PDF: Purdue-Old Dominion statistics (incomplete)
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HARTFORD — With his team’s season on the line, and when it needed him most on Thursday night, Carsen Edwards delivered.
And with its season on the line, and when it needed it most, down a crucial player, so did Purdue’s defense.
The result: A 61-48 first-round NCAA Tournament win over Old Dominion, setting up a second-round meeting with Villanova and capping one heck of an eventful night for the co-Big Ten champions.
In pre-game warmups, Nojel Eastern — Purdue’s defensive tone-setter on the perimeter, among other things — slipped during a layup drill in warm-ups and hurt his right ankle. Minutes later, Matt Painter literally was pointing at freshman Eric Hunter during pre-game introductions to take his place.
Obviously, not the sort of tumult one might be particularly comfortable with moments before an elimination game.
“You can’t make an adjustment at that time,” Coach Matt Painter said. “It’s next man up.”
Teammates didn’t know the deal. Matt Haarms said he asked about Eastern during the game and was told he was back in the locker room, then saw for himself at halftime, as the sophomore had spent the game’s first 20 minutes back in said locker room with strength coaches working his ankle out.
Purdue went against Old Dominion minus a key piece.
Thing was, it didn’t need him.
The Boilermakers limited the Monarchs to only 24-percent shooting and just 19 points in the first half, leading by 13 at the break on their way to getting up as many as 20 in the second half.
Though Ahmad Caver, the defensive assignment Eastern was supposed to carry, made some difficult shots and finished with 19 points, Purdue was more than pleased with Hunter’s fill-in work, in a situation where a freshman making his first-ever start in his first-ever NCAA Tournament might get a bit anxious.
“I didn’t have time to get nervous,” said Hunter, with whom Purdue was plus-26 in the plus/minus column, a game-best number.
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And, Purdue still had Haarms, the 7-foot-3 center who blocked a pair of shots, influenced a slew of others and used his length and the mobility that belies his size to cover all over the floor.
“Haarms was phenomenal defensively,” ODU coach Jeff Jones said. “He was the real key to their defensive effort tonight.”
And on offense, Purdue still had Carsen Edwards, whose 7-of-23 shooting hardly mattered in his 26-point outing, because he clearly made sound decisions with the ball, finishing with four assists against two turnovers, and made big plays so often, including the final minutes, when he put the game away at the foul line.
Prior, Edwards gave Purdue its 20-point lead with 15:44 left with a three-pointer that came shortly after he registered a defensive stop with textbook transition defense. It was his fourth three of the night, a game in which he frequently broke Old Dominion down off the dribble and often worked his way to the foul line.
“I just played my game,” Edwards said, “and took what the defense gave me.”
Edwards’ 13 first-half points buoyed Purdue before halftime and Aaron Wheeler’s eight off the bench were certainly significant, as the Boilermakers closed the first on a 9-0 run to seize control.
That being said, Purdue’s defense was the difference, Eastern or no Eastern.
“We just locked in,” Wheeler said. “We were just trying to give them the most respect, treating them like we were playing Romeo Langford or Ethan Happ, someone like that. When you give people respect, you pay more attention to them.
“We just focused on keeping guys out of the paint and rebounding on defense.”
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