WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue had its way early and then opened the second half on a 15-4 run, choking out West Virginia 79-52 on Saturday afternoon.

Boilermakers coach Matt Painter expected a tougher game from West Virginia (8-9), which hasn’t been under .500 this late in the season since John Beilein’s 2002-03 team played with only seven scholarship players.

“It was one of those games for them, where they get on the road and it gets tough,” Painter said. “They struggled shooting the ball and it snowballed from there.”

To call this a must-win for both teams was probably accurate: Purdue (10-8) entered the day No. 115 in the RPI, with WVU at 78. Purdue wound up winning its third straight, while the Mountaineers lost their third in a row.

D.J. Byrd topped Purdue with 17 points, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range. The Boilermakers made 8-of-11 from long distance, far better than their 29-percent average coming into the game. Purdue connected on 29-of-59 field goals overall (49 percent), part of a runaway that delighted the Mackey Arena crowd of 14,677.

Before the game, WVU coach Bob Huggins said this wasn’t the typical Boilermakers team because they “don’t shoot it as well.” Asked afterward whether Saturday’s Purdue team played better than the team he had scouted, Huggins said: “We’re so damn bad, I don’t know.”

“This is not a great perimeter shooting team we played,” Huggins said. “This is a team who the coaches told me before the game the first team to 50 will win the game, and they scored (79) on us.”

West Virginia point guard Juwan Staten certainly thought the Boilermakers played over their heads: “They hit, it seemed like, every shot they took. Even the people we thought were nonshooters made shots.”

WVU’s opening lineup featured a smallball crew Huggins had promised the past few days. It included Staten, Kevin Noreen, Jabarie Hinds, Eron Harris and, surprisingly, Matt Humphrey, making his first start since the Gonzaga season opener. The Mountaineers, plagued by 17 turnovers, shot just 17-of-58 from the floor (29 percent).

Harris, playing within an hour of his Indianapolis neighborhood, shot only 2-of-10 from the floor, but led WVU with 10 points. Staten had three turnovers against two assists and scored eight points, all in the first half when WVU fell behind 37-23.

“We turned it over 11 times in the first half, and we generally turn it over 11 times the whole game,” Huggins said. “And they were bad turnovers.”

Purdue outscored WVU 36-20 in the paint and held a 44-34 rebounding edge. Noreen had five rebounds and five points — all at the line — in 26 minutes. Huggins’ other big men, their roles diminished by the new four-guard attack, still managed to disappoint. Deniz Kilicli scored a basket and grabbed two offensive rebounds in his first 19 seconds, but was lifted after six minutes, never to return, upon failing to block out on the defensive end.

And the mercurial Aaric Murray produced this curious stat line: four points, one rebound and five fouls in nine minutes.

Purdue’s Raphael Davis had 16 points — 12 in the second half when Purdue stretched the lead to as wide as 32 points.

“We’ve had leads before and haven’t held them,” said Byrd. “Our emphasis was coming out and not letting them get their heads up.”

Ronnie Johnson had 11 points for the Boilermakers and older brother Tremone Johnson added 11.

GOING SMALL 

The four-guard lineup that resurrected WVU from an 18-point hole at Iowa State couldn’t replicate that penetrate-and-pitch magic against Purdue. The Mountaineers were 3-of-18 from 3-point range.

“I thought this small lineup was going to be more effective — that we’d get in the lane and make plays for one another,” said Hinds, who had four turnovers and four points on 2-of-9 shooting. “But it didn’t really work today.”

In the game’s first three minutes, Humphrey staked WVU to a 3-0 lead with a long jumper but also committed what Huggins described as “two of the dumbest fouls that any human being can possibly make,” twice reaching in under the Mountaineers’ own basket.

“At that point in time you’ve got to take him out,” Huggins said. “Why do that? Particularly why do that when I went on a tangent the other day about guys fouling way out on the perimeter. Why would you do that? Make ‘em try to score.”

FULL HOUSE PUMPS PURDUE

The near-capacity crowd at Mackey Arena featured opposite-end student sections that were packed an hour before the game. Staten thought the Boilermakers fed off that energy and jumped on the Mountaineers.

“Us falling down early, playing in this type of environment” made a big difference, he said. “Once they hit a couple shots and get on a roll, the crowd gets into it and it’s hard to get back.”

GERUN GETS IN

Volodymyr Gerun entered with 27 seconds left in the first half and played 12 minutes, only his fourth appearance in the 11 games for which he has been eligible this season. The 6-foot-9 Ukrainian recruit missed all five shots, including four 3-pointers.

“I thought he could make a shot, because they weren’t guarding our big guys out on the perimeter,” Huggins said. “He’s made shots, but he didn’t make any today.”

The sophomore blocked two shots and grabbed two boards.

