Purdue extend their NCAA winning streak to 7 games by edging past Illinois 83-78 on Friday. The Boilermakers survived a second-half onslaught and managed to hold on to their nerves in the closing moments to come out victorious. While all the eyes were on their massive 7 ft 4 in center Zach Edey, the night belonged to their other towering giant–Trey Kaufman-Renn.
The 6′9″ forward was the pick Purdue’s standout performer in the contest. He made full use of his 27 minutes on the hardwood and was the top scorer to keep Purdue on top.
Trey Kaufman-Renn gets a nod from the experts
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The Field Of 68: After Dark went on air with its latest episode just after the game. Host John Fanta invited Tyler Hansbrough and Terrence Oglesby to further discuss their respective inputs on the game. When Tyler was asked about his thoughts on the game, He said, “The storyline tonight for Purdue is they had somebody step up that wasn’t Edey. That wasn’t Fletcher Loyer or Braden Smith. It happened to come from Kaufman. He went off and that’s big for Purdue.”
Trey Kaufman-Renn was in total control from both ends of the court. He breached Illinoi’s defense and scored at crucial times to give Purdue an upper hand eventually. Apparently, he finished with 23 points along with 4 rebounds and 3 assists on a night when Purdue’s star attraction Zach Edey was struggling. Tyler further added, “He can take a little bit of pressure off from those two guards. I think it’s gonna make Purdue extremely tough down the stretch. They need somebody else that can provide them a little relief even outside of Lance Jones.”
The sophomore forward was having a rather quiet tournament before this breakout performance.
What do statistics say about Trey Kaufman-Renn?
Trey wasn’t having the best of seasons for Purdue so far. However, he was able to make decent contributions to the team. In his 14 games so far, he has scored 97 points with an average of 6.9 per game. Moreover, he maintains a decent field goal percentage of 52.2 with a 53.8 free throw efficiency. Furthermore, he is one of the top 3-point shooters on the team with a 46.2% accuracy.
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The Purdue Boilermakers seem to be building a very robust team. It is a positive sign that they don’t rely on just one player to get the desired result. Kaufman proved last night that he has what it takes to save the day for them when the need arises.
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What do you think about Trey Kaufman-Renn’s performance? Let us know in the comments section.
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