Trey Kaufmann-Renn Six Straight leads Purdue to win

Purdue Advances past Gonzaga

written by: Steven Stremming, Excel H Sports/USBWA

Trey Kaufmann-Renn’s three consecutive buckets opened up a 42 to 40 lead to 48 to 40 for the Purdue Boilermakers, a lead they would never relinquish over Gonzaga at Little Caesar’s Arena and advance to the Elite 8 against Tennessee.

Photo by: Tony Harper/Indiana Sports Network

Before the contest most of the area of concern was, we need Fletcher Loyer to step up.

Well, Loyer did step up and kept the Boilers rolling with timely shots from a variety of places around the floor.

Photo by: Tony Harper/Indiana Sports Network

Loyer scored ten points for the Boilers on four of seven from the field, including a two for four effort behind the arc.

Zach Edey, the reigning national player of the year didn’t disappoint as he kept his cool and delivered yet once again.

 

Edey would lead the team with 27 points on ten of fifteen from the floor, a solid seven of ten charity tosses and 14 rebounds.

Photo by: Tony Harper/Indiana Sports Network

With his 14 rebounds, Edey joined Elvin Hayes, Rick Barry and Oscar Robertson as the fourth player in NCAA history with at least two seasons of 750 points and 425 rebounds. Edey is trying to become the first player since Robertson in 1960 to lead the nation in scoring and reach the Final Four.

Braden Smith continued his excellent play in his sophomore year as he handed out 15 assists for the Boilers and came up just short of tying Joe Barry Carroll’s triple-double in the final four.

Photo by: Tony Harper/Indiana Sports Network

Smith was simply the floor leader, as the Boilers were charitable with one another as they collected 24 team assists on 32 made baskets.

Smith would also score fourteen points and haul in eight boards.

Lance Jones added 12 points on five of ten from the floor and assisted on three baskets.

Mason Gillis and Cam Heide provided support from the bench as Gillis would score six and Heide with five.

Gonzaga has improved measurably this season and gave the Boilers a game trailing only by four at the break.

Graham Ike continued making huge strides as he led the Bulldogs with 18 points and ten boards.

Noah Hickman was solid too as he added 16 points while solid guard Ryan Nembhard and Anton Watson would score fourteen points apiece.

 

(MORE TO FOLLOW)

(The following is courtesy of Purdue University Athletics)

• The No. 3-ranked Purdue men’s basketball team topped No. 18-ranked and fifth-seeded Gonzaga, 80-68, to move to Sunday’s Midwest Regional final.
• The Boilermakers won their 32^nd game of the year and are now 32-4 on the season. The 32 victories are a continuing school record.
• Purdue now owns a 5-0 record all-time against Gonzaga, winning three games against the Bulldogs in the last 17 months. Gonzaga was ranked sixth, 11^th and 18^th in those three games.
• Purdue has won its first three games in the NCAA Tournament by a combined 79 points (78-50 vs. Grambling; 106-67 vs. Utah State; 80-68 vs. Gonzaga).
• Purdue is making its second Elite Eight appearances in five seasons, last making the Regional Finals in 2019 (lost to eventual National Champion Virginia in overtime). Prior to the 2019 season, the Boilermakers last made the Elite Eight in 2000.
• Purdue improved to 9-0 this season against nationally-ranked teams. They are the second team in the last 15 years to play at least nine games against nationally-ranked teams without a loss (2012 Kentucky; 10-0).
• Purdue has won 20 straight non-conference, regular-season and postseason games against power-conference OR nationally-ranked teams. It equals the second-longest streak in NCAA history, and is just behind the 22 straight by UCLA from 1971 to 1974. Duke (March 1991 to Feb. 1993) and UCLA (March 1968 to Dec. 1970) also won 20 straight games.
• Purdue is 18-5 (.783) against nationally-ranked teams since the start of the 2021-22 season, easily the best record in America (Arizona; 14-7).
• Since the 2020-21 season, Purdue is now 49-2 when shooting 50.0 percent or better from the field. Purdue shot 57.1 percent from the field, including 60.7 percent in the second half. Purdue went 15-of-21 (.714) inside the 3-point line in the second half.
• Purdue is now 39-4 since the 2020-21 season when having single-digit turnovers. Purdue had nine turnovers against Gonzaga.
• Purdue’s 57.1 field goal percentage was its highest in the NCAA Tournament since 1999.
• Purdue is now 90-18 (.833) since the 2021-22 season.
• Purdue is 92-3 since the start of the 2017-18 season when scoring at least 80 points.
• Purdue is 25-4 this season against the KenPom top 100.
• Braden Smith recorded his eighth double-double of the season with 14 points, 15 assists and eight rebounds. The 15 assists are the third most in a game in school history and the 10^th most by any player in the NCAA Tournament. It was tied for the most assists by a Big Ten player ever in an NCAA Tournament game (Indiana’s Keith Smart; Ohio State’s Aaron Craft).
• Smith joined Indiana’s Keith Smart (March 14, 1987) and Murray State’s Ja Morant (March 21, 2019) as the only players in NCAA Tournament history with at least 14 points, 15 assists and 8 rebounds.
• Braden Smith is the fourth player in NCAA history with at least 425 points, 270 assists and 200 rebounds in a season (UCLA’s Lonzo Ball, BYU’s Kyle Collinsworth, California’s Jason Kidd).
• Smith moved into third place on the Big Ten’s all-time single-season assists list with 271 (Cassius Winston – 291; Mateen Cleaves – 274).
• Zach Edey scored 27 points with 14 rebounds and an assist. He has had at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in four straight NCAA Tournament games, the second-longest stream in NCAA Tournament history (David Robinson – 5 games).
• In three NCAA Tournament games this season, Edey has 80 points, 49 rebounds and six assists. Edey joins Wake Forest’s Len Chappell (1960) and West Virginia’s Jerry West (1961) as the only players with at least 80 points, 45 rebounds and five assists in the first three NCAA Tournament games.
• Edey became Purdue’s NCAA Tournament rebounds leader with 88 rebounds in eight games.
• Edey moved into third place on Purdue’s single-season points scored list with 886 points. He is now fifth on the Big Ten single-season points list.
• Edey now has 2,419 career points, needing 19 points to tie Indiana’s Steve Alford for fifth on the Big Ten career points list.
• Zach Edey tied Caleb Swanigan for second on Purdue’s single-season rebounds list with 436, needing two rebounds to tie the school record he set last year (438).
• Zach Edey become the sixth player in NCAA history with at least 400 free throw attempts (402), and the first since Pete Maravich in 1970 (436).
• Zach Edey’s 27 double-doubles are now the second most in a season in Purdue history, behind just the 28 he recorded last season.
• Edey become the 11^th player in NCAA history with 875 points and 435 rebounds in a season – the first since Indiana State’s Larry Bird in 1979.
• Edey became the fourth player in NCAA history with two seasons of at least 750 points and 425 rebounds (Elvin Hayes – 3; Rick Barry – 2; Oscar Robertson – 2).
• Fletcher Loyer scored 10 points and is now 15-of-22 (.682) from 3-point range in the month of March.