The No. 17 Purdue Boilermakers have made a name for themselves in the college basketball land due to their dominating paint presence. Players like Zach Edey dominated the skies for four years, and now with Edey in the NBA, Purdue has looked elsewhere to continue the trend.
They were looking to find that player in a showdown against the No. 13 Oregon Ducks on Saturday at Matthew Knight Arena. That search will have to continue though, as the Oregon Ducks’ skyscraper Nate Bittle took over the paint against the Boilermakers.
The shining moment from Bittle came at the 11-minute mark in the first half, when Purdue forward Camden Heide challenged Bittle at the rim, only to be turned away by a ferocious block from behind for the big man. To follow it up on the other end, Bittle splashed home a 3-pointer after a nice dish from Jadrian Tracey.
“Nate cleaned up a lot in there, he did a tremendous job,” said Oregon head coach Dana Altman after the game.
While Bittle took care down low, the perimeter was taken care of by on-ball defense specialist TJ Bamba. Four steals from Bamba led the team and sparked energy in his teammates and the rocking crowd at Matthew Knight Arena.
Bamba was also a part of one of the more electric plays of the night. With six minutes left in the first half, Bamba ripped the ball away from Purdue guard Braden Smith and pushed the tempo on the other end to find Kwame Evans Jr. who slammed it home.
“I thought our activity defensively was pretty good,” Altman said. “You hold a team like that, you should put yourself in the position [to win]. It's just offensively we just made way too many mistakes.”
The proof is on the stat sheet, as the Boilermakers were held to 31 percent from the field in the first half and 34 percent for the game.
This is especially impressive for Bittle and the Ducks. Purdue is a top-10 team in points scored per 100 possessions, according to the statistical archive KenPom. Purdue’s leading scorer this season, Trey Kaufman-Renn, was held to 35 percent shooting and two turnovers due to the long arms and shot contesting of Bittle. This is especially a low mark for Kaufman-Renn who is a 61 percent shooter on the season.
“I’m not even trying to block shots, to be honest,” Bittle said after the game. “I’m really just there trying to wall up, make it a tougher shot for them.”
Bamba also affected Purdue’s stars, but this time in the backcourt. Despite scoring 15 points, Smith was held to 5-for-20 shooting and five turnovers, a rough look for the junior guard who only averages 2.8 a game.
While the Ducks stars shined on defense against Purdue, it was not enough as Oregon fell 65-58 because of poor shooting and turnovers on the offensive end.
Bittle is currently third in the Big Ten in average blocks a game at 1.8 as he continues to protect the rim at an elite level and solidify himself as one of the best big men in the nation. He is still getting it done on the offensive end as well, with 18 points against Purdue and 13.7 points per game on the season.
Bamba is also putting up leaderboard numbers, as he sits ninth in the Big Ten in steals per game.
Bittle and the Ducks look to keep up the block party in their next game against the Washington Huskies at 8:00 p.m. on Jan. 21.