Breakdown: Purdue's double-overtime win over Minnesota

PDF: Purdue-Minnesota statistics

More ($): Analysis | Wrap Video | Stat Blast | Final Thoughts | Podcast

It took 10 extra minutes and a whole bunch of twists, turns and basketball heroics, but Purdue got a win Thursday night it badly needed, outlasting Minnesota 83-78 in double-overtime as Big Ten play resumed.

Sasha Stefanovic made two clutch threes — one to force a first overtime, and the second to give Purdue the lead for good in the second — and Boilermaker big men Matt Haarms totaled 40 points as three of the best big men in the Big Ten shared Keady Court. Minnesota's Daniel Oturu scored 29.

It was a game in which Purdue had it won, then lost, then won, then well, who knew? When all was said and done, though, the Boilermakers were salting the game away at the foul line against a gassed Gopher team, in part because Nojel Eastern utterly neutralized Minnesota standout guard Marcus Carr (29 points) when it mattered most.

But Stefanovic's clutch shots mattered above all else, as he went off from deep for the fourth time this season in Mackey Arena, this time totaling 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting from three-point territory.

Inside 20 seconds left in regulation with Minnesota up three, Stefanovic missed a jumper and Purdue seemed to be in trouble after Minnesota rebounded. The Boilermakers likely would have fouled, but one foul shot would have made it a two-possession game.

But, as Marcus Carr dribbled between Eric Hunter and Trevion Williams, he lost the ball. On the renewed possession, Hunter missed at the basket, but Williams rebounded, gathered himself and threw a crosscourt pass to Stefanovic bee-lining to the three-point arc.

Stefanovic canned the shot Ray Allen-style from right in front of his bench, with Minnesota's Tre Williams contesting.

"I noticed we were down by three. Trevion got the rebound and I know I'm not really going to get a layup in that situation so I figured I'd fan out to three," Stefanovic said. "He's a tremendous passer. There were a lot of people on him, I fanned out and he made a tremendous pass."

With 1:10 left in the second OT, after a 6-0 Minnesota run had erased Purdue's lead of a half dozen and put the Boilermakers on a slippery slope on their home floor, Stefanovic raced to the top of the arc off Williams' down screen, took Matt Haarms pass and shot on the move to give Purdue a 78-75 lead, a lead that held. Trevion Williams made a pair of foul shots to help seal the win, a win that wouldn't have been possible, too, without Williams' foul shooting.

Purdue trailed by one with 40 seconds left in the first overtime, after Daniel Oturu made a jump shot over Matt Haarms. But after a seemingly fatal Purdue turnover, Carr turned it over in the backcourt, Jahaad Proctor picked it up and passed to Eric Hunter, whose miss at the basket was rebounded by Williams, who was fouled going back up.

Williams, a 53-percent foul shooter prior to tonight, missed the first, but made the second. Carr missed a potential game-winner at the other end, and then Oturu missed a putback.

Purdue's season has sort of gone like this: Make a bunch of threes, build a lead, stop making threes, plateau, and so on and so forth.

That was the case again Thursday night, as Purdue rode another Stefanovic shooting surge to start the game to a solid foundation, then another three spree In the second half to another comfortable lead, which also didn't hold. Purdue led by as many as eight in both halves.

Purdue was 11-of-25 from three for the game.

But when it wasn't making threes, the game was very even, and in the end Marcus Carr almost carried the Gophers to a road win the same way Nate Mason did a few years ago. In the final six-and-a-half minutes or so of regulation, he scored thrice off the dribble against Purdue, carrying Minnesota to a 62-57 lead with just 3:18 left.

After that, Purdue moved Nojel Eastern onto Carr and he didn't score again over the final 13-plus minutes of play. Eastern's challenge on Carr's would-be game-winner at the end of regulation forced a miss, and in overtime, Carr turned the ball over several teams explicitly due to Eastern's pressure.

All involved were quick to point out after the game that Carr, who carries league-most minutes (36.6 per game prior to tonight) for the Gophers, wore down toward the end of a game in which he played 48-plus minutes.

"In my opinion, it was the difference in the game," Matt Painter said, "Nojel's defense on him, but also Carr's fatigue."

Eastern had guarded Carr some in the first half, but had three fouls – all of which Purdue was less than thrilled about — go against him.

There were no such issues when it mattered most.

"We knew he was a little worn out," Eastern said, "so we tried to get into him even more."

Stefanovic and Eastern won crunch time for Purdue, clearly.

But, in a lot of ways, this was Matt Haarms' night.

Facing Oturu – a legitimate NBA prospect who averages a double-double this season — Haarms played more than 40 minutes just one game removed from missing a pair of outings due to a concussion.

In that time, he took 16 shots and made 11 of 'em. His 26 points were a career-best.

Of his four offensive rebounds, none were bigger than this: With less than three minutes left in the second OT, Aaron Wheeler missed a three. But Haarms used every inch of his 7-foot-3-ness to get a hand up to tip the ball back in.

Soon thereafter, Purdue was up six, a cushion that didn't endure, but was better to have than not.

It means a Purdue team that has often had to "grind out" wins just set a tone for the remainder of the Big Ten season to come by doing just that, to every last degree of that term's meaning.

"The whole second half was lead changes the whole time. Ties," Haarms said. "We had to fight for it every step of the way. ... It shows this team had fight."

Purdue may have to win this season with defense and such things, and just did, holding Minnesota to 36.5-percent shooting and getting the necessary stops — and turnovers — to close out a needed victory. Starting 1-2 in the Big Ten and dropping a home game after losing at Nebraska, that wouldn't have been good on a number of fronts, obviously.

Up six in double overtime on your home floor, Purdue has to win that game in that situation and showed it could rise to the occasion.

Membership Info: Sign up for GoldandBlack.com now | Why join? | Questions?

Follow GoldandBlack.com: Twitter | Facebook | YouTube

More: Gold and Black Illustrated/Gold and Black Express | Subscribe to our podcast

Copyright, Boilers, Inc. 2020. All Rights Reserved. Reproducing or using editorial or graphical content, in whole or in part, without permission, is strictly prohibited.