More Butler coverage: Edwards propels Purdue to Sweet 16 | Mathias' shot finished perfect play | Haas still presence, just on bench | Players react to win over Butler
DETROIT — Matt Haarms’ frequent hair flips get attention.
There even were highlight packages of those instances springing up on Twitter during Purdue’s second-round game Sunday. There seemingly was a GIF created nearly every time the 7-foot-3 center used that smooth right-hand-through-the-bangs motion.
The talk has been about the hair.
The talk has been about the ridiculous energy.
The talk has been about the full-throated screams.
The talk has been about the fist whipping through the air in celebration.
The talk has been about the shiners and the fat lips, products of physical practices.
But there is much more to Matt Haarms than the theatrical.
And for an extended period of time Sunday, finally, he was able to show it.
With Isaac Haas out with a fractured elbow, Haarms started for the first time in his Purdue career against Butler. And in a season-high 29 minutes, he was impactful on defense (two blocks, six rebounds) and offense (seven points, including a surprising five-of-eight effort from the line) in a 76-73 victory that produced a Sweet 16 berth.
The Boilermakers needed Haarms to rise to the occasion.
And there’s doubt he did.
“This is big,” he said afterward in the locker room, that hair falling into his eyes, the fat lip visible despite a not-going-anywhere smile. “All year, I’ve just wanted to help my team win. (Sunday), I could do that in a bigger role than I had been doing. I’m just really happy to have been able to do anything to help the team win.
“I’m glad I was able to step up.”
Purdue wasn’t necessarily going to be ineffective without Haas, who post presence has been a consistent force all season, just different. That proved to be true.
Haarms wasn’t a post-up threat in terms of guards constantly feeding for him, but he still used his mobility to facilitate offense, whether it was setting screens, working on screen-and-rolls or, when needed, taking shots.
Midway through the first half, he faced up a defender and stepped through the lane and sunk a lefty shot. Soon after, he slipped to the rim and Vincent Edwards found him, but he was fouled. Haarms, only a 53 percent free throw shooter compared to Haas’ 76 percent, missed both.
And that didn’t sit well with him.
He’s been working diligently on his free throw shooting all year, getting extra shots up before and staying after practice, he said. He said he thinks his percentage shoot be better than what he’s been shooting — but he certainly rebounded after those early misses Sunday.
After an offensive rebound with about five minutes left in the half, he got fouled. Elliot Bloom, Purdue’s director of basketball operations, yelled at Haarms from the bench. Haarms looked, and Bloom bent his elbow and pointed to it, likely an indicator of the form he wanted Haarms to display.
Haarms promptly sank both shots.
A couple minutes later, he had another offensive rebound, got fouled and made one of two. Thirty seconds later, he made a pair to give Purdue a 33-32 lead.
His first shot was a point-blank miss, but he came down on the other end and blocked a shot. In the next minute, he got two rebounds and another block.
“They were pretty happy to foul me at the start because I missed my first two. After that, I knocked down a couple, so I think they were less happy after that,” Haarms said afterward. “But it was good. Teammates really doing a good job getting (the ball) to me.”
Perhaps just as valuable as any of Haarms’ free throws, points or rebounds was his minutes — because it was an indicator he wasn’t in foul trouble.
Without Haas, Haarms and Jacquil Taylor are Purdue’s only true center options, so any kind of foul trouble from Haarms could have been a considerable lineup-shuffler for Matt Painter.
Instead, Haarms was able to find comfort and rhythm playing the most he’d played all season, the second-highest minute total to, ironically, the first time Purdue played Butler (27).
“He was huge,” Dakota Mathias said of Haarms. “That’s not easy to step into those many minutes. He was very efficient. He rebounded well and defended well. He’s just a great presence for us out there.”
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