What a night, yall. One literally for the history books. So let's discuss it a little bit.
*Tech was down 25-20 with a couple of minutes left in the first half, and they'd looked atrocious offensively up until that point. They were throwing up low percentage jumpers, looked tight and out of sorts. Then, they flipped the switch. The defense stayed strong with good shot contests, and the offense caught a spark and started driving it inside. After going up 30-25 to end the half, Tech never looked back. They were absolutely dominant inside the arc offensively, driving it aggressively while crashing the boards for tip ins and put-backs. Tech has not dominated a team as good as Purdue inside like that all season. On top of that, they played fantastic perimeter defense, as the Boilermakers made just 7 threes - 3 below their average - and scored 15 points below their season average. That was a totally dominant second half.
*And as it always does with this team, it starts with athleticism and effort. Tech was simply a much more athletic team than Purdue, as we all thought, and they played with a lot more want-to than the Boilermakers in the final 8-10 minutes especially. That was the ultimate difference. That, and Purdue just had zero answers defensively inside.
*Justin Gray had one of his best games of the season, and he was the real reason that Tech was in this thing early on and not down by 10. He hit back to back huge jumpers, and he had a bunch of great rebounds. Gray was vital in this win. Absolutely vital.
*Hello there Zach Smith. Smith might've been the X-factor offensively here tonight, believe it or not. He had 14 points and looked like himself on that end of the court for the first time maybe all season. Purdue had no one that could defend him or outwork him around the rim. This was HUGE.
*More on that: 11 offensive rebounds and 17 second chance points for Tech. That plus the 15 points off turnovers and 7 fast break points should tell you how much more athletic this Tech team is than Purdue.
*Carson Edwards should take a bow, because he's the lone reason this wasn't a complete, total, steamroll of a blowout by Tech. He hit big shot after big shot in the second half to keep Purdue in striking distance through the first 12ish minutes, eventually scoring 30 points. But he just couldn't do it alone. No other Boilermaker scored more than 12. Legitimately carried them in the second half.
*Matt Haarms simply was very bad for Purdue. He fumbled the ball around on what should've been some easy lay-ins from passes beyond the arc, and he was Charmin soft defensively. On top of that he threw a fit several times. I think Haarms has potential, but he's got to do a ton of growing on the court and off it before next season. There's a reason he was coming off the bench...
*Holding Mathias to just 1 three was GIGANTIC for Tech. He's their best sharpshooter outside, as he hits 46 percent of his threes and had the most on the team coming into the night. He was a nonfactor. Huge credit to all of Tech's guards for how well they defended the arc.
*Zhaire Smith had a monster second half with 13 points after putting up a goose egg and getting into foul trouble in the first half. Huge part of the late game lead extension.
*Keenan Evans looked a bit off in the first half, and he came out slow to start the second half. But friends, we were dumb to think Keenan Time wouldn't come into effect. It did, and his late game three ignited Tech's final run to really dominate Purdue late. He came on super strong late, like he always does.
*Davide Moretti played 15 HUGE minutes in this game. He looked confident, knocked down some big shots, and handled the ball well when he had it. Loved what I saw from him tonight.
*This was a true team win. 4 players scoring in double digits, the minutes were spread out evenly, and no one was truly superman in this game. Tech's depth and athleticism outlasted Purdue.
*I think I'll always wonder how differently this game looks is Haas played, as he would've been a problem inside scoring it. I think it's what truly made Purdue such a handful, him scoring inside and them having 4 true three point shooters on the floor at the same time. They're extremely limited against quality opponents due to their lack of athleticism without him in the game to be the X factor offensively.
*Well, here we are yall. In just his second year as the head coach, Chris Beard has taken Texas Tech to the first Elite Eight in school history. This is a true step forward for this basketball program. I hope you understand that. Now, will they topple Villanova and move on to the Final Four? It'll be as tough a task as they've had all season. The Wildcats are the best offense in the entire country and can fill it up all over the court. But I'll tell you what: I know this group will fight tooth and nail to try and knock them off to go to San Antone. Can't wait for Sunday.
*Oh, and Niem continues to be the Late Shot Clock Prayer God.
