Please excuse me for a moment. I am 46 years old and I am trying to get my heart rate back to normal.
Wow.
What a rollercoaster of a game. With 18:56 left in regualtion Purdue’s second straight gave it a 46-24 lead. For a large portion of the second half the Boilermakers were in firm control. Things got a little dicey and the Cornhuskers were able to cut it to 4 at one point, but when Jack Benter connected on two free throws with 2:45 left Purdue was up 67-53 and the game looked over. In fact, if Purdue had
been able to get a stop it would have been time to bleed clock.
Instead, all hell broke loose, and in the final 2:45 we saw a Purdue collapse like we have not seen since the infamous NCAA Tournament loss to Little Rock. Inexplicably, Purdue just kept shooting threes instead of going to the basket. It started missing free throws with reckless abandon.
Braden Smith missed the front end of a one-and-one (which is basically two misses).
Fletcher Loyer missed one.
CJ Cox missed two
When rienk Mast got the and-1 with 13 seconds left it looked like the collapse was complete, but that is where the luck came in. He missed the free throw, Smith’s last second shot was short, and we were headed to overtime.
Just like Little Rock.
The overtime was about as wild as it could get. Again, Purdue looked ready to put it away when Cox hit a three to make it 75-70. Again, it collapsed, and Nebraska found itself up one with the basketball. Again, luck favored Purdue. Sam Hoiberg missed a three and Trey Kaufman-Renn got the rebound. Again, Purdue did not attack the basket with Mast fouled out, and Fletcher Loyer missed a three. Fortunately, Braden Smith, the smallest guy on the floor, got the offensive board, we worked it to Oscar Cluff, and he scored his own and-1 with 5.1 seconds left.
He could not complete the 3-point play with the free throw, but Cox got the rebound, only to lose possession on a jump ball. Again, luck came Purdue’s way. Jamarques Lawrence slipped on the floor receiving the inbounds pass and Gicarri Harris was there to pick up the fortunate loose ball. Two free throws and a long pass turnover later Purdue had escaped with a top 10 road win that looked like it was going to be a lot damn easier than it was.
We have seen Purdue struggle a lot in recent weeks, but by splashing four threes in the first four minutes it took a 14-1 lead early and looked like it was never going to look back. That almost was a curse though. Purdue started so hot from three it just kept shooting threes. It ended up taking 46 of them, hitting just 13. The line between heart-stopping win and road blowout was right there. Purdue was getting good looks, but couldn’t close the deal. It also just refused to attack the basket for reasons unknown.
Some key points.
- Braden was two rebounds short of a double-double. Things were pretty stagnant with him off the floor in foul trouble in the first half, but he played his ass off yet again.
- 10 more assists for him moves him to 968 for the career and past Sherman Douglas of Syracuse for 7th all-time. Next up is Steve Blake of Maryland at 972. It is going to be tight if he gets the record. He needs 102 to tie with anywhere from 9-16 games left. Purdue probably needs at least 5 postseason games between the Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments to have a shot, but that is reasonable.
- TKR rebounded like a demon tonight. A whopping 19 rebounds and we needed every single one of them. He only scored 6, but he absolutely busted his ass on the glass.
- Cluff also had 14 rebounds. Once again, WHY WERE WE NOT ATTACKING THE BASKET WHEN CLUFF AND TKR WERE DOMINATING THE PAINT?
- Purdue had a 54-37 edge on the glass with TWENTY ONE offensive rebounds. None were bigger than Braden’s last one.
- Cox could have sealed the game with two late free throws in regulation, but missed. Still, three huge second half threes were a big difference maker.
- Jack Benter did Jack Benter things again. Some good hustle plays late when things were going sideways.
- Omer Mayer stuck a big three as well.
- FOR THE LOVE OF GOD HIT FREE THROWS! 11 of 20 is going to lose some games, especially since at least two were the front end of one-and-ones, thus effectively counting as four misses instead of two.
I know you cannot overlook a top 10 road win in conference play. It is like gold, whether it comes via blowout or like this. For a large portion of the night Purdue looked like the preseason No. 1 team in America we expected. In fact, it easily could have been up 25 or more at the half if not for missed threes. Then, for 2:45 at the end of regulation, it looked like it couldn’t beat Purdue-Fort Wayne.
Still, for the second straight game, Purdue found itself trailing inside the final minute needing to make a play to get a win and it got it done. Put the collapse aside. The Boilers still had the mental focus to gut this one out even after blowing a 22 point second half lead.
More importantly, Purdue passed its toughest test in the final eight games to stay in the Big Ten race. A loss tonight would have ended those hopes. Now Purdue has its toughest remaining games at home, and maybe, just maybe, it is rounding into form.
On to Iowa City.
