With no Zach Edey, Trey Kaufman-Renn has become Purdue basketball's unstoppable player
INDIANAPOLIS — Trey Kaufman-Renn toed the free-throw line with 28.3 seconds left.
Purdue basketball's starting center had been clobbered and clawed for much of the past couple hours, but the score was tied.
This moment wasn't for the weak and it didn't care how bruised and battered your body felt.
"Just routine. Just routine," Kaufman-Renn said he thought to himself, blocking out the noise raining down on him from the 13,411 in Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Free throw one was good, as was the one that followed.
The Boilermakers had responded to upset-minded USC's flurry of offense, mostly compliments of Desmond Claude, but on the ensuing possession, Myles Colvin got a hand up and forced Claude's jumper to be ever-so slightly off.
Kaufman-Renn was then fouled again after Purdue got possession and he sank 1 of 2 free throws with 13.8 seconds to go, his final of 30 points that delivered the Boilermakers a 76-71 victory over USC on Thursday night.
With no Zach Edey, Trey Kaufman-Renn carries Purdue basketball
A run to last season's NCAA championship game came knowing Purdue could rely on center Zach Edey, the two-time National Player of the Year, to deliver big scoring nights like this almost every game.
Kaufman-Renn, who started alongside Edey last season in Purdue's front court, is now in that realm.
In the four games since Kaufman-Renn called for a players-only meeting following a Feb. 23 loss at rival Indiana, he's scored at least 29 points three times.
"Every time we throw him the ball, I think he's getting a bucket," sophomore Cam Heide said. "He doesn't care if there's a double team, triple team, he's either going to score or make the right play."
Heide can attest to that.
In one such instance, with Purdue falling behind by double figures in the first half, Kaufman-Renn was doubled in the post and fired a perfect pass to Heide in the corner for a 3-pointer that sparked Purdue on a 10-0 run.
Kaufman-Renn's patience paying off
When the game was on the line Thursday, and with USC hell bent on not getting beat by Big Ten Player of the Year Braden Smith, Kaufman-Renn was salivating.
He had baskets that got Purdue within 58-57, tied the score at 61, two free throws to tie the score again at 65 and a shot that put the Boilers up 71-67.
"I'm a confident person, a confident player, so I'm always going to be looking to score in those moments," Kaufman-Renn said.
After redshirting, Kaufman-Renn played in Edey's shadow for two seasons. He wasn't sure he could do it again, but when Edey — who had a season available remaining due to the 2019-20 season not counting against a player's eligibility — opted for the NBA, it became Kaufman-Renn's time to shoulder the scoring load.
It made sense.
Though Kaufman-Renn is not 7-foot-4 like Edey, or even as enormous as the Purdue centers of recent past, he's built like a brickhouse and is among the Big Ten's most physical players.
He's almost impossible to guard, evidenced by his selection as first-team All-Big Ten.
"He's got great footwork. He's got great finishing ability around the rim," senior Caleb Furst said. "He's tough. He's physical. He's quick. It's just a mix of all those things."
For Purdue to make another March Madness run, it needs a player that wants the ball and can score when he gets it.
Kaufman-Renn's breakout season has him averaging 20.1 points per game after Thursday night.
If USC didn't find out when Kaufman-Renn put 24 points and 10 rebounds on the Trojans on Feb. 7, it surely did in Thursday's second round of the Big Ten Tournament.
"When he's going out there to play and to win, and he's so determined, he's really tough to stop," junior guard Fletcher Loyer said.
Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on X and Instagram @samueltking.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Trey Kaufman-Renn shoulders scoring load for Purdue basketball
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