Fletcher Loyer's Honest Comment After No. 1 Purdue Survives Scare From Oakland

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue didn't put together its best performance on Friday night inside Mackey Arena. The top-ranked Boilermakers had to scratch and claw to fend off a pesky Oakland squad, eventually pulling out an 87-77 victory. Senior guard Fletcher Loyer was happy the team got the win, but he didn't think the Boilers played like the No. 1 team in the country.

After the game, Loyer was asked about some of Purdue's lapses on the defensive end of the floor. That's when the senior guard provided an honest assessment of how the team played.

"Yeah, I mean, we just beat Oakland by 10 points. Credit to them, they played a great game," Loyer said. "But, if we're supposed to be the No. 1 team in the country, we've got to be better than that, and it starts at the defensive end. Shots didn't go in, but shots aren't always going to go in, and that's just how it goes down. We have to be better on defense."

Oakland scored 40 of its 77 points in the paint and collected 12 offensive rebounds in the game, nine coming in the first half. No, Purdue didn't shoot the ball particularly well, especially from three-point range (13-of-35), but the biggest issues on Friday night came on the defensive end and in the rebounding department.

Obviously, a big factor in Friday night's performance was the absence of All-Big Ten forward Trey Kaufman-Renn, who missed his second game due to a hip pointer injury and sore back. When he returns to the floor, it will undoubtedly help the Boilers at both ends.

But Purdue's defense still must improve, and quickly. Next Thursday, the Boilermakers travel to Tuscaloosa for a showdown with No. 15 Alabama. It will be the first major test of the 2025-26 campaign for Loyer and the team.

Purdue faces some adversity

Before the season even tipped off, coach Matt Painter said this year's team would be defined by how it handled adversity. Friday night was certainly the first challenge.

Purdue survived, but it took nearly an entire 40 minutes before it was able to pull away from Oakland.

"We have a lot of work to do ... What are your goals? That's one thing, but how do you get there? We're really going to be defined by how we handle adversity," Painter said before Purdue's opener against Evansville.

Friday night will hardly be the only time Purdue has to fight through some adversity. The Boilermakers passed the first test, but they just didn't ace the examination.

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