HENDERSON SITS

Left on campus with a lower back injury when WVU visited Iowa State, freshman guard Terry Henderson (8.3 points per game) made the trip to Purdue but didn’t play.

 

Allan Taylor

ataylor@wvradio.com
@AllanTaylorWVU
Allan Taylor joined MetroNews in August 2012, following 18 years of newspaper, magazine and multimedia work as an SEC columnist, sports editor, assistant sports editor, managing editor, news reporter and media consultant.
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Comments

  • Bill

    I really don't think it will get any better as the year goes on, this team has lost its "Mojo"!!!!!

    January 19, 2013 at 3:45 pm | Reply Report comment

  • Greg

    At the beginning of the season they were playing like they had no heart. At least they're hustling now. There's always hope when they're trying. The turned the game off in Charlotte and put the KU-TX game on. Thank goodness!

    January 19, 2013 at 3:48 pm | Reply Report comment

  • Big Tom

    looks like huggie is dragging down the university in the muck and mud.
    bigs can't do it , littles can't do it,, i look to huggie, i think his time is being preoccupied doing something else besides coaching.. finishing 6 th in the big 12 is a stretch, huggie thought we could do better, i say about 8th, not ncaa , no nit.
    we're paying out big bucks for terrible coaching, and playing.. we can't shoot , rebound , pass,, ,, bob said about 6 games ago he would fix it,, it's just got worse, this is down right embarrassing.

    January 19, 2013 at 4:13 pm | Reply Report comment

  • Roy

    This is one lousy bunch. I wonder if we can get in the NIT? They can't shoot, hustle can only take you so far but if you can't put it in the hoop, you will not win games. The thing bad, we were watched on CBS, on national TV, how embarrassing!!! We just didn't get beat, we got slaughtered by a average team. Get use to it! We need some good players.

    January 19, 2013 at 4:15 pm | Reply Report comment

    • Big Tom

      purdue was just 9-8, it wasn't as if a world beater , beat us...

      January 19, 2013 at 4:18 pm | Reply Report comment

  • Big O

    It's the black that Huggs wears lol..........

    January 19, 2013 at 4:17 pm | Reply Report comment

  • Big Tom

    i bet the big 12 wishes they would have brought in louisville,,,Ollie isn't fairing so well in the FB and BB business..wow i have seen wvu athletics this bad in years and years.. maybe conf usa would take us, but then again, i doubt it.
    it doesnt look good in either sport for years, i just ashamed of how badly our football and BB teams have played.. ollie ,dana, huggie,,, something has to give.

    January 19, 2013 at 4:17 pm | Reply Report comment

  • cutty77

    No way to spin this loss,AT ALL.

    January 19, 2013 at 4:18 pm | Reply Report comment

  • Pghmountaineer

    I'm embarrased for my university. It doesn't look like there's any hope. What I don;t understand is what in the world did Huggs see in Murray and Staten. These guys are DII players. How do you recruit players who can't shoot, defend, play defense, or can't foul shoot. This is unbeleivable.

    January 19, 2013 at 4:31 pm | Reply Report comment

    • JTJ

      Huggs said on talk show that Murray prob leave after next year to make some money. Said that was the plan. How can this kid go on to another level when he can't dominate on this level.

      January 19, 2013 at 10:23 pm | Reply Report comment

  • Big Tom

    maybe we could convert that practice facility into a hay barn, or dance hall, doesn't appear anyone is using it for bb practice..bet the donors are crying in their beer,, they just got soaked by huggie for huge pay checks with no results.

    January 19, 2013 at 4:38 pm | Reply Report comment

  • Larry

    The following is a list of Bob Huggins recruits in his first 5 recruiting classes. These players are considered “Street Players” who are athletic. There is not one “Shooter” in this list of 23. Out in the street, you can win with these players. But in the real world of today’s Division 1 College Basketball, it takes shooters. To win an NCAA National Championship, it takes players who are “Very Good” who can shoot the basketball.

    Bob Huggins WVU Recruits:

    Rating: Very Good---Good---Fair---and Bust (That means they stink)

    2008 Recruiting Class:

    Kevin Jones -------Very Good
    Roscoe Davis------Bust
    Darryl Bryant-------Bust
    *Devin Ebanks-----Very Good

    *Ebanks was not originally signed by Huggins. Ebanks signed with Indiana and “re-signed” after Kelvin Sampson was fired following a scandal.

    2009 Recruiting Class:

    Dan Jennings---Bust
    Deniz Kilicli------Bust
    Dalton Pepper---Bust

    2010 Recruiting Class:

    Noah Cottrrill------Bust
    David Nyarsuk--- Bust
    Darrious Curry--- Bust
    Kevin Noreen---- Fair

    2011 Recruiting Class:

    Dominique Rutledge-----Fair
    Aaron Brown--------------Bust
    Gary Browne--------------Fair
    Jabarie Hinds-------------Fair
    Tommie McCune---------Bust
    Keaton Miles --------------Bust
    Pat Forsythe --------------Bust

    2012 Recruiting Class:

    Aric Dickerson-------Bust
    Volodymyr Gerun---Bust
    Eron Harris----------- Fair
    Terry Henderson----Fair

    Note: Transfers are not added to the list. They never pan out anyway.

