Purdue remains on its mission for NCAA tournament deep run

Purdue continued its trend of dominating second halves in this year’s NCAA tournament. After a somewhat shaky first half, Zach Edey put the team on his back finishing with 28 points and 14 rebounds. Edey frustrated Gonzaga big man Graham Ike who had outplayed Edey in the first half. Ike went on to commit four second-half fouls and foul out of the game. Purdue now is one win away from the illustrious final four which hasn’t been reached in 44 years.

Key Stats

Second half point in the paint: Purdue 28, Gonzaga 12

Purdue 9-20 from 3-point line

Purdue 9 turnovers. Purdue is now 26-0 when having 13 turnovers or less this season.

Key Individual Performances

Braden Smith 15 assists and was 2 rebounds short of a triple-double

Lance Jones 12 points, zero turnovers

Graham Ike 18 points, 12 rebounds

What it means

Purdue win puts two Big 10 teams in the Elite 8.

Matt Painter reaches the Elite 8 for the second time in his career and the second time in 5 years.

Purdue has the opportunity to repeat Virginia’s feat of following up a loss to a 16-seed with a trip to the Final Four and national championship.