MILWAUKEE — In its NCAA Tournament debut, Purdue left no doubt.
The Boilermakers routed 13th-seeded Yale, 78-56, on Friday afternoon to advance to Round 2 on Sunday, with Texas waiting.
Our breakdown ...
WHAT HAPPENED
Jaden Ivey says these new brightly colored Wilson basketballs have felt "weird," especially bouncy, for one thing. They look different — more fluorescent for the sake of television — and apparently feel different.
"Weird" as they might have felt, they did nothing to slow Purdue's All-American, as Ivey drained two threes in the game's first three minutes en route to a 22-point showing.
"It's just my confidence, for real," Ivey said of his start. "I'm willing to take any shot if it's the right shot for me and for my team."
For Sasha Stefanovic, the opposite effect: Purdue's years-long sharpshooter went 0-for-5 in the first half and was visibly agitated. He's not shot as well toward the end of the season anyway, but Purdue's gone from its familiar Nike balls to the Big Ten Tournament's Spalding balls to these.
But he and the NCAA Tournament balls made nice in the second half, as Purdue blew the game open with his back-to-back threes, the second of which defied most principles of physics by nearly escaping the cylinder before spinning back in.
"I was just lucky to see some go in," Stefanovic said. "Getting used to these balls and playing in these arenas, it's different. But just to see one go in was good for me."
That roll put Purdue up 59-39 at the first media timeout, propelling the Boilermakers to a rare stress-free win. There haven't been many of those since Big Ten play started.
That Stefanovic shot was the product of Mason Gillis, who generated a steal, then failed to connect with Ivey on a lob pass, but hustled to recover the ball, only to miss, only to see Trevion Williams clean up that miss and set up Stefanovic for that reluctant shot.
That play was the play that essentially assured Purdue of its passage to Round 2 on the scoreboard, but it was the defense that coincided with that stretch that did just as much.
Yale missed 15 straight shots and didn't score for eight-and-a-half minutes. Purdue's run of consecutive points hit 13.
After Bulldog leading scorer Azar Swain kept his team afloat to start the game, Purdue's defense against him stiffened after halftime. Mostly facing Eric Hunter and later in the game, Ethan Morton, Swain finished 8-of-19 from the floor.
"We wanted to really make it hard for Swain," Painter said. "That was our No. 1 thing, to not let him get threes, to take up his space. He got going early in the game and then after that we did a much better job on him. Then they were finishing around the rim and hit a couple runners in that first half. In the second half I thought we did a much better job."
Purdue blew the game open after halftime, but Edey triggered the landslide prior, scoring eight of his 16 points in the final few minutes of the first half to put the Boilermakers up 13 at halftime.
"That was important," Edey said. "Obviously you want to have the momentum going into halftime, you want to feel good going into the locker room and you want to extend the lead as much as possible to get your breath fully.
"I feel like last year I really struggled in the Tournament game (against North Texas), so to come out this year and kind of prove it to myself that I can still do it in the Tournament was big for me."
HOW IT HAPPENED
This time of year, your best players have to be their best.
Purdue's were, as Ivey went for 22 points on 13 shots and carried the Boilermakers early and Zach Edey, in just 19 minutes, went for 16 points and nine rebounds and affected the game profoundly protecting the rim.
But Purdue brought its A game in areas where it has on occasion drawn failing grades.
There were 12 turnovers, but that number includes ample garbage time in the final 10 minutes, and thus reality is distorted.
And Purdue was 27-of-33 at the foul line, maximizing its advantages in that regard, as it too often hasn't.
WHAT IT MEANS
You couldn't have asked much more from Purdue in its debut In an event where crazy things often happen.
There was not really a box Purdue would have liked to check on Friday that it didn't. It dominated offensively, played well enough defensively, took care of the basketball and made free throws.
Things get more difficult now, but this was a great start.
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