Ahead of Saturday’s NCAA national semi-final against N.C. State, Purdue basketball coach Matt Painter met with the media Thursday. There was plenty of talk centering around the upcoming clash with the Wolfpack (26-14) during his time with the media.
“Really excited, obviously, to get going and start practicing and watching film and get ready for our next game. To have an opportunity to play in a Final Four, and, hopefully, win a national championship is pretty surreal. Everything we’ve been through last couple years of having some really tough losses and being able to fight through things and battle that adversity and be in this position is great,” Painter said.
The Boilermakers (33-4) will face quite a test in the ACC champions, who have knocked off Texas Tech, Oakland, Marquette and Duke on its march to the Final Four. One player leading the way for the Wolfpack has been center DJ Burns, who can pose a challenge for Purdue basketball.
“DJ is like a Zach Randolph type. He looks like he’s having a lot of fun out there,” Painter said of Burns.
As for Purdue basketball, the Boilermakers have defeated Grambling, Utah State, Gonzaga and Tennessee to punch its ticket to Phoenix. The post season run has been incredible for a team that lost in the first round last year. Purdue has lost the last three seasons to a double digit seed in the tournament.
Painter said Purdue basketball can avoid the trap of just being satisfied getting to the Final Four by keeping its focus and remaining process based.
“Keep a focus and talking through it. Owning the emotional piece but then just being process based and get back to what we do. Talk about NC State, get familiar with NC State. My message to them was we are playing an undefeated team. They had a tough stretch middle of season coming to the end and won nine straight. Talk about who they beat in those nine games, it’s pretty impressive. Look at who they beat in the NCAA Tournament, it speaks for itself. They are one of the best teams in the country and can beat anyone in the country, including us,” Painter said.
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