Purdue basketball's Auburn rematch provides championship checkpoint

WEST LAFAYETTE — Purdue basketball spent its pre-Christmas stretch last season learning some hard truths about its standing on the national stage.

On the semi-neutral-at-best court of Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Texas A&M dominated the boards in a four-point victory. A week later, on another semi-neutral court in Birmingham, Alabama, No. 2 Auburn ripped the Boilermakers apart in a victory less competitive than its 87-69 final score suggests. 

Those games ended up being instructive — and by extension, reparative — by the end of the season. And as much as this veteran group has become hardened over time and quickly moves on from any one setback, that Birmingham experience still stings.

“It showed us last year where we were,” Purdue forward Trey Kaufman-Renn said. “I don’t think I’ve ever been beaten like that before last year, where it felt like they could have done whatever they wanted. They could have won by 100 points last year, it felt like.”

The Boilermakers believe they’ve already experienced that eye-opener this season, courtesy of Iowa State’s recent visit to Mackey Arena. Last season's holiday challenges roll into one Saturday when Auburn comes to Gainbridge for the Indy Classic. 

Bruce Pearl handed the Auburn program over to his son, Steven, before the season. The No. 25 Tigers do not possess the same overpowering presence as a year ago. Yet the matchup can still serve its greatest purpose — providing Purdue its last significant test before the restart of Big Ten Conference play.

For instance, both of those mid-December losses last season further exposed Purdue's rebounding vulnerabilities.

Texas A&M came into Gainbridge as the nation's best offensive rebounding team. Purdue could not do much to thwart that identity.

Auburn, led by 6-foot-10 star Johni Broom, also had its way on the boards. Purdue's dramatic improvements in rebounding have arguably defined this first portion of the season. This season, Oscar Cluff and Kaufman-Renn are the ones forcing opponents to rise to their level on the boards.

This Auburn team — with 6-8 freshman Filip Jovic and 6-10 KeShawn Murphy leading the way — can still beat opponents up on the boards. It might work in Purdue’s favor the 15 offensive rebounds it allowed to Marquette are fresh in its memory.  

Auburn does not have the same stable of athletes it did a year ago. Broome (76ers), Miles Kelly (Mavericks) and Dylan Cardwell (Kings) are all in the NBA or shuttling back and forth from the G League. Chad Baker-Mazarra is in the Big Ten now, at USC. Denver Jones plays pro ball in Israel.

In Tahaad Pettiford, though, the Tigers return a guard who scored 18 points against Purdue last season and can break down opponents off the dribble. Keyshawn Hall was the Big 12’s leading scorer last season while at UCF.

Purdue continues to chase consistent defensive improvement. That especially relates to things like preventing dribble penetration and not getting caught out of position.

“Any time you deal with quickness, especially in space, a lot of people are going to have trouble with that,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. “When you face great players it’s got to be great team defense. But the more we can keep the ball in front of us and stay out of rotations the more it’s going to help us.”

Auburn won’t challenge the latter as much. Last season’s team twisted opponents around with high-volume accuracy from 3-point range. This team, so far, has not.

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What these Tigers can do, though, is play downhill and get to the free throw line a lot. Saturday provides a final chance to show how far Purdue has come at keeping those slashers off of their big men in the paint.

“They just have really good players, and they have counters for counters," Kaufman-Renn said. “Obviously they have their system, but when you take things away, they do a great job of taking advantage of what you’re doing to take it away.”

How much can Purdue impose its will in rebounding, and how many stops can it string together on defense? For a team with championship designs, those questions may define a season. Saturday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse they'll check in on their progress.

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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Purdue vs Auburn college basketball preview, rebounding, defense challenges