The No. 9 Kentucky Wildcats dominated the No. 1 Purdue Boilermakers 78-65 at Rupp Arena on Friday night. This marked the third back-to-back season that Purdue has opened the year with a road exhibition loss.
Purdue head coach Matt Painter had plenty to criticize about his squad’s performance, as even seasoned players like Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer struggled throughout the game.
Did Purdue’s Loss Against Kentucky Justify Matt Painter’s Winning Potential?
In the loss to Kentucky, Purdue started strong with a three-pointer less than 30 seconds into the game, but struggled afterward. The Boilermakers finished with just 38.6% shooting from the field and 3-of-17 from beyond the arc.
In his Sunday podcast, sports analyst Aaron Torres discussed the growing frustration among Purdue fans following the loss.
“A loss in exhibition games doesn’t mean that your season’s over,” Torres said (7:25). “We all know (that) Purdue lost to Arkansas two years ago in an exhibition. Purdue goes on to play for a national championship. Arkansas goes on to miss the tournament.
“So, I’m not saying it means everything, but Purdue fans need to stop with this. We weren’t even trying and we didn’t even scout and we didn’t even (do) this.”
Many fans also criticized Painter for playing his starters heavy minutes, while Kentucky rotated ten players evenly. The Wildcats’ leading scorer, Jasper Johnson, had 15 points in just 19 minutes.
Painter also praised Kentucky head coach Mark Pope for distributing minutes so well, calling it “really balanced numbers.”
However, Torres pushed back on the notion that Painter’s squad wasn’t taking the game seriously.
“Braden Smith played more minutes than anyone in this game,” Torres said (7:50). “He played 32 minutes. Fletcher Loyer played the second-most minutes. There were only two players that played 30 plus minutes. It was Fletcher Loyer, and it was Braden Smith.
“Trey Kaufman-Renn, third, you know, was the star low-post player for Purdue last year. Guess what? Outside of one Kentucky player, he played more minutes than any player, but one Kentucky player, I believe it was Denzel Aberdeen. So, don’t tell me that you were not trying. You absolutely were, and you got your butt kicked.”
TKR led Purdue with 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting. Meanwhile, Smith and Loyer combined for a disappointing 6-of-24 from the floor.
Kentucky repeatedly found easy paths to the basket, even with some key players missing. However, Painter said he would view the loss as a valuable early test to help Purdue identify weaknesses before the regular season begins.
