MILWAUKEE — Purdue's headed back to the Sweet 16, shaking off a stubborn Texas team, 81-71, on Sunday night to advance to the NCAA Tournament's second weekend again.
Purdue moves on to Philadelphia, where Cinderella story Saint Peter's awaits on Friday.
Our breakdown ...
WHAT HAPPENED
Purdue had finally shaken the Longhorns, taking a 10-point lead with two-and-a-half minutes left, off a clutch three by Jaden Ivey, then two free throws from one of the game's quiet heroes, Ethan Morton.
Ball game, it seemed.
Nope.
Starting with an improbable four-point play, Texas scored nine of the next 11 points to push Purdue to the brink in a game it had won, and at that point, had to win.
It might be overstatement to call what came next one of the biggest shots in Purdue NCAA Tournament history. But certainly in its recent history, Ivey's heroics qualify.
With 61 seconds left to play — in an event where higher seeds have dropped like flies and the Big Ten endured something of a Red Wedding on Sunday — Ivey broke away from Courtney Ramey one-on-one and drilled a three from just inside the midcourt logo.
"All game he was chirping, just trying to get me out of rhythm," Ivey said of Ramey, part of a fervent Texas defense that trapped Ivey incessantly and held him without a first half field goal attempt. "I just stayed poised the whole game. That's what it comes down to. People are going to try to get you out of rhythm and try to talk to you. You've just got to stay focused on the main goal and I felt like I did that."
That was the seminal moment of yet another mettle-testing Round 2 win for Purdue, not unlike the Iowa State game in this very city a few years back.
"It was our will to win," forward Mason Gillis said. "Everyone 1 through 16 wants it really bad, from walk-ons to starters to our star players. We know what it takes. We have a winning formula. We just need to stick with it."
Ivey made the biggest plays down the stretch, but Purdue was buoyed all evening by its years-long foundation, Trevion Williams, who scored a team-best 22 points on 10-of-13 shooting and carried the Boilermakers through various stretches of the game.
"They definitely were looking for me," Williams said. "I felt like I was a little more patient today. I kind of took my time and got to my move, just doing what I do best, getting to my jump hook. I kept it simple more than anything. Sometimes we get out there, we get the lead and then we try to be flashy or we try to do something cool on the court. Today was about being solid, it was about being solid down the stretch and we got it done."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Purdue has come of age defensively during the final third or so of the season.
The Texas game was the Boilermakers' zenith, as they led by as many as 14 points in the first half thanks to a dominant run in which Purdue scored 20 straight points and the Longhorns missed 16 straight field goals.
"We did some really good things," Painter said. "We just have to keep building and getting better.
"All along we've had the ability to be a good defensive team. And we've gotten better here the last half of the season."
Texas shot just 39.7 percent for the game, though long-time Boilermaker nemesis Marcus Carr kept his new team alive with a 23-point, seven-assist game, those numbers sort of masking the excellent job Morton did on Carr during the second half after Purdue switched up its matchups to put Morton's height and length on Texas' standout guard.
Defense hasn't been Purdue's strength this season, though it's trended well for a month or so.
Shooting has been one of Purdue's strengths all season, but not tonight.
Purdue was only 6-of-17 from three-point range, but the ones it made were all significant, four of the six coming in the game's final nine-and-a-half minutes. The Boilermakers started the game 1-for-10.
"We just know we're going to have to get wins like that and we're probably going to have to do it again," senior Eric Hunter said. "But we're definitely going to be getting in the gym to get some shots up."
Purdue made up the difference at the foul line, drawing 29 fouls and making 33-of-46 free throws.
Forty-six free throws.
"Really, the differential in the game is the free throws," said Texas coach Chris Beard. "Be careful what I say, 46-12 (attempts), there haven't been a lot of games in the NCAA Tournament like that."
Zach Edey drew seven fouls and managed to score 11 points with just two made field goals. Jaden Ivey was fouled six times.
Edey's 10 rebounds led an effort on the glass that saw Purdue outrebound the Longhorns 41-28.
Mason Gillis joined Williams in grabbing seven rebounds, but also made a number of hustle plays to preserve possessions for Purdue.
"Everybody on our team, if we come into the game focused on doing our own job, playing our own role," Gillis said, "... things are going to go well.
"I go Into every game focused on doing my job, whether that's hitting open shots, passing or rebounding, just being ready for it."
WHAT IT MEANS
This was a big-time win for Purdue and puts the Boilermakers in position to succeed where the rest of the Big Ten — Michigan aside — has failed so far.
The best part of this win for Purdue is that the Boilermakers legitimately won this game with defense and clutch and timely play, and immense contributions from some of Its complementary pieces.
Things are looking up for Purdue.
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