Purdue grabbed a win that, by all accounts, was one this group had tended to lose this season. When the shots weren’t falling, Purdue continued to lean on their experience and grit to grab a 79-77 victory over the Texas Longhorns. It’s another short turnaround, so let’s jump right into the numbers.
3
With their victory in the Sweet 16 over Texas, Purdue has now made 3 trips to the Elite Eight in the last seven tourneys. That places Purdue is some elite company, pun fully intended. Alongside Purdue (2019, 2024, 2026), Duke (2019, 2022, 2024, 2025), Gonzaga (2019, 2021, 2023), and Houston (2021, 2022, 2025) are the only programs to achieve that level of success in the entirety of men’s division one basketball. Duke will have the opportunity to get to five of the last seven tourneys if they can defeat St. John’s in the Sweet 16.
3…again
With their victory in the Sweet 16, Purdue was able to move their total victories this season to 30. Their 30-8 overall record means Purdue now has 3 seasons of 30 or more victories in a season, joining 2018 (30-7) and 2024 (34-5). What a string of successes over the last decade and a half for Purdue.
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117
The senior trio of Smith, TKR, and Loyer are the most successful in a Purdue uniform. They have taken Purdue to a Final Four and have now won a program best 117 games over their four year career in West Lafayette. Their victory over the Texas Longhorns in the Sweet 16 pushed them past Caleb Furst’s 116 that he achieved from 2022-2025. That 117 also places that class fourth nationally in that time frame behind Houston (130), UCONN (123), and Duke (120) with Arizona (114) and Gonzaga (114) just behind the Boilers.
4
One of the biggest keys to Purdue’s path to victory in any game against high major competition is limiting their turnovers. In a season where Purdue tries to out-efficient their opponents by limiting possessions and using their shooting and ability to make shots to apply pressure, not giving up possessions is key. The Boilers did just that as they turned it over just 4 times against Texas, a program low for the NCAA Tourney for a +6 turnover advantage. The previous low was seven.
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Want a major key ahead of Saturday’s matchup against the Arizona Wildcats? Arizona turns it over 10.8 times per game but doesn’t generate a lot of turnovers of their own at 11.6. That +.8 differential is less than Purdue’s +1.2 but if Purdue has another game where they limit their turnovers, a differential of +6 like they got against Texas may make all of the difference.
8
To go with the turnover part of the story, Purdue was able to turn those 7 Texas turnovers into 14 points. To compare, Purdue’s 4 turnovers led to just 6 points for Texas. In a game that was decided by just two points, the Boilers being +8 in that regard was one of the key components to their victory.
13-7
‘Coffee is for closers!’ A great line from ‘Glenngary Glen Ross’ that encapsulates Purdue’s victory. With just over five minutes to play, Purdue found themselves down 70-66 and it wasn’t looking positive as Purdue hadn’t shown an affinity to hitting shots. Instead of wilting, the Boilers went on a 13-7 run over the final five minutes to seize control until the late Oscar Cluff foul that allowed Texas to tie the game. We all know what happened next…
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.7
In one of the most dramatic victories in Purdue basketball history, the man who has largely been the most cerebral and silent killer in program history made the loudest statement of all. As Braden Smith’s layup with under 3 seconds ratteld off the rim, TKR wedged his player under the rim and tipped the ball back into the bucket with just .7 seconds remaining. There was little Texas could do with no timeouts and the entire length of the floor to go.
And for anyone reading this who still thinks that TKR’s play was a foul…it very plainly wasn’t. TKR did not extend his arm to gain an advantage and he didn’t pull/grab anything either. That was simply a grown man basketball play against a player who didn’t get physical enough in a crunch time situation. As a lot of younger athletes would like to say….weight room.