10 shots at one point, while the Boilers went 7-for-10 from 3-point land in the first half to lead 47-32 at the break.

But that’s just it: the fact that Illinois was only down three with less than 15 seconds left says a lot about this team, which is without the suspended Terrence Shannon Jr. following his charge of rape last week. Southern Illinois transfer Marcus Domask continues to be the bright spot for this Illinois team, and can get into microwave mode at any time. He scored 20 of his 26 points in the second half. But it was too little, too late. To get down by 16 points not even eight minutes in is a sentence to a loss.

That said, I think the Illini showed they can still be a top 3-4 team in the Big Ten without Shannon because their veteran supporting cast really can find a good offensive rhythm in games. It says something about them that they hung in, but the frustration should be this:

Illinois held Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer to a combined 5-for-20 from the floor. They held Zach Edey to 10 points. And yet, they couldn’t find a way.

No. 9 Illinois Fighting Illini vs. No 1. Purdue Boilermakers Highlights | CBB on FOX

2. Illinois dared Trey Kaufman-Renn to shoot, and he made the most of it.

With just over five minutes on the clock and Illinois back within 11, Trey Kaufman-Renn caught the ball on the left wing with nobody within five feet of him. Part of that is because you have to pick your poison when defending the Boilermakers and the Illini prioritized guarding Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer, who both struggled from the floor.

But while Kaufman-Renn isn’t known for his 3-point skillset, he was still 6-for-13 from downtown entering the game. He drained the triple, sending Mackey Arena into a frenzy and boosting him to a season-high 23 points on 8-of-12 from the floor. You have to pick your spots defensively when trying to stop Purdue. Illinois elected to make Kaufman-Renn beat them, and to his credit, the 6-foot-9 sophomore posted as great as any performance in his career.

3. This Purdue team showed why it’s better than last year, and how many ways it can win

The No. 1 team in the country is 14-1 on the season, and has won seven consecutive games. Don’t let the first thing you think of be a loss to FDU. We are watching a really special season right now and the fact Edey was in foul trouble, Smith and Loyer were off and Domask scored 26, that would make you think Purdue could have been in a rough spot. But this program has the best homecourt atmosphere in college hoops this year and for Kaufman-Renn and transfer Lance Jones to combine for 40, while Mason Gillis knocked down two triples, it shows this Purdue team is filled with more options this year.

John Fanta is a national college basketball broadcaster and writer for FOX Sports. He covers the sport in a variety of capacities, from calling games on FS1 to serving as lead host on the BIG EAST Digital Network to providing commentary on The Field of 68 Media Network. Follow him on Twitter @John_Fanta.

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Trey Kaufman-Renn

Purdue Boilermakers

College Basketball

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