Purdue takes Cinderella from BTT and sweeps OSU 3-0.
statistics
Zack Eddy: 32 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists
Braden Smith: 14 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists
Brandon Newman: 15 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists
Rudy Gayle Jr.: 20 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist
first half
This half felt like a heavy fight as both Purdue and OSU came out swinging, especially from deep. The difference would be that Purdue was able to impose its size on the Buckeyes, as Zach Edey went deep at will. The big man finished the half with 17 points on 13 shots. Whoever made the shots scored for Purdue (Gillis and Morton did not take any shots). Caleb Furst was impressive as he pitched Purdue more. Eddie twice offloaded a pass to Forest for a dunk because Caleb came on the baseline. David Jenkins Jr. is another boilerplate who has done well. DJJ has made a 2 3 in the half and has yet to miss a BTT. Purdue as a team shot 5-6 from deep, an excellent start. For Ohio State, it was Rudy Gayle Jr.’s show. The freshman scored 16 points on 5-6 from deep by himself. Purdue struggled to circle him and make his shots count. Judge Swing and Felix Okpara each had 6 in the first as well. Purdue would take a 42-34 lead at the half.
the other half
I felt fatigue finally starting to set in at OSU this half. OSU scored only 9 points in the first 9 minutes and left plenty of short shots. Purdue built the lead up to 14 by MTO under 12. Brandon Newman, Braden Smith, and Zack Eddy all continued to score, and Boilermaker’s offense rounded out nicely. Ethan Morton and Brandon Newman looked really good on defense, keeping OSU guards in front of them. Purdue was going a bit cold on the streak, moving into the next media timeout until the 9th. It would bring OSU back to 6 with 5:43 to play as Zach Edey was struggling with close shots, despite looking good. With 4:05 left, Purdue retook the lead to 10 on Braden Smith’s layup, knocking out Chris Holtmann. The lead hovered around the 10 until Brandon Newman’s 3 followed by Zach Eddy’s 1 dunk put Purdue ahead 16 with 2:30 left. Each team was going back and forth a bit on the free throw game, but Purdue would take it, 80-66.
Takeaway
It’s great to see Bordeaux’s successful shots in this photo. We all know how good this Purdue team is when the shots fall. It must continue.
Purdue will play either Penn State or Indiana tomorrow in the championship game. The top seed in the NCAA Tournament is still playing, so let’s bring back another cup. The kettle!
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