Villanova staves off resilient Boilermakers

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In the face of the No. 3 team in the country, and in the face of a desperate worst-case scenario - frontcourt foul trouble - and with its most glaring defensive concerns laid bare, Purdue showed it belonged, and then some, Monday night with one of the best teams in the country.

No, the 15th-ranked Boilermakers likely won't take much fulfillment from their 79-76 loss to defending national champion Villanova, but Purdue could walk out of Mackey Arena this season feeling validated.

Behind All-America candidate Josh Hart and his 24 points, Villanova separated itself on more than one occasion, opening up double-digit leads in both halves.

Both times, Purdue stormed back to within striking distance, even as it struggled badly to contain Hart for most of the game and dealt with the least ideal of circumstances, crippling foul trouble for both Isaac Haas and Caleb Swanigan.

"I thought we were resilient and our guys played hard," Coach Matt Painter said. "I don't know if we played smart all the time."

Painter spoke of the sequence where his team quite possibly could have won the game, but instead lost it, a messy second-half stretch in which had several cracks at the lead.

Haas – dominant in the minutes he did play — dunked off a pick-and-roll with Spike Albrecht with 12 minutes left to play, capping a 9-0 Purdue run that brought it within just one point after a 7-of-7 shooting start to the half had vaulted 'Nova to a robust lead.

But after Carsen Edwards responded to a Wildcat three with a triple of his own, the Boilermakers bogged down, missing a one-and-one at the foul line, then turning the ball over on their next three trips.

Of note: This wasn't the banana-peel act that Purdue often fell into in these sorts of situations last year. In fact, the Boilermakers handled Villanova's press so well that Jay Wright mostly backed off it after halftime.

These pivotal turnovers were just general slop, some throwaways included, mostly in the halfcourt.

"It was just simple pass and catch," Haas said, "… just some things we have to clean up. It wasn't anything major like mental breakdowns or anything like that, just little things we have to fine tune."

Purdue failed in those situations, while Villanova largely did what one would expect a reigning champion with star seniors to do. It made the plays it needed to make while its opponent couldn't.

The Boilermakers had a chance to tie with a three in the final seconds but it seemed as if Swanigan anticipated Villanova fouling and couldn't get a clean shot off. The ball found its way to Carsen Edwards in the corner but the game ended with the thud the ball made when it hit off the side of the backboard.

It was a deflating finish for Purdue, but at the same time a modestly encouraging evening. The Boilermakers knew going in that, win or lose, Villanova could represent an important catalyst in their development into the team they aspire to be.

And a still-short-handed Purdue team showed flashes of that team, despite some adversity.

When Haas and Swanigan played together in the second half, Villanova had no response. The post tandem combined for 42 points on 16-of-23 shooting. Though Swanigan played 31 minutes and Haas 20 when all was said and done, Painter was coaching around their foul trouble all night after both got in hot water quickly. Haas only played five minutes in the first half, then scored 18 of his 22 points in 15 second-half minutes.

Asked about the second half, about what mattered for Purdue as it put itself in a position to win down the stretch, Swanigan referenced Haas: "We were just in the game together. That's all there was to it."

Vincent Edwards added 10 points and eight assists, but it was forward Basil Smotherman, in his season debut, who made his mark in particular.

After sitting out the opener against McNeese State due to a suspension, Smotherman was needly badly against 'Nova and delivered, giving Purdue the energy it has long asked of him.

Purdue needed that energy. But in the big picture, Purdue needed toughness, a commodity Painter has talked about in the context of an unknown.

Thought it didn't win, his team showed something Monday night.

"They pulled away a couple times, but we were always there," Swanigan said. "We're going to be OK."