The Purdue Boilermakers are finding themselves in familiar territory. They are returning to the “Sweet 16” in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
Purdue’s easy 76-62 victory over the McNeese State Cowboys on Saturday marked the eighth straight time they have won a second-round game. This time, however, the news is even “sweeter.”
Friday’s Midwest Region semifinal matchup against the top-seeded Houston Cougars will be held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, just an hour or so drive from West Lafayette. If there was ever a chance for a partisan crowd to bolster Purdue’s chances as an underdog, this is it.
Once again, junior forward Trey Kaufmann-Renn led the way for the Boilermakers, scoring 22 points and grabbing 15 rebounds–both game-high totals. Fletcher Loyer, who made just one field goal in their first-round win over High Point, drilled three three-pointers and pitched in 15 points.
After upending Clemson on Thursday, the Southland Conference champs entered Amica Mutal Pavillion in Providence with an aura of confidence to challenge the Boilermakers. If there was any question about whether 12th-seeded McNeese could continue their Cinderella run through the brackets, Purdue squelched any notion of another Cowboy upset very quickly.
Purdue raced out to a 17-6 lead just five-and-a-half minutes into the game by hitting on seven of their first nine shots and spreading the ball around unselfishly. All five starters scratched the scoring column before the first media timeout, and six of those seven baskets were helped by assists.
That team effort when more players get involved is something not lost on Kaufman-Renn, who praised his Boiler mates following Saturday’s game.
“I’m very proud. I’m proud that the older guys get to experience this without (Zach Edey), one of the best players in college basketball history. They had something to prove,” Kaufman-Renn said. “But also the new guys on our team, whether it be the new people on our team in their roles or some of the older guys that are getting more of an opportunity now. I’m just proud of our team.”
Purdue stretched their first-half lead to as much as 22 before settling for a 38-20 halftime lead.
More of the same was in store for McNeese in the second half. Purdue held the Cowboys at bay while growing their lead to as much as 26 and limiting the competitive nature of the game. McNeese did not give up, however, and made the final score much closer than what the game represented. Boilermakers head coach Matt Painter actually liked that the Cowboys kept playing to test his guys’ intensity.
“Yeah, we had adversity in the High Point game, too,” said Painter. “You don’t want to have it. You want to push the game out and win decisively, but just trying to get them to keep their composure.”
“It was good to see that composure from our guys just to hang in there and be able to finish the game.”
Purdue dominated the stat sheet just as they had against High Point. The Boilers outshot McNeese (45.1% to 44.6%), out-rebounded (41-24), and dished out more assists (17-12) than the Cowboys.
Surviving and advancing to the second weekend of the NCAA tournament is all well and good, but the stakes grow even higher from here on out. Houston is next up for Purdue, and the Cougars have legitimate national championship aspirations. Undoubtedly, Vegas bookmakers will make the Boilermakers the underdog for Friday’s game, but Painter sees this challenge as the reward for all of the work put in previously. According to the Purdue boss, his players now see that all of the sacrifices in the off-season pay off to get to this point.
“Our guys put in a lot of time working out in the summer but when we get our time as a group, we practice,” explained Painter. “I think it’s so important in June, July, August, when you get your time because we start school around August 20th, 21st. The first day of school we practice.
“A lot of people don’t realize that if you’re just talking about it and working out in the summer, your foundation now starts when practice starts. We want it to start in June so now we can grow and then be at our best at this time of the year.”
Purdue will need to be at their best to handle the defensive-minded Cougars. Houston has limited their opponents to just over 58 points per game and allowed only 38.4% of the other team’s field goal attempts to be successful.
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