They say revenge is a dish best served cold, but the Purdue Boilermakers’ hot shooting sealed their victory over the Auburn Tigers, thereby avenging last season’s disappointing loss.
The 5th-ranked Boilermakers earned their retribution by outplaying #21 Auburn in every phase of the game, most notably their accuracy from three-point distance. Purdue shot 12-for-26 (46%) from beyond the arc and 56% overall to coast to a surprisingly easy 88-60 victory at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
In a game almost exactly one year ago, Auburn, then ranked #2, manhandled the Boilermakers in Birmingham, 87-69. Saturday’s win, coupled with Purdue’s dismantling of Marquette a week ago to avenge a 2024 loss, concluded their abbreviated “revenge tour.”
As has been the case lately, the Boilermakers featured a balanced attack with several players contributing to the triumphant effort. Five players scored in double figures, led by senior Trey Kaufman-Renn‘s 18 points on 9-for-13 shooting. Senior guard Braden Smith handed out 14 assists, and C.J. Cox (14 points) and Gicarri Harris (12 points) each nailed four three-pointers.
With the win, Purdue is now 11-1 on the season, while Auburn falls to 8-4.
The two teams measured each other up during the first three minutes of the game. When KeShawn Murphy hit a short hook shot with 16:48 to go in the half, Auburn took a 7-6 lead.
It would prove to be the last time the Tigers held the advantage.
On the next possession, Cox hit the first of his four buckets from distance, giving Purdue a 9-7 edge, a lead they never relinquished.
The Boilermakers methodically wore Auburn down, leading by as much as 15 in the opening half before settling for a 46-32 score at the break. Eight Purdue players scored before halftime, led by Cox’s 12 points and Kaufman-Renn’s eight.
The second half lead enjoyed by the Boilermakers, which at one point bulged to 29 points, never dropped below the 14-point halftime lead.
Auburn head coach Steven Pearl, who left West Lafayette impressed with Purdue and their superstar forward, said he was unable to find any answers to solve the Boilers’ offense.
“Trey Kaufmann-Renn is a first team All-American player,” he gushed. “When we doubled the post, they threw it over the top and hit 3s. In the second half, we did a better job of fronting the post. We created 10 turnovers in the second half and we started doing that, but when he did catch it deep, he was able to finish around the rim. It’s why they’re the No. 1 offensive team in the country.”
Purdue’s boss, Matt Painter, was happy with his team’s effort on the offensive end, especially at this juncture of the season.
“It seems (like) a good win for us going into Christmas break,” he explained. “Any time we can shoot 56% from the field and 46% from three, that’s all you really need. It takes care of the ball handling and the rebounding and everything.”
Following last season’s pummeling at the hands of Auburn, Painter talked with then-Tigers head coach Bruce Pearl and expressed that the loss may just be what his team needed. It also gave Boiler Nation some bulletin-board material by the language Pearl used in describing the outcome while praising Painter.
“We b****-slapped Purdue last year in Birmingham,” he said. “Matt couldn’t have been more gracious. He said, ‘BP, we needed that. My guys need to see, right now in December, what a Final Four team looks like. Now we know what we have to do.’ He was such a professional … I have great respect for Matt.”
Whether or not Purdue used Pearl’s colorful descriptors to heart, the Boilermakers have certainly grown in the year since the game in Birmingham. They may even resemble what Painter hoped would result from it: a legitimate Final Four contender.
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