    So as it turns out, Kevin Jones is the only legitimate top recruit, directly recruited by Huggins and brought to WVU in his first 5 recruiting classes.

    January 19, 2013 at 5:21 pm | Reply Report comment

    • Big Tom

      i have to agree,, mainly huggs recruits thugs, and since JB's shooters have departed, we have been getting worse and worse.
      why can't huggs look at JB"s success here and with lightly recruited players, but good to great shooters.

      January 19, 2013 at 7:03 pm | Reply Report comment

      • JTJ

        Maybe once we build the new parking garage we can use it to recruit better players lol

        January 19, 2013 at 10:25 pm | Reply Report comment

    • Roy

      Very good assessment of the so-called Huggs talent up there. Good job,I agree.

      January 19, 2013 at 8:47 pm | Reply Report comment

    • wvtd

      you may have a point there. times have changed and huggs better get caught up.

      January 19, 2013 at 10:35 pm | Reply Report comment

    • dlite531

      I agree with everything you say. Huggs recruiting has been absolute garbage since he got here. With the exception of KJ, who ended up being a good college played but is barely making it the NBA. Ebanks made it to the league but he wasn't a true recruit. I knew we were in trouble when the year after we made it to the Final 4, our best recruit was Noah Cottrill. Come on man! That should have been a huge recruiting year for us. Personally, I think Huggs is done, he has nothing left to prove. He reached the mountain top in 2010 and has been slowly falling off ever since.
      If he can't put out a better product over the next few years, I think it might be time to hand over the whistle and call it a career!!! Maybe he realize that sooner rather than later but I doubt it.

      I agree that most transfers never pan out. 99% of the time, there is a reason why they weren't recruited by a top school to begin with. One exception comes to mind and that is Mike Gansey! Man he was tough! I loved watching him play. That team that made it to the Elite 8 is my all time fav wvu hoops squad, hands down. Those were the days!!

      January 20, 2013 at 12:36 am | Reply Report comment

    • Bill

      Dalton Pepper was no bust, he was a legit D1 ball player that Huggs hated!

      January 21, 2013 at 7:23 am | Reply Report comment

  • Jethro

    Huggs is allowed a bad year!

    January 19, 2013 at 5:31 pm | Reply Report comment

    • Big Tom

      the only reason we got in the NCAA was because of huggs's reputation,, the second half ofthe season was a bust, and this year is just plain embarrassing.... i say huggs should step aside and let's go after Butler's coach..

      January 19, 2013 at 7:05 pm | Reply Report comment

      • WVWho

        Huggs is sitting on his butt rollin in the Benji's. Need to recruit basketball players, not street ballers.

        January 19, 2013 at 9:02 pm | Reply Report comment

  • Jack

    Embarrassment at Perdue. This was a mediocre team at 9-8 and near the bottom of the Big 10. This WVU team looks completely dysfunctional. A team that shoots consistently at 29 percent is not going to win. When you watch other college teams at any level, their offenses look fluid and players make baskets from inside and outside. Maybe we can get some of them.

    January 19, 2013 at 5:41 pm | Reply Report comment

  • richard

    lmbo....why would i listen to anyone who can't spell purdue???!!! and who is this Big Tom joker? he is always bad mouthing WVU athletics. i bet my house he is a marshall fan who pretends to be a WVU fan just so he can bash WVU. any WVU fan wouldn't put down his team the way he does. sickening. Larry, you hit it all on the head.

    January 19, 2013 at 5:52 pm | Reply Report comment

    • Big Tom

      i have two degrees from wvu born and raised in wv,, and i won't stand for mediocrity. and right now, football and bb are below that, and it just kills me to watch other schools with the same limitations as wvu , excel in their sports and we embarrass ourselves..
      huggie said he recruited these guys and will fix it, well, we've got worse, i see no future here

      January 19, 2013 at 7:08 pm | Reply Report comment

  • cutty77

    Hugg first 2 years at WVU,
    1st year 28-12
    2nd year 31-7 First 2 years John B Kids
    3rd year 21-12
    4rd year 19-14
    This year 8-9 Do you see a Trend Here.

    January 19, 2013 at 6:03 pm | Reply Report comment

  • Jethro

    You can't make chicken salad out of chicken sh**

    January 19, 2013 at 6:09 pm | Reply Report comment

    • Big Tom

      i suppose richard doesn't and ollie gave huggie a lifetime contract....go figure

      January 19, 2013 at 7:11 pm | Reply Report comment

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