Purdue Defeats Texas in NCAA Tournament’s Second Round
The Purdue Boilermakers defeated the Texas Longhorns, 81-71, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday in Milwaukee, Wis.
Purdue (29-7) advances to the Sweet 16 in Philadelphia next week against No. 15 Saint Peter’s which beat No. 2 Kentucky and No. 7 Murray State.
Texas (22-12) ends its season in the second round, having won an NCAA Tournament game for the first time since 2014, but failing to get to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2008.
Texas and Purdue played a gritty game with wild swings in the first half. Texas took a lead early in the second half and gave it up before the Boilermakers built a 10-point lead that Texas nearly overcame.
Free throw shooting was a big deal in this game. Purdue was in the bonus with about 11 minutes left in the second half and went 33-of-46 from the line, while Texas was 7-of-12.
Purdue was up 72-62 with 2:30 left before Texas guard Jase Febres pulled off a four-point play. From there, the Longhorns traded baskets for free throws. First, it was a free throw by Purdue’s Jaden Ivey for a Christian Bishop dunk. Then, Purdue’s Trevion Williams hit a free throw and Texas guard Marcus Carr drained a 3-pointer with 1:30 left to cut the Purdue lead to 74-71.
Texas nearly turned Purdue over on defense. Andrew Jones and Bishop trapped Purdue’s Eric Hunter Jr., with the ball going out of bounds off Texas. There was a review and the ball remained with Purdue.
Purdue inbounded the ball from the side with 1:11 left and Ivey drained a big 3-pointer from the top of the key to push Purdue’s lead back to six points.
At the other end Carr’s pass to Jones was deflected by Purdue’s Ethan Morton, and the ball was then deflected by Jones before it went out of bounds with 49 seconds left.
From there, Purdue kept extending its lead at the line.
Williams had a big game for Purdue off the bench, scoring 22 points. Ivey, an All-America selection, was held without a field goal in the first half but ended up finishing with 18 points. Hunter added 11 points.
Texas’ long offensive drought in the first half probably doomed the Longhorns, as they shot 40 percent from the floor. Carr had 23 points, Jones had 17 and Bishop had 10. But Allen’s two points loomed large, especially after he fouled out.
Texas was up 14-8 early in the game, and then the Boilermakers went on an incredible run. Purdue scored the next 18 points, Texas went without a point for nine minutes and 40 seconds as Purdue built a 28-14 lead with 5:19 left. At that point, the Longhorns ended their drought with an Jones jumper.
From there, Texas’ shooting came to life, thanks to Carr’s 11 points by the break. He hit a pair of 3-pointers, while Jones added eight points, as Texas trimmed the lead to single digits. Purdue was up 36-30 at the break on 50 percent shooting, but it could have bene much worse for Texas, considering its scoring drought.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
