INDIANAPOLIS — Purdue will see Saturday at the Big Ten Tournament, the only top-four seed to get past Friday's gauntlet.
The Boilermakers beat Penn State 69-61 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse
Our post-game analysis and Wrap Video.
ON BRANDON NEWMAN
Never mind the dozen points Brandon Newman sucker-punched Penn State with off the bench. Shooting has never been an issue for the Boilermaker sophomore.
Just as much, the story of Friday night's win, and Newman's place in it, was the energy Newman created, just by being out there. This was as much a human dynamic as a basketball dynamic, as the Purdue-heavy Gainbridge Fieldhouse crowd came to life upon Newman's entrance and lit up when he made his first shot. This was the energy that came from a whole building full of people rooting for a player to do well, and it impacted the game.
Purdue's run had already begun before Newman checked in, but he was a big part of it continuing and ultimately winning this game for the Boilermakers. The spark this whole dynamic created quite obviously affected his team for the better.
