Purdue meets the end of the line against Texas Tech in Boston
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More: With 'special' season done, seniors finding it hard to let go
BOSTON — Maybe Isaac Haas would have mattered, maybe we wouldn’t have.
Doesn’t matter now.
Purdue’s season, and the careers of its four influential seniors, is over, after a school-record 30 wins, finished at the hands of Texas Tech, behind a swarming performance that forced, and subsequently preyed off, the Boilermakers’ 17 turnovers and constantly beat Purdue to basketballs above the rim for putbacks.
Texas Tech won, 78-65.
The Raiders, in effect, blitzed Purdue, to the tune of 15 points off turnovers to the Boilermakers’ two and 17 second-chance points, a half dozen more than second-seeded Purdue.
Meanwhile, Texas Tech’s trademark aggressive defense took a toll.
Carsen Edwards scored 30, a fine close to a breakout season and another glimpse at what he might be capable of moving forward.
But the Raiders took away senior Dakota Mathias, who didn’t score until he made a three-pointer with the outcome all but decided, and forced Vincent Edwards into six turnovers.
"They just speed you up," Mathias said, "and take your out of your comfort zone."
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Meanwhile, Purdue's season-long albatross came out again, at the worst time. Texas Tech gouged the Boilermakers on the offensive glass.
At one point, a Red Raider flew to the rim for a putback that missed, only to see the miss cleaned up by another Red Raider flying to the rim.
"They played above the rim," center Matt Haarms said. "We knew coming into the game they were extremely athletic, and I guess we just weren't ready. They came extremely hard to the glass, got a bunch of dunks on us and they were just a really strong offensive rebounding team.
"That was probably the big difference in this game."
Not the only one.
Purdue made seven of its first nine shots to open the game in building a lead that peaked at seven; the Boilermakers then missed seven straight, made four in a row, then missed four more, as Texas Tech closed the first half on a 10-0 run.
It was during those lulls that maybe Haas — lost to a broken elbow, for which he’ll undergo surgery Monday, against Cal State Fullerton — might have made a difference.
"He wasn't there, so I can't say," Carsen Edwards said, seemingly bristling at the hypothetical. "He's a big help and his presence inside always makes a big difference.
"We'll never know."
Purdue's season ends in the Sweet 16 for the second time in as many years, with a school record 30 wins.
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