Purdue basketball vs. Oregon player ratings: Trey Kaufman-Renn overcomes cold shooting

Posted by author January 18, 2025 Basketball

Spread the love

Another Big Ten road game and another cold shooting first half for Purdue basketball.

This time, the shots weren’t falling in the second half, either.

The 15th-ranked Boilermakers had to grind out a rock fight at Matthew Knight Arena.

Sure enough, Purdue prevailed despite shooting 33.9%, knocking off No. 14 Oregon 65-58 for its seventh win in a row.

Player ratings as the Boilermakers improve to 15-4 overall and 7-1 in the Big Ten:

(*denotes Man of the Match)

STARTERS

∎ Braden Smith: 7/10

Purdue’s iron man is simply too valuable to take off the floor. Another 40 minutes logged for Smith, who surgically dissected Oregon in key moments. Finished with a Braden Smith-esque stat line of 15 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds and 4 steals.

∎ CJ Cox: 4/10

Again provided defense on the perimeter, manning Jackson Shelstad and gave Purdue three rebounds. But he’s a lightning rod when he shoots. After going 0-for-4 at Washington, Cox didn’t even attempt a shot on Saturday.

∎ Fletcher Loyer: 3/10

The physicality of this game didn’t play into Loyer’s favor and it was evidenced by his 2 of 9 effort. After 21 straight makes, he missed a clutch free throw with 41.5 seconds left and finished with six points.

∎ Caleb Furst: 5/10

Furst, a catalyst during Purdue’s winning streak, had his production opportunity hindered by foul trouble. He still had 4 points, 3 rebounds and a steal in 18 minutes. Purdue was a better team with him on the floor.

∎ Trey Kaufman-Renn: 7/10*

The only negative here was how many missed shots (13) Kaufman-Renn had. Otherwise, he was everything Purdue needed on the road. Finished with his second double-double this season, collecting 23 points and 11 rebounds, including a putback dunk after Oregon went on a run to collect momentum. More importantly, coming in shooting 56.9% from the free throw line, Kaufman-Renn went 9 of 9.

RESERVES

∎ Raleigh Burgess: 3/10

Burgess had a nice putback, part of Purdue coming out strong on the boards. But two ill-advised 3s early in the shot clock that were nowhere close.

∎ Myles Colvin: 3/10

Colvin’s outside shot has again vanished, but he continues to harass with his length on the defensive end. A lackadaisical pass in the final minute was stolen and gave Oregon life.

∎ Cam Heide: 6/10

Heide doesn’t have to be a consistent scorer every game, but he has to be a threat. Taking advantage of a wide open 3 early in the second half helps. He got more minutes with Furst’s foul trouble and provided 9 points, 4 rebounds and a steal.

∎ Gicarri Harris: 5/10

Made a heads up decision with 33.1 seconds left to chase down a loose ball rebound attempt, only to dive out of the way and assure Purdue possession up five. Made 5 of 6 free throws in 14 minutes. Essentially sealed the game with two freebies with 32.5 seconds left.

Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on X and Instagram @samueltking.