What a difference a year makes for the Purdue basketball team.
A year ago, the Boilermakers were watching other teams contend for an NCAA Tournament championship. This year, Purdue basketball is right in the thick of things, after rolling past Gonzaga, 80-68, Friday in the Sweet Sixteen. With the win, the Boilermakers advance to the Elite Eight and are now one win away from its first Final Four since 1980. The Boilermakers will play the winner between Creighton and Tennessee on Sunday.
“Very pleased, obviously, with our effort. Thought our guys did a great job adjusting at halftime and our defense was better in the second half. Thought our guys did a really good job of focusing and just guarding the basketball. Pleased with our effort. Thought our guys were ready to play. We weren’t perfect, but good enough to get the win,” Purdue basketball coach Matt Painter said.
For the second time this season, Gonzaga was able to match Purdue early on basket for basket, as the Boilermakers held a 40-36 halftime lead. However, six straight points from Trey Kaufman-Renn to open the second half set the tone for Purdue basketball and gave Painter’s team an edge it would not relinquish.
As the game wore on, Gonzaga wore down, especially with forward Anton Watson on the bench with just over 12 minutes remaining in the game. When Watson went out, Purdue went on a 14-2 run to put the game away.
“You just don’t know how the game is going to flow. You just want to stay on your rules and the functionality of the game. You want to take care of the basketball, rebound the basketball, but you also want to take what they give you. It just kind of happened. You can’t go on runs if you can’t get stops,” Painter said about wearing Gonzaga down and if it can translate to another game.
Purdue basketball big man Zach Edey was 10-of-15 from the field en route to 27 points and 14 rebounds. However, it wasn’t just all Edey Friday night. The Boilermakers shot 49.2 percent from the field and had other players hit double figures. In addition to Edey’s output, Purdue basketball got 14 points, 15 rebounds and eight rebounds from Braden Smith. Lance Jones chipped in with 12 points.
Most importantly, the Boilermakers controlled the basketball and made shots, according to Painter.
“We are 26-0 when we have 13 or less turnovers. When we give ourselves a chance to score, and we execute and get good shots and start making them, that enhances that for us. When we take care of it, outrebound our opponents by 10 and have a balance… We play a tough schedule and have been undefeated out of conference the last three years. Zach has played in a Sweet Sixteen before. We’ve had some experience in the tournament,” Painter said.
