What Matt Painter, Zach Edey, Lance Jones Said After Purdue's 67-62 Win Over Michigan State
It took everything it had, but Purdue escaped the quarterfinal round of the 2024 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament with a 67-62 win over Michigan State. The Boilermakers have punched their ticket to the semifinal round on Saturday in Minneapolis.
Friday's victory didn't come without a major scare, though. In the second half, star guard Braden Smith hit the floor after suffering a leg injury and was taken back to the locker room. Fortunately, the sophomore returned to the game and the injury appears to be relatively minor — though details remain relatively vague.
Purdue was led by Zach Edey, who scored 29 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and dished out four assists. Lance Jones was the only other Boilermaker to score in double figures, ending the game with 10 points.
After the win, Edey, Jones and coach Matt Painter met with the media. Here's everything they had to say.
Matt Painter's opening statement ...
Painter: "Obviously, it was a hard-fought win for us. Michigan State outrebounded us and I think that's the second time that's happened all year. Just a tough group. I think, when you play them, your ability to stop them in transition and try to get them off the glass, while also defending a lot of guys who can make plays and make shots — I thought we did a pretty good job defensively. We weren't as efficient, even though we only turned the ball over 11 times, which is our average, that kinda kept us in the game.
"I thought our guys hung in there. I thought we got some good defensive stops and did some things. They got 14 offensive rebounds — we were getting stops but we couldn't rebound. That kinda prolonged things. They probably look at it the same way, because we had 12 offensive rebounds.
"We hung in there. We played parts of the first half and the second half without Braden Smith and I thought Lance did a really good job taking care of the basketball. Ends up with only turnover, which is great. ... Just being solid and getting us into offensive sets was great. He probably set a record — he took five charges today. ... That's a pretty good night. One of his best games even though he didn't score a lot. He did a lot to affect the game — he got fouled nine times, which is unheard of for a guard.
"Both of these guys sitting next to me got fouled (combined) 23 times tonight in the game. We gotta do a better job making free throws. ... As long as we keep guarding and taking care of the basketball we're gonna give ourselves a chance."
On Jones taking over point with Braden Smith out ...
Jones: "Without Braden, it showed us how deep we are, how we can still play together. I just wanted to have next-man-up mentality, carry the load if I had to. I just wanted to keep the game under control."
On Jones' ability to steady the team ...
Edey: "Yeah, I've got ultimate trust in my teammates to step up for whatever role is needed. Lance, he can do that. We're confident in him doing that. I wasn't worried at all when Lance stepped into that role. I've been with him in practice, I know the work he puts in and I know the type of player that he is."
On having an interior presence like Edey ...
Jones: "it's amazing. Just the way he creates for everybody else. Just how dominant he is. They send a lot of bodies at him — as Coach Paint would say, they throw the whole kitchen sink. You know, he just never gets rattled or anything. He stays aggressive and he always makes the right play."
On the physicality of the game ...
Jones: "I love it. You know, it's winning time now, it's March. It's a new season. I just want to bring a different type of edge and competitiveness and aggressiveness."
On staying poised when Michigan State made a run ...
Jones: "We've been through a lot as a team, everybody just had to keep poise. We knew we just had to lock in defensively and get stops. It started with (Zach) down there and went on to everybody else."
On playing against Izzo in the Big Ten Tournament ...
Painter: "I have a lot of respect for Michigan State, just how they run their program, how they play, how they compete. We've stolen a lot from them over the years. If you can learn through competition, that's the best.
"Taking losses, learning from the losses and just trying to enhance everything you can in your program through competing with somebody like that. But it's hard, to be honest with you. We got a matchup with Zach that puts them in a bind — puts a lot of people in a bind. We've got some guys that can really shoot the basketball, so just trying to complement each other, more than anything.
"Once again, I thought we did a good job of defending the arc. I thought we had some really good challenges and never let them really get going, because that's a big piece of what they do. Even though it's not astronomical numbers for them, if they get going — especially if Tyson Walker gets going."
On how Jones has earned trust from teammates ...
Painter: "Yeah, I think more than anything — you find out everybody wants to play, but does everybody want to sacrifice to win? How are you as a competitor when things don't go your way or you're not getting shots? He was more of a scorer when we got him. And then, like, a lot of times guys find their way through a game through scoring ... for him, for the most part, he's been great. Whether the ball goes in or doesn't go in, he's been able to do little things and help us win.
"We knew it right away from talking with all of his coaches — he was coming to Purdue to try and help us win. You can't have enough guys like that. Like today, taking those charges, defending those guards — he wasn't a big piece from a scoring standpoint, but he affected the rest of the game. Taking those charges is huge. Who the hell takes four charges in a game, right? It's unheard of. ...
"Braden went out and we didn't lose a beat. He was solid and took care of the basketball, so we're very fortunate to have him."
On having a player like Myles Colvin step up ...
Painter: "Myles has been great. He's kept a great attitude in games he didn't play or didn't play very much, because we have a very deep team. But when you lose somebody like Braden, you need a punch. You need somebody who can put the ball in the basket.
"We drew up a play out of a timeout, got him that dunk, which was great. He missed the three, but then he went right back to his pull-up. He's got a great pull-up. But I thought he played hard. I thought he got a couple fouls that weren't fouls. Sometimes that happens to guys that come off the bench — they're gonna call it more on those guys than the guys who play all the time. But him and Cam Heide really gave us a boost today."
On Braden Smith's injury in the game ...
Painter: "He said it was his calf. Said he pulled a calf muscle or got hit in the calf, I'm not sure there. Then he said he was able to go, so obviously we went with him. I don't think he was the same, right? He wasn't as aggressive and try to get to his pull-up or drive very much, he was just solid out there. So, we'll see. Sometimes, you're perfectly fine and sometimes they get progressively worse. So, we'll just kinda see what's going on, see how he's feeling tonight and tomorrow morning."
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