Purdue’s Mackey Magic Tops #5 Virginia 69-40
Feature image from @Boilerball
What a difference an offseason makes.
The Elite 8 matchup between Purdue and (eventual National Champion) Virginia this spring might have been one of the best tournament games of the decade, hinging on Carsen Edwards’ heroics, a pair of missed free throws, and an unexpected play made by Kihei Clark and Mamadi Diakite.
It was a game I’ll never forget attending with J Money and Boilerdowd, good bad and ugly.
From our seats in Louisville. Sorry, I should have trigger warning’ed. I swear this postgame will get better.
(Don’t ever talk about ‘revenge’ when postseason games rematch during the next regular season. As J Money said today, “Purdue could win by 100 and it wouldn’t change anything from last year.”)
Fast forward eight months, and the ACC/B10 Challenge rematch couldn’t look any different. UVA lost Kyle Guy, Ty Jerome, and De’Andre Hunter to the NBA (and Braxton Key to injury). Purdue lost Superman Carsen Edwards to the NBA and senior Ryan Cline, last season’s best shooting backcourt in the NCAA.
This year, both teams boast top 10 defenses (UVA might be the best defense Bennett has, especially in the post). UVA has a legitimately bad offense, and Purdue’s offense has been…uuh…known to slump from time to time.
The over/under game total was 102.5, and Purdue was favored by 2. Vegas was expecting something like a 52-50 Purdue victory in Mackey Arena, despite UVA being AP ranked #5. Given Saturday’s football and basketball Purdue overtime losses, I was a little skeptical this Boilermaker team still searching for an identity would hold its own against even this Virginia team.
Yep, I was wrong.
Matt Painter rolled out a new starting lineup tonight – Sasha Stefanovic and Trevion Williams started in place of Nojel Eastern and Aaron Wheeler, and both starters did the most with their minutes. Sasha drilled three quick shots from beyond the arc to ignite Mackey arena, and his shooting gave extra space for Jahaad Proctor to score (11 first half points) and Eric Hunter to make plays (4 first half assists). Trevion didn’t put up numbers, but he was undeniable presence on both ends.
But what drove Purdue to a 32-17 halftime lead was a truly stellar defensive performance. Purdue forced Virginia into 9 first-half turnovers and 32% shooting (7/22 from the field, 2/15 from three). That was even after Virginia made a handful of buckets as the half closed. According to UVA radio that Boilerdowd was forced to listen to driving down US31, it was the worst half of offense Virginia has had since UMBC knocked them out of the tournament in 2018.
That run continued into the second half, despite Purdue giving away more than a few possessions with careless turnovers and missed bunnies. But Hunter and Haarms kept Virginia at arm’s length, and the Cavalier offense that picked up before and after halftime fell back into the mud late in the game.
The game was over when…as nervous as I was because woah buddy does the clock need to hit zeroes before I’ll feel comfortable against Virginia, Trevion’s baby hook and Nojel’s steal-and-layup with 7 minutes left to play was the backbreaker that kicked off a 16-2 run to end the game.
Player of the Game
This was truly a team effort, but it’s hard to ignore how much Sasha Stefanovic changes Purdue’s fortunes when he’s going like this. 20 points and six made field goals (all threes), 4 steals, 3 rebounds, and 1 assist all while doing his best Dakota Mathias impression. Let’s hope this is Sasha’s new normal.
The Good
Stefanovic kickstarting Purdue’s offense. I expanded on this earlier, but Sasha sliding into the starting lineup and immediately being deadly from three changed the geometry of the floor. If he keeps this up, it dramatically changes Purdue offensive ceiling going into Big Ten play.
“Just keep shooting” mentality. Two weeks ago I ranted on the Basketball Beat that Purdue has shooters capable of better three-point percentages than the season’s opening 33% mark, and they just needed to trust their skills (and, in Sasha’s case, get healthy). And woah buddy did that pay off, to the tune of 52% shooting (13/25) from beyond the arc. Matt Painter now coaches an outside-in three-point bombing offensive system and creates plenty of room for dominant bigs to work the post and dominate the glass, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
Haarms being reliable, logging 11 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, and 2 three-pointers. If we’re trying to reduce Purdue’s early season close losses into a single factor, it was because of the uneven play of Purdue’s budding star center. Haarms has the ability to be an All-American defender and a deadly pick-and-roll/pop partner, but Purdue this year needs him to be an every-game threat. He was that exact threat tonight, and Purdue rolled. (Also: I want him shooting 4 three pointers per game.)
Being thankful for Jahaad Proctor. 16 points on 6/12 shooting, 4 steals, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, and a seamless transition into Purdue’s starting lineup.
Rebounding and Trevion Williams. I know, the box score doesn’t say much for Trevion (6 points on 3/5 shooting, 7 rebounds). But especially against a physical team like Virginia, it’s so important to have an interior presence that can hold his own against that relentless pack-line, double-the-post defense, and Trevion walked in with that Swanigan swag ready to fight. Trevion and Purdue outrebounded Virginia, one of the best rebounding teams in the country, 31-26 with 9 offensive rebounds.
Defense. Nojel and Wheeler haven’t made that scoring leap that we all were hoping for (but Nojel has gotten much better as a passer, and Wheeler on the glass), but boy is it a nightmare when they’re locked-in defensively. Even Hunter, Trevion, and Sasha got energized on the defensive end, especially during the first half. Purdue logged 12 steals, and forced Virginia into 16 turnovers (9 in the first half). If defense and three-point shooting become this team’s calling card, Coach Painter might be a miracle worker.
Mackey Magic. Maybe it does exist.
The Bad
A certain ESPN color announcer that got a five day radio suspension for lying on-air and “failure to adhere to journalistic principles”, except he lies constantly and has zero standards for the daily nonsense he spews on his significant platform and he still gets to call games because for some reason ESPN still finds value in associating themselves with his particular blowhard brand. He might put on a good face when he’s announcing games, but being a go-to color announcer and podcaster for ESPN is an earned privilege, and this guy gets an unlimited number of second chances while someone else in his shoes wouldn’t get even one.
The Ugly
Virginia’s offense without Guy, Jerome, and Hunter. Diakite has a few new tricks, including shades of a three pointer (if he keeps that up, he’s a lottery pick), but man is that offense grimy and gross and every stereotype of Bennett basketball. 9 points in the first 16 minutes of play, 2 points in the final 7 minutes of play. This Virginia defense is good, but if they fall to an early deficit they don’t have any go-to weapons needed to go on a run.
Tweet I enjoyed:
