Feature image from @Boilerball

Starters: PJ Thompson, Carsen Edwards, Dakota Mathias, Vince(nt) Edwards, Isaac Haas
Finishers: PJ Thompson, Carsen Edwards, Dakota Mathias, Vince(nt) Edwards, Matt Haarms

What happened?

Purdue won an unfathomable second straight Crossroads Classic game, finally notching a win against Butler at Banker’s Life Fieldhouse 82-67.

It’s been 19 years (and five matchups) since Gene Keady’s #8-ranked Boilermakers beat Barry Collier’s emerging Bulldogs. If we’re just looking at the Crossroads Classic, Butler beat Purdue in 2011 (Robbie Hummel’s last year), 2013 (the depths of Purdue’s dungeon years), and 2015 (against the #9-overall Boilers). Purdue came into this 2017 matchup with a significant talent gap, one of the best offenses in the country, and a real size advantage against Butler’s solid perimeter defenders.

It could have been stress-less. It obviously wasn’t.

The first half showcased an extremely vintage Matt Painter Boilermaker team – unforgiving swarming defense, tons of midrange offensive looks, and rim protection altering Butler attempts in the lane. It’s a formula long-time Purdue fans are very familiar with, but a very new look from this team.

Butler shot 21% from the field in the first half, and no Bulldog outside Kelan Martin had more than 3 points. But Purdue’s relative struggles from beyond the arc (4/11) and on the defensive glass (allowing 12 Butler offensive rebounds) kept the Bulldogs alive. Purdue went into the half with a 35-19 lead, but  it felt like a prime candidate for the patented Butler magical comeback.

But for the first 9 minutes of the second half, it looked like Purdue was headed for their first blowout victory of the Classic. A barrage of threes from Mathias, Vince, Carsen, PJ, and Ryan Cline gave Purdue a 59-36 lead with 11 minutes left, and Purdue fans everywhere relaxed. The Crossroads Curse was, officially, over.

C’mon. This is Butler, in Indianapolis. There’s no chance.

Purdue scored all of four points over the next six minutes.

Purdue then committed four turnovers in 150 seconds, feeding Butler’s 21-8 run that cut the lead to 10 points with 3 minutes left.

That’s…not ideal.

But, again, this is Butler in Indianapolis. Regardless of roster, regardless of coach, Butler basketball always seems to scratch and claw its way within striking distance as the game clock ticks on.

The game was over when…

For the second straight year, Purdue didn’t flinch down the Crossroads stretch. The Boilers gave PJ control, and the turnovers disappeared. Isaac Haas found his way to the line, and leveraged his 80% free throw shooting to keep the lead safe. Kamar Baldwin, who found his shot during Butler’s run, got stopped in the post by Vince Edwards. And, with 90 seconds left, Carsen Edwards capitalized on a Baldwin turnover and iced the game with a layup in traffic.

Player of the Game:

The Edwards’es get co-POY today. Carsen had his afterburners on all afternoon, finishing with 18 points on 7/12 shooting (despite going 1/5 from three), 4 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals. His 5 turnovers weren’t great, but when Carsen’s feeling it everyone steps aside. Vince wasn’t dominant for any stretch, but was extremely consistent all game (which is the biggest relief to type, as driver of the Vincewagon). 15 points on 5/10 shooting, 4/5 from three, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks, 1 assist (and 3 turnovers), and fantastic defense, today was a great Vince day.

Also – shoutout to PJ Thompson taking control during the final three minutes. He put a stop to Purdue’s turnovers, sank 7 free throws, and stole the ball from Baldwin for a backbreaking and-one layup with one minute left.

The Good:

• The new defensive look from the Haarms/Haas #HaailPurdue lineup. In all of the minutes they’ve played together, Haarms has roamed the perimeter with his agility and length, while Haas stays rooted in the paint. This resulted in a lot of off-ball screens using Haarms man, with Haas’ lackluster rim protection giving up buckets.
  Today, they switched it up. Haarms was at the rim, and Haas played one step out of the paint. Butler was consistently baited into attacking Haas’ side of the ball, but no mortal can launch a jumper over Haas’ height, and anyone driving was funneled directly into Haarms’ arms. The result: Haarms finished with 3 blocks, and Purdue found a way to survive with its #HaailPurdue lineup.

(For the sake of my sanity at home, my lovely dear wife was the one who coined the #HaailPurdue duo nickname.)

• Announcers now always referring to Isaac Haas as “Captain America”. Also, from the controversial take desk – I enjoy Gus Johnson. It’s OK for sports to be not-serious sometimes.
• LaSalle P.J. Thompson has a 24 assist : 8 turnover ratio, twelve games into the season. That’s a step down from his extremely stupid 102:26 ratio last season, but is still astronomical for a point guard who gets 30 minutes per game.
• Midrange Mathias. Dakota wasn’t feeling it from three tonight (1/4), but was absolutely dominating with the same midrange move over and over again. A pair of probing dribbles at the free throw line, pump-fake, spin, drenching wet fadeaway jumper. I’m pretty sure all four of Dakota’s 2-point makes used this move.
• Cline’s defense. In our preseason Basketball Beat podcast, we made fun of Cline’s proclamation that he’d become a great perimeter defender. Well, consider this a possible crow-eating moment. Cline struggled to hit from distance from the first half, but justified his minutes on the floor with two blocks (!!!) and one steal, and passed every eye-test for energy and effort and positioning on the defensive end. Shoutout to you, Ryan.
• Isaac Haas is shooting over 80% from the free throw line this season, and has shot over 70% from the line for the past three years. The 7’2” behemoth’s free throw shooting is, without a doubt, the best part of his game.

The Bad:

• Isaac Haas dribbling more than two times in the post.

• Rebounding will be an issue all year. Purdue let Tyler Wideman and guard Paul Jorgensen dominate on the glass for most of the night, and that can’t happen when Purdue has Vince and two 7-footers.

The Ugly:

• Purdue easing off the attack with 11 minutes left. Purdue can’t play to the score when it’s got a 20+ point lead, particularly against a never-die team like Butler. Keep swing the ball and gunning, and don’t leave any doubt.

Moving Picture Thingy of the Night:

Get buckets.

Tweet of the night:

Sweet, simple, concise.