Purdue is back in the Sweet 16.
The No. 2 Boilermakers advanced to the second week of the NCAA tournament for the third straight season with a 79-69 win over No. 7 Miami on Sunday. Purdue went on an 11-3 run with less than 10 minutes to go to turn a 57-54 lead into a 68-57 advantage with 5:32 to go.
That 11-point advantage was Purdue’s largest lead of the game.
Guard Fletcher Loyer missed just one shot all game. Loyer scored 24 points as he was 6-of-7 from the field, 4-of-4 from behind the arc and 8-of-8 from the free-throw line.
As a team, Purdue made its first 15 free throws before Oscar Cluff’s miss with less than three minutes to go.
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Miami got Purdue’s lead to four with less than a minute to go, but the Hurricanes were never able to get it to a one-possession game thanks in part to that free-throw shooting. Purdue finished 21-of-22 from the line and was 8-of-14 from behind the arc.
Putting the 2023 NCAA tournament further in the rear-view mirror
Purdue does not look like a program haunted by one of the biggest upsets in NCAA tournament history. The Boilermakers became the second No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed three seasons ago. But they’ve now won at least two NCAA tournament games in each of the past three NCAA tournaments.
The year after losing to St. Peter’s, Purdue made the national title game before losing to UConn. A season ago, the Boilermakers fell to eventual national title game participant Houston 62-60 in the Sweet 16 as a No. 4 seed.
This season, the Boilermakers will be heavily favored to make the Elite Eight and play either No. 1 Arizona or No. 4 Arkansas. Purdue will face No. 11 Texas first in the Sweet 16 after the Longhorns won three games in five days. Texas beat NC State in the First Four before beating No. 6 BYU in the first round and upsetting No. 3 Gonzaga on Saturday night.
C.J. Cox’s injury scare
The guard suffered an apparent right knee injury on a fast break early in the second half. As Cox was going to the rim, his leg bent awkwardly and he immediately grabbed his knee while shouting multiple expletives in pain.
After a couple moments on the court, Cox was able to gingerly walk to the Purdue locker room and eventually returned to the bench, though he didn’t return to the game. Before the injury, Cox had 11 points and was 3-of-4 from behind the arc in 18 minutes.
If Cox avoided a serious injury and is available for the rest of the tournament, Purdue will be fortunate. The Boilermakers got just five points from their bench on Sunday after its bench players combined to score just 19 points in a 104-71 first-round blowout win over Queens University.
Braden Smith ties a career-high with 8 turnovers
Against Queens, guard Braden Smith became the NCAA’s all-time assists leader. On Sunday, Smith dished out eight assists and had 12 points. But he also tied a career-high he didn’t want.
Smith turned the ball over eight times for the second time in his career. And, coincidentally, Smith’s first eight-turnover game came exactly a year ago in a second-round win. Smith had eight turnovers in the Boilermakers’ 76-62 win over McNeese a season ago.