After two wins in two days it was back to the United Center for Purdue fans and the Boilermakers themselves as they faced a UCLA team that would be with Tyler Bilodeau who gave Purdue so much trouble when the two teams met earlier this season. If you were in attendance or watching at home you know that Wisconsin and Michigan put on quite a show in the first game. Could the second game of the day live up to that hype?
John Wooden Memorial Player of the Game (JWMPOTG): Oscar Cluff wins this one going
away. He scored 10 points down the stretch for the Boilermakers and was everywhere that Purdue needed him to be. Every loose ball, every rebound, every opportunity that Purdue had down the stretch could be traced back to Oscar Cluff. He finished with 17 points and 14 rebounds.
In yesterday’s game against the Cornhuskers Purdue got off to a lightning fast start with a 13-3 lead. Well, in this one Purdue jumped out to an even better 15-2 start off some hot shooting from Cox and Loyer plus some great dealing from who else but Braden Smith. Smith notched three assists in the first 3:28 and it looked like maybe Purdue would cruise to an overwhelming victory. But, we’re Purdue fans aren’t we? We knew it wouldn’t be quite so easy. After scoring their 15th point at 16:07 left in the half Purdue would manage just four points, for a total of 19, at 6:10 remaining in the half. This included a 6+ minute scoring drought from the Boilermakers. Well, what did UCLA do during that time? Well, they went on a 15-2 run of their own to tie the game at 17 with 7:06 remaining. However, disaster struck for the Bruins when UCLA star Donovan Dent hobbled off the floor, sat alone during a timeout, and then hobbled back to the locker room for the Bruins. He would not return for the remainder of the half and managed to tally just 10 minutes of play. With both Bilodeau and Dent out Purdue absolutely had to take advantage, and they did. After being tied at 17 Purdue went on a 17-10 run. Perhaps the highlight of this run was CJ Cox chasing down the ball near the scorer’s table, saving it to Omer Mayer who then nailed a three to put Purdue up 26-7 as part of a 9-0 run. It’s plays like that that help you win basketball games.
Purdue then was without Smith and Loyer for a few minutes for…reasons I guess? But, have no fear because despite UCLA hitting four shots in a row, a hero emerged for the Purdue offense. The injured Jack Benter (wrist) came in and hit two threes to push the Purdue lead to seven. That included a shot at the buzzer in another pass from Smith who notched his 7th assist of the day on the play. A 34-27 lead at halftime? Not huge, but enough to give Purdue breathing room.
Purdue out rebounded UCLA by 7 including 7-3 on the offensive glass but it was the three point shot that was the equalizer in the first half. Purdue shot just 6-17 for 35% while UCLA shot 4-8 for 50%. Low volume but high percentage for the Bruins. It was enough to keep them in the game. With 20 minutes to play could the Bruins overcome the loss of Bilodeau and maybe Dent? Just 20 more minutes of basketball would tell the tale.
Purdue started out the second half strong with two quick threes from Loyer that extended the Purdue lead to 13 points. That would be the high water mark of the half as after that things just got sloppy, scary, and a little strange. Purdue could not pull away from a UCLA team missing two starters because the shots just weren’t falling. With about 8:30 to play in the game, Oscar Cluff went for a basket but UCLA got called for goaltending. That pushed the Purdue lead to 60-50 and gave Purdue the momentum back. Unfortunately for Purdue, UCLA challenged the ruling and it was overturned. Since no one had possession of the ball when the goaltend was called (obviously) the possession arrow determined that it was UCLA ball. That helped continue a 9-0 UCLA run that would bring the Bruins to within 58-57. It was who else but Oscar Cluff who scored to break the Purdue drought. In fact, Cluff scored 10 of Purdue’s last 15 points. This was the man from Australia that Purdue fans were so excited to see when he committed in the offseason. He’s been a breath of fresh air in this Big Ten Tournament and he did just enough today to get Purdue to the championship game tomorrow.
Some quick hitters from inside the United Center:
- After going 50% from three in the first half UCLA was just 3-12 in the second half.
- Purdue outrebounded UCLA by 11.
- Smith finished the game with 9 assists.
- Cluff had maybe the best game of his career with 17 and 14.
