Source: Ben Solomon / Getty
[Indianapolis, IN]- Top seeded Purdue did not let last year repeat.
The Boilermakers knocked off (16) Grambling State Friday night in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament 78-50.
The game started off with Purdue and Grambling State exchanging shots. Braden Smith would give the Boilermakers their largest lead through three minutes of play with a made three-pointer. Purdue led 7-4 with 16:59 left in the first half. Zach Edey would extend Purdue’s lead to five one minute later. Grambling would cut into the lead, bringing it back down to three. Fletcher Loyer would give the Boilermakers their largest lead of the half with a made three, putting them up 29-19 with eight minutes left. At the halftime break, Purdue led 36-27.
After giving up a jumper to Tra’Michael Morton to start the second half, Purdue would go on a 6-0 run. At the first media timeout of the second half, Purdue led 48-33. The Boilermakers would keep Grambling at bay after, never allowing the Tigers to come within single digits. Carson Barrett knocked down the final Purdue shot, giving the Boilermakers the 78-50 win.
Individually, Zach Edey made a statement with his thirty-point, twenty-one rebound stat line. Trey Kaufman-Renn and Braden Smith would each score eleven in the win. They were the only other Boilermakers to score in double figures. Smith also had 10 assists with zero turnovers. Fletcher Loyer finished the night with eight points, while Lance Jones finished with six. Edey would go 11-17 from the field and hit eight of his fourteen free throws. He also only committed two fouls all game in thirty-one minutes of play. Smith went four of ten from the field and three of nine from beyond the arch. He did not attempt a single free throw. Kaufman-Renn knocked down five of his ten shots from the floor and went one of one from the charity stripe. Carlos Heide came off the bench and attributed eight points, going two of four from the floor, one of three from the three, and hit seventy-five percent of his free throws.
As a team, Purdue shot 47.5% from the floor, 37.5% beyond the arch, and 59.1% from the free throw line. Purdue hauled in forty-three rebounds to Grambling’s twenty-three. The Boilermakers only committed ten turnovers, an improvement of six from their loss to Wisconsin a week ago. However, they only forced six.
The Boilermakers now move on to the round of thirty-two, where they will meet Utah State Sunday.
