INDIANAPOLIS - Purdue's three seniors were basket cases Saturday after the Boilermakers' stunning loss to struggling Butler.
Robbie Hummel was about as dejected as you'll ever see Robbie Hummel. Lewis Jackson's voice sort of crackled with emotion as he answered questions about it. Ryne Smith was the most collected of the three, but you could just tell that he'd rather have pulled his eyes out with needles then washed them out with battery acid then answer these questions again.
I'm exaggerating about the battery acid, but maybe not much.
These guys should be upset. This is their senior year and they're carrying a team that can't finish out a game matters of late.
I don't want to brush stroke this season as being marred by late-game clam-ups, because Purdue did close out Iona and did what it had to do late to beat Temple. And yes, Purdue did close out too-close-for-comfort wins over High Point and Western Carolina when it could have choked those games away.
None of that should be forgotten.
But the Xavier and Butler games were all too alike. The opponent makes shots; Purdue does nothing about it, rolling into a figurative ball on offense.
Why's it happening? I don't know. Maybe Jackson was on to something when he talked about Purdue getting uptight on offense and not attacking. In the closing minutes of these games, the Boilermakers have battled the shot clock as much as the opponent and just looked uncomfortable at times. Turnovers come at the worst times and their issues with making free throws and baskets underneath the hoop are amplified.
Purdue played with a decent lead for most of the second half and still led by eight around the seven-minute mark yet scored just two points from the foul line from there. I should add that Jacob Lawson and Smith each got the ball right underneath the basket and came away with nothing, not even a foul, either time.
But this game didn't have to come down to the last 30 seconds.
In a close game like this, any number of sequences can be pointed to as a tipping point, not just in the second half.
Right before the half, Purdue has a 13-point lead and the last possession. It misses a shot, then Terone Johnson fouls on the rebound. That's two free points for Butler when it would have otherwise had no chance to score.
Bad fouls were a big part of the Xavier rally, as Purdue often fouled nowhere near the basket, putting X at the line for points it didn’t have to earn or use up clock to get.
Missed opportunities haunted Purdue again. You can't miss uncontested layups and expect to win these sorts of games. I hate to suggest that Travis Carroll getting stuffed by the rim at 15:44 affected the final outcome, but this stuff adds up. I think, unfortunately, teammates are going to have to think twice about making that pass from here on out.
Purdue did it again with just more than four minutes to play, putting Khyle Marshall at the line for points Butler wouldn't have earned had he made either of the two free throws. That he missed him doesn't change the fact he got the chance.
The fact of the matter is Butler didn't catch many breaks in this game, though it certainly didn't hurt that Chase Stigall's go-ahead bucket with 14 seconds left caromed off Jacob Lawson's fingertips. It had a couple threes go three-quarters of the way down, but rim out. It didn't help itself from the line, either.
But Butler is Butler, the Tim Tebow of college basketball, adorable, wholesome and so clutch when necessary.
If you've watched either of the past two NCAA Tournaments, you just knew Butler was scoring before they even in-bounded the ball with six seconds remaining.
And if you watched the Xavier game, you may have gotten the opposite feeling about Purdue.
This isn't what we're used to.
This is a Purdue program that prides itself on toughness, mental and physical, and fortitude.
There's a lot of season left, but of late, it's not shown much of either in big situations.
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This post was edited on 12/17 7:19 PM by Alan_GoldandBlack.com
This post was edited on 12/17 7:22 PM by Alan_GoldandBlack.com
