INDIANAPOLIS — With a championship on the line, Purdue's greatest fatal flaw again struck.
The Boilermakers committed 17 turnovers In a 75-66 loss to Iowa in the championship game of the Big Ten Tournament.
Our breakdown ...
WHAT HAPPENED
Despite those 17 turnovers — the Boilermakers' undoing so often this season — Purdue trailed just 63-62 with 3:09 to play, after they scored seven straight in the span of well under a minute.
Then, things went haywire again.
Out of an Iowa timeout, Connor McCaffery — far from one of Iowa's prime scoring threats — made a turnaround as the shot clock wound down, while drawing a foul, pushing his father's team's lead back to four. Moments later, the deficit was back to eight, as Purdue middled offensively and missed its fourth one-and-one free throw of the day.
Those 17 Purdue turnovers led to 14 Hawkeye points.
"I thought it was just our inability to be fundamentally sound," Coach Matt Painter said, repeating a familiar refrain. "At times that comes off hokey from a coach, but that's what wins the race, man, being simple, taking care of the ball and getting quality shots."
Purdue was just 5-of-20 from three-point range, 1-of-8 for Jaden Ivey and 1-of-6 for Sasha Stefanovic.
Ivey scored 20 points with six assists, but also five turnovers.
"I did a horrible job today just leading and just trying to get us back in the game," Ivey said afterward. "I felt like I made some bad reads and my turnovers, I feel like they lost us the game today. But other than that, we still get to play the game we love and we have a lot of games left to play. So we're just focused on the next chapter."
Zach Edey and Trevion Williams combined for 25 points and 25 rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Purdue actually did well enough defensively, the turnovers being the singular difference in this game.
All-American and soon-to-be lottery pick Keegan Murray needed 16 shots to get his 19 points. Iowa shot just 42.6 percent for the game and uncharacteristically turned the ball over In key moments.
The problem, other than the turnovers, was the Hawkeyes' bit players.
Before that and-one Connor McCaffery's — he averaged 3.4 points in Big Ten play — following Iowa's timeout answered Purdue's run, Iowa'd gotten two immense threes from Payton Sandfort, who averaged 3.3 points in Big Ten play. Purdue had tied the game at 51 when Sandfort made those shots.
After two Keegan Murray free throws gave Iowa a 63-55 lead with 4:15 to play, Trevion Williams made two free throws, then Jaden Ivey scored in the blink of an eye off a high ball screen.
Following Iowa's turnover in as many possessions, Ivey hit Hunter for a three-point that hit the back rim, died and reluctantly rolled in.
The 7-0 run took just 46 seconds and seemed like Purdue's championship moment.
It was not.
WHAT IT MEANS
This weekend was a positive step for Purdue, but then a step back in the most important area. This turnover thing is a time bomb every time the Boilermakers take the floor.
It cost Purdue a regular season championship and now It cost Purdue a Big Ten Tournament championship.
It will end Purdue's season if it's not careful.
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