College men's basketball: Boilers learned from bad loss - South Bend Tribune

WEST LAFAYETTE â€" After one of the worst performances of the Matt Painter era, the Purdue basketball team had two days to correct the many things that went wrong against Penn State.

Friday’s practice was a difficult one for the Boilermakers. Painter had criticized his seniors for not having the team ready to play at Penn State, and senior Robbie Hummel was preparing to return to the scene of his devastating knee injury on Feb. 24, 2010.

A lot was at stake Sunday at Minnesota, and there were lots of emotions in play, especially for Hummel.

But thanks to a first half in which they made 10 of 12 shots from 3-point range and a second half in which point guard Lewis Jackson scored 16 of his game-best 20 points, the Boilermakers rebounded with a convincing 79-66 victory against the Golden Gophers.

Purdue is 3-1 in the Big Ten as it prepares for struggling Wisconsin on Thursday night and is 2-1 in conference road games.

“Any road win in the Big Ten is a good win, so we’re very excited about that,” Hummel said. “Our mentality was better (Sunday). We just weren’t cut in at Penn State, which is disappointing, because it was a very important game for us.

“For whatever reason, we weren’t ready. (Sunday), I thought we were. Practice before this game was pretty tough. It definitely set the tone for the week. I’m glad the result is a positive one.”

So is Painter, who privately was hoping Hummel could leave with a victory upon his return to Minnesota’s Williams Arena.

“You reflect on it, because you’re asked questions about it,” Painter said. “For him, it has been a long road. It kind of reminds you when you come back to The Barn about what happened that day. Even though we ended up winning the game, it was just a disappointing day for our program and for him.

“But it’s also life. He never has made any excuses and has always battled back, especially after that second one, because you do ask, ‘Why me?’ We wanted to come here and compete. That’s the best present we can give Rob, coming back here and getting a victory.”

DJ Byrd came off the bench for a career-best 18 points, helping Purdue’s non-starters outscore Minnesota’s 30-27

“That is what is so good about this team,” Jackson said. “We had to have the Minnesota game. You see the Big Ten right now, and it’s like everybody is losing. We’re still in second place. We’re moving forward.”

Minnesota coach Tubby Smith said Purdue played to its strengths: shooting 3s in the first half and placing the ball in Jackson’s capable hands in the second half.

“There were times we lost a man or didn’t switch properly, but it’s hard to simulate what they do in practice, because they have guys shooting the ball from 25 feet out,” Smith said. “That’s hard to guard. The other thing was Jackson. Everybody that we’re running into, we’re really getting broken down. He was going by all of our guys.”

Byrd said that on a scale of 1 to 10, it’s pretty easy to label the significance of what happened Sunday in Williams Arena.

“It was a 9 or a 10,” Byrd said. “We needed it, and the thing is that we have to stay consistent with it. It can’t be every other day when we are getting after it. We need to continue to play smart.

“I think there was a lesson to be learned from the Penn State game. That’s what happens when you just go through the motions. You get beat.”

Terone Johnson, who came off the bench for 10 points at Minnesota, wanted to prove that the Penn State game was not representative of what this Purdue team can do.

“Coach mentioned it after the Penn State game that it was like the bench wasn’t there,” Johnson said. “And for Rob, to come out there and get a good win like we did is a good thing for him.”