Purdue Basketball: Takeaways from win over Butler

The Purdue Boilermakers are on to the sweet sixteen after defeating the Butler Bulldogs by a final of 76-73 on Sunday. Here are three takeaways.

It wasn’t always smooth, but Purdue overcame a nine-point first-half deficit to surpass Bulter on Sunday to open the final day of tournament play of the first weekend. Several storylines surrounded this game, most notably the absence and uncertain tournament future of 7-foot-2, 290-pound center Isaac Haas.

It was also a battle of two Indiana schools, separated by just 57 miles. Butler and Purdue don’t match up all that often, but they did in the non-conference portion of the regular season, a game in which the Boilermakers won easily.

But there’s just something about two teams in such close proximity facing off that leaves a large element of unpredictability hovering over a game with huge implications. Every tournament carries with it the possibility of an upset no one ever imagined, so this game was by no means easy for the Boilermakers.

As it turns out, Purdue had to work as a team to survive Butler in the final stages, staving off the Bulldogs as a deep three-point attempt which would have sent the game to overtime bounced off of the rim as the buzzer sounded.

Purdue went through dry times offensively as well as times when they were really clicking. Unfortunately for them, their late-game struggles made this contest a close one, going three minutes without scoring within the final five minutes. But through the highs and lows, Purdue’s resiliency was on display in their second-round win.

There is no doubt Purdue will need to play more consistently to get past their next opponent, the Texas Tech Red Raiders. But first, here are some takeaways from the second round triumph.