*Tech was down 25-20 with a couple of minutes left in the first half, and they'd looked atrocious offensively up until that point. They were throwing up low percentage jumpers, looked tight and out of sorts. Then, they flipped the switch. The defense stayed strong with good shot contests, and the offense caught a spark and started driving it inside. After going up 30-25 to end the half, Tech never looked back. They were absolutely dominant inside the arc offensively, driving it aggressively while crashing the boards for tip ins and put-backs. Tech has not dominated a team as good as Purdue inside like that all season. On top of that, they played fantastic perimeter defense, as the Boilermakers made just 7 threes - 3 below their average - and scored 15 points below their season average. That was a totally dominant second half.
*And as it always does with this team, it starts with athleticism and effort. Tech was simply a much more athletic team than Purdue, as we all thought, and they played with a lot more want-to than the Boilermakers in the final 8-10 minutes especially. That was the ultimate difference. That, and Purdue just had zero answers defensively inside.
*Justin Gray had one of his best games of the season, and he was the real reason that Tech was in this thing early on and not down by 10. He hit back to back huge jumpers, and he had a bunch of great rebounds. Gray was vital in this win. Absolutely vital.
*Hello there Zach Smith. Smith might've been the X-factor offensively here tonight, believe it or not. He had 14 points and looked like himself on that end of the court for the first time maybe all season. Purdue had no one that could defend him or outwork him around the rim. This was HUGE.
*More on that: 11 offensive rebounds and 17 second chance points for Tech. That plus the 15 points off turnovers and 7 fast break points should tell you how much more athletic this Tech team is than Purdue.
*Carson Edwards should take a bow, because he's the lone reason this wasn't a complete, total, steamroll of a blowout by Tech. He hit big shot after big shot in the second half to keep Purdue in striking distance through the first 12ish minutes, eventually scoring 30 points. But he just couldn't do it alone. No other Boilermaker scored more than 12. Legitimately carried them in the second half.
*Matt Haarms simply was very bad for Purdue. He fumbled the ball around on what should've been some easy lay-ins from passes beyond the arc, and he was Charmin soft defensively. On top of that he threw a fit several times. I think Haarms has potential, but he's got to do a ton of growing on the court and off it before next season. There's a reason he was coming off the bench...
*Holding Mathias to just 1 three was GIGANTIC for Tech. He's their best sharpshooter outside, as he hits 46 percent of his threes and had the most on the team coming into the night. He was a nonfactor. Huge credit to all of Tech's guards for how well they defended the arc.
*Zhaire Smith had a monster second half with 13 points after putting up a goose egg and getting into foul trouble in the first half. Huge part of the late game lead extension.
*Keenan Evans looked a bit off in the first half, and he came out slow to start the second half. But friends, we were dumb to think Keenan Time wouldn't come into effect. It did, and his late game three ignited Tech's final run to really dominate Purdue late. He came on super strong late, like he always does.
*Davide Moretti played 15 HUGE minutes in this game. He looked confident, knocked down some big shots, and handled the ball well when he had it. Loved what I saw from him tonight.
*This was a true team win. 4 players scoring in double digits, the minutes were spread out evenly, and no one was truly superman in this game. Tech's depth and athleticism outlasted Purdue.
*I think I'll always wonder how differently this game looks is Haas played, as he would've been a problem inside scoring it. I think it's what truly made Purdue such a handful, him scoring inside and them having 4 true three point shooters on the floor at the same time. They're extremely limited against quality opponents due to their lack of athleticism without him in the game to be the X factor offensively.
*Well, here we are yall. In just his second year as the head coach, Chris Beard has taken Texas Tech to the first Elite Eight in school history. This is a true step forward for this basketball program. I hope you understand that. Now, will they topple Villanova and move on to the Final Four? It'll be as tough a task as they've had all season. The Wildcats are the best offense in the entire country and can fill it up all over the court. But I'll tell you what: I know this group will fight tooth and nail to try and knock them off to go to San Antone. Can't wait for Sunday.
*Oh, and Niem continues to be the Late Shot Clock Prayer God.
