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More from NCAAs: Purdue's win an emotional one | Video reaction
MILWAUKEE, Wis. — Monte Morris likely will go on to play in the NBA.
P.J. Thompson likely will not.
And Morris made sure to remind Thompson of that Saturday in the trash talking that littered the second-round matchup of fourth-seeded Purdue and No. 5 seed Iowa State.
“You’re going to be an overseas guy,” Iowa State’s senior, who called himself the best point guard in the country Friday, told Thompson during the course of the game.
Thompson’s response?
“I’m going to be an overseas guy ... and I’m going to win games, I can tell you that.”
P.J. Thompson is going to the Sweet 16.
Monte Morris is not.
In a battle of the known vs. the little-known, Thompson may not have put up the same type of stat line in the end — Morris had 18 points, nine assists, four rebounds and three steals — but Thompson had the last word.
And it was a very loud one.
It was Thompson who sunk two three throws with 7.7 seconds remaining to seal Purdue’s 80-76 victory that clinched a trip to Kansas City.
It was Thompson who drilled a three-pointer — the only basket he made in the game on three attempts — to give Purdue the lead back, and to stay, with three minutes to play.
It was Thompson, No. 2 in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio to Morris, who had three assists and only one turnover in 34 minutes, while Morris had three turnovers in 39.
It was Thompson, in the end, who could brag all he wanted about that head-to-head matchup.
“My thing is whoever’s team wins probably won that,” said Thompson, who also made sure to say Morris was a good guy. “We worked so hard to get to where we’re at. The thing is, we’re so unselfish. Everything is Purdue. I could care less who gets 15, who gets 20. I want to win the game.
“I could care less what the stats look like. I’m all about winning games for my school and for myself.”
Thompson is big on being a man of his word, too.
And not just the words he’s spitting out in trash talk.
After Thompson missed a free throw with Purdue clinging to a two-point lead with 18.6 seconds left in regulation against Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament, he told his teammates that would not happen again. That when he was put in that situation again — he told them he knew it’d come — he would capitalize.
His teammates believed.
Dakota Mathias, an 84 percent free throw shooter, joked he actually missed his free throw with 11 seconds left on purpose “so P.J. could quiet all the naysayers about his free throw shooting.”
After Caleb Swanigan out-fought two Iowa State players for an offensive rebound on Mathias’ miss, it wasn’t an accident that the ball ended up in Thompson’s hands.
“I found him when I got the rebound because I knew he wanted to make up from the Michigan game,” Swanigan said, “and to be able to get that off his mind is big.
“He just played his role. He didn’t force anything, didn’t do anything crazy and had the biggest five points of the game. That just shows his confidence and how ready he was to play.”
Thompson didn’t have any concerns either.
After that missed front end in Washington D.C., Thompson hit the gym with his dad, LaSalle III, who played professionally overseas, to shoot free throws. His dad tweaked the shot, telling P.J. he wasn’t under the ball enough. So P.J. fixed it and took hundreds between that game and Saturday.
So when Thompson stepped to the line, he was good to deliver on the promise to his teammates. He’d shown an ability to do it before, and so he knew he would do it again.
Simple as that, really.
“I was confident enough,” Thompson said. “It’s a free throw. I’m a really good shooter. It’s just a free throw. Be a leader. Be a good guard and go hit your free throws. So that’s what I did.”
It was a perfect example of the kind of poise Thompson showed throughout the game.
With his teammates taking — and mostly making — good shots throughout the first half, he didn't feel the need to press his offense. So he just dished out three assists.
When Iowa State made its second-half run, erasing Purdue's 19-point lead by the Cyclones taking their own two-point lead, Thompson kept telling his teammate it was OK, that they'd be fine, that they've been here before in tight games and come through. He knew someone would rise to make a play.
Just so happened, it was him.
After Iowa State made two free throws with 3:11 left to go up 73-71, Thompson got a feed on the wing, didn't hesitate and stuck a three-pointer to put Purdue back up, 74-73 with about 3:00 left.
After Iowa State missed and Swanigan scored on a post up on Purdue's next possession, prompting a timeout, Thompson headed back to the huddle screaming, "C'mon!" and flexing.
He was not the least bit concerned anything was slipping away.
"He was huge," Mathias said. "He’s our lead guard, he’s our point guard, we follow him. He’s made big plays. He’s hit big shots. We always talk about it. There’s always a time in the game and we need a bucket, and he’s hitting it. Just give him a lot of credit. He’s very, very underrated. A lot of people don’t talk about him. It’s not fair, but he has that chip on his shoulder, and he’s competitive.
"He took it to them (Saturday)."
So it was Thompson, not Morris, who was celebrating afterward, savoring the moment.
"We’re going to Kansas City, I feel great," he said. "I feel awesome. Danielle (Lombard from 'The Bachelor') tweeted at me this week, won two tournament games. I’m living."
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