By the Numbers: Purdue 87 Ball State 55

It looked very different inside Mackey Arena as the Boilers took to the floor without their own version of the big three with Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer, and Trey Kaufman-Renn all moving on in their own regards. Purdue’s offense doesn’t have the dominant low post scorers we have been used to for over a decade now since AJ Hammons was scoring and blocking shots at will. However, as the saying goes…the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Purdue has a bevvy of shooters from veterans like CJ Cox and Gicarri Harris to newcomers Luke Ertel and Jacob Webber, that the sets Purdue will run will look similar but Purdue may very well lead the country in three point attempts and makes this upcoming season. After a nice exhibition showing in an 87-55 win against the Ball State Cardinals.

Let’s take a look at that victory ‘By the Numbers:’

1,446

1,446 days that Purdue fans got to enjoy the the trio of Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer, and Trey Kaufman-Renn playing in the program. That trio led Purdue to an overall record of 117-32 during their careers as Boilermakers and this first season without that trio will look different but it is a welcome difference for a fanbase that sees the potential amongst a lineup that will feature an offense that could again be amongst the best in college basketball being called by PJ Thompson.

17

Purdue showed off what they are likely going to do this season and it looked awfully similar to what Alabama has done under Nate Oats over the last several seasons, notably in 2024 and 2025. In those seasons, the Crimson Tide averaged 30.4 (2024) and 35.9 (2025) three point attempts per game on their way to their only Final Four appearance in program history in 2024.

Against the Cardinals, Purdue took 40 while making 17 for 42.5% and the thing is t didn’t really feel like Purdue was forcing themselves to get to 40. Purdue was just open thanks to the actions being run for their guards and wings by PJ Thompson. When coaches can run guys off the bench like Luke Ertel, Jacob Webber, Antoine West, and Jack Benter who are truly all capable of shooting 40+% from behind the arc on whatever volume they can get, it makes defending this team just as terrifying as it was under Braden Smith’s maestro like control.

That 17 made threes is the most in program history for an exhibition.

22-1

Since the 2016-2017 season, Purdue is now 22-1 against in-state programs inside Mackey Arena. If you want to talk about one of the reasons Purdue has dominated the recruiting of in-state prospects over the last decade, look no further than that domination of the other programs within the state of Indiana.

23

In a season where many fans and pundits are going to wonder where Purdue goes for generating offense without the all-time leader in assists in college basketball history, the Boilers went out and dished out 23 assists on 28 made field goals. Led by Gicarri Harris’ 5 and Daniel Jacobsen’s 4, the Boilers shared the ball exceptionally well in their first opportunity against an opponent this season.

5

A lot is going to be asked of Daniel Jacobsen this season as Purdue’s primary interior defender and the 7’5 sophomore showed a lot of growth since last season. He continued to show improvement in his ability to move laterally and did a good job of blocking shots when the opportunities presented themselves. He had 5 nice blocks but really should have had 6 but a late whistle on one seemed to come out of nowhere when it really wasn’t a foul (hey, the refs need a warmup as well). Jacobsen still has some moments where he gets beat because he gets himself out of position against smaller players taking him off the dribble but with more experience and more tape of him wiping away shots, that will likely diminish.

DJ’s overall box score was impressive in 17 minutes of action: 8pts, 6reb, 5ast, 5blk, +25.

1.403

Purdue has one of the most consistent high level offenses in the country over the last several years. That seems to have really taken off over the last two seasons as PJ Thompson has taken over full control of the offense. With Purdue’s 1.403 points per possession against Ball State, that is right about where Purdue has seemingly been over the last several years. The impressive part of that is that Purdue just doesn’t seem to have many nights where the floor just collapses on them (think back to that awful game at Illinois several years ago where they scored 37 points).

In fact, since the 2021-2022 season, Purdue’s worst offensive output from a ppp perspective is .855 which is the best in college basketball. To put that into perspective, the median for D1 programs is .653 in that regard. Simply put, Purdue doesn’t have bad offensive nights and when they do they tend to look like everyone else’s below average nights.

11

Although we didn’t get a chance to see Sinan Huan and Rivers Knight, the 11 players that did see time on the court all recorded at least 1 point and recorded at least 1 assist. That type of contributions aren’t likely to continue given Painter is going to shrink the lineup more as the season goes on but it is going to make for some really difficult decisions for Painter and his staff this season.

WHAT OTHER NUMBERS JUMP OUT TO YOU FROM PURDUE’S 88-55 VICTORY OVER BALL STATE?