Breakdown: Purdue's OT loss to Ohio State in Indy

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INDIANAPOLIS — First, it was the worst of Purdue, then some of the best of Purdue, but when it was over, Purdue's Big Ten Tournament stay wound up being a brief one.

The fourth-seeded Boilermakers fell to fifth-seeded Ohio State 87-78 Friday afternoon at Lucas Oil Stadium, but not until they'd given the partial-capacity crowd their money's worth, rallying from a 49-31 halftime deficit to force the extra session, in which the Buckeyes outscored the Boilermakers 15-6.

Purdue now awaits its NCAA Tournament draw, with a potentially valuable lesson having been delivered against the Buckeyes.

"We have to come out with a great first half start and a great second half start," forward Mason Gillis said. "Not playing cute or nice. Just hitting the other team in the mouth first and playing with a great deal of toughness."

Purdue entered the postseason wanting to carry over its momentum from a surprisingly successful season.

To open the game, that most certainly did not happen.

"That's a great question," Coach Matt Painter said when asked why.

The first half may have been Purdue's worst of the season, right up there with the second half at Miami and first half at Michigan State.

Riddled by what Painter and players lamented as communication breakdowns and botched assignments defensively, the Boilermakers allowed 49 first-half points, the most scoring they've allowed in a half all season.

Meanwhile, Ohio State was noticeably quicker to the basketball, especially on the offensive glass. Purdue shot well from three-point range in the first half but struggled badly from two-point range, squandering a number of high-percentage chances.

And the foul line. Purdue wound up 15-of-27 when one more point during regulation might have meant a date with Michigan on Saturday.

But, as worn-out as the Boilermakers looked in the first half, they looked re-energized after halftime, led by Trevion Williams.

This wasn't new, Trevion Williams following up a pedestrian first half with a polar-opposite second half.

"This is something I've been dealing with all year," Williams said. "Just figuring out how teams are running doubles at me and defending me. Different teams have been doing different things in terms of doubling the post.

"My thing with the slow starts is trying to figure out how they're guarding me. That's been our main goal, trying to figure out how teams are going to be guarding us."

In the second half, Ohio State simply couldn't.

After a 2-of-7 first half, Williams wound up 12-of-23 for 26 points, with 14 rebounds and five assists, in just 30 of the 45 minutes. (Williams expressed modest frustration for coming out of the game in overtime; Painter said he thought he might have been worn down after a missed blockout and a transition miss and noted, "His backup is pretty good.")

"He's a dog, a fighter, doesn't give up," freshman Jaden Ivey said. "I told him after the first half we'd need him in the second half, and didn't have to say anything to him after that."

Williams gave Ohio State fits in the paint, carrying Purdue into overtime, scoring the Boilermakers' final three field goals of regulation, including his bucket over Zed Key with nine-and-a-half seconds left to knot the score at 72-all.

The first-team All-Big Ten big man led Purdue back during the second half before his team stalled in the extra session. Purdue will obviously hope this is the last time it's in such a position where it would require such an effort just to have a chance at the end.

"This is a lesson learned," Williams said. "I think a lot of teams in our situation, they'd hang their heads. I'm trying to do my best to keep guys motivated and get guys ready for the (NCAA) Tournament. After this, it means more. We just want to keep our heads."

The second half started with Williams chasing down an offensive rebound of Sasha Stefanovic's missed three and scoring, a tone-setting sort of play after Buckeyes' effort bested Purdue's in the opening 20 minutes.

Four minutes in, Jaden Ivey made a three, then seemed to channel the energy it gave him and made two more. The freshman again starred, scoring 19 in his first taste of postseason college basketball.

Later, on back-to-back possessions, Mason Gillis shed every Buckeye around him to clear offensive rebounds and draw fouls.

Defensively, Purdue figured it out after halftime.

After scoring nearly 50 points in the first half, Ohio State was 6-of-26 from the floor in the second half. (But then 5-of-6 in overtime.)

"It was pride," Gillis said. "We were down 18 at half and all we could do was come out and fight as hard as we could. ... We just had to come out with a lot of energy and a lot of fight and play like we know how to play."

But, when all was said and done, there was a lot to overcome ...

A lot went into this loss for Purdue, but one statistic jumps off the box score more than any other.

A 72.8-percent foul-shooting team this Big Ten season, the Boilermakers missed a dozen of 'em vs. Ohio State.

And it was no one player.

Everyone who shot a free throw missed a free throw. Two one-and-one opportunities in the first half went by the wayside. Williams missed his first three before making his last two. Zach Edey — an outstanding foul shooter for his size — was 3-of-6. Ivey, who'd made 16-of-17 at the foul line the past four games, was 3-of-5. Aaron Wheeler was 1-for-3.

"It's part of the game," Painter said. "Hopefully it'll help us concentrate and do a better job (in the NCAA Tournament)."

Defensively, Purdue managed stops when it needed them In the second half. The first half, not so much.

Ohio State's frontcourt — led by Kyle Young's 3-for-3 start from three — rained jumpers on Purdue throughout the game, including the key jumpers reserve Seth Towns made during the overtime.

But there didn't seem to be any area of defense Purdue didn't struggle in during the opening 20 minutes.

"It was small communication things, a bunch of little things on defense," Williams said. "But mostly just talking.

"The second half, we talked and communicated and we came together. When we're detailed and stick to our rules and communicate, we're a really good team."

But that was the story of Purdue's one and only 2021 Big Ten Tournament game: The worst of the Boilermakers and the best of them.

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