Top-seed Arizona's second-half surge ends Purdue's quest for another Final Four

SAN JOSE – Under the heavy weight of expectations, this journey started 144 days ago against Evansville inside the comforts of Mackey Arena.  

The expectations, though, were real and embraced by everyone in the program. Players. Coaches. Support personnel. The administration. The fan base.  

The path to Saturday night’s Elite Eight matchup against Arizona wasn’t a burden. Far from it. The Boilermakers preferred to reach as high as possible for the brass ring and kept climbing until a team prevented them from going any further.  

That team was the top-seeded and second-ranked Wildcats, who leaned on their talent, skill, and efficient offense to derail Purdue, 79-64 on Saturday night. 

Purdue, which began as the nation’s preseason No. 1 team, ended 31-9. It won the Big Ten tournament after falling short of the league’s regular-season title.  

Meanwhile, Arizona exorcised its demons. The Wildcats are headed to the Final Four in Indianapolis for the fifth time, but first since 2001. Coach Tommy Lloyd’s group clearly has the makeup of a national championship winner and will get a chance to prove it at Lucas Oil Stadium.  

PDF: Purdue-Arizona statistics

PURDUE COACH MATT PAINTER

PURDUE PLAYERS

The Boilermakers were right there, leading 38-31 despite foul trouble to Trey Kaufman-Renn, who picked two in the first eight minutes. Daniel Jacobsen saw significant minutes, and Oscar Cluff played the entire first half.  

But the Wildcats showcased their firepower early in the second half.  

Keyed by Jaden Bradley, Arizona found its rhythm and attacked the basket. Bradley scored four straight points to ignite a 16-3 run, capped by Anthony Dell’Orso’s 3-pointer with 12:28 to play and a 51-45 lead.  

The Wildcats stretched the advantage to 59-49 on Koa Peat’s offensive rebound and basket and never looked back.

Arizona’s points in the paint (40) and its free-throw shooting (20 of 22) help push Lloyd’s team to the Final Four.  

Purdue, though, couldn’t find its shooting touch in the second half. It missed 16 of its first 22 field goals, including 0 of 6 from 3-point range. The Wildcats outscored the Boilermakers 48-26 after halftime.

Cluff led the Boilermakers with 14 points, Smith had 13, and Kaufman-Renn added 10.

The Boilermakers, the second seed in the West Region, were unsettled early, and two quick fouls on Kaufman-Renn forced Painter to juggle his rotations to maintain enough size to combat the Wildcats’ big men.  

But Braden Smith was the calming influence, directing the offense and also looking to score. After not shooting well from 3-point range in the Sweet 16 against Texas, the Boilermakers found their touch.  

Purdue made 7 of 14 from 3-point range in the first half, including three by Smith. However, the production from Gicarri Harris and Fletcher Loyer allowed the Boilermakers to stay close and eventually overtake the Wildcats.  

With Kaufman-Renn saddled with two fouls, Jacobsen gave Purdue significant minutes, especially in the defensive end. Although he was credited with one blocked shot, his presence was noticeable in the paint.  

After the Boilermakers fell behind 19-12, the offense started to click, and the defensive rebounding became a factor. Purdue outscored Arizona 26-12 in the final 12:13 to take a 38-31 advantage into the locker room. 

Saturday marked the end of the most successful run of a senior class in Purdue history. It will be hard for another group to surpass, or even match, what Kaufman-Renn, Loyer and Smith accomplished in the last four years.  

The trio played in a combined 441 games, including 65 consecutive sellouts inside Mackey Arena. They shattered school records, dazzled crowds on the road and exotic locations, lived atop the polls, won Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles twice and reached the Final Four two years ago.  

They’ve continued a standard of excellence that the program has established under the leadership of Matt Painter and Gene Keady and will pass the torch for next year’s team.