‘It's helped our program’: No. 3 Purdue Closes Crossroads Classic With Dominant Win Over Butler
INDIANAPOLIS — For coach Matt Painter and the Purdue basketball program, tipping off against Butler or Notre Dame on a neutral court early in the season not only provides a quality opponent before Big Ten play, but it can reveal the truth about the team.
When shots weren’t falling for the No. 3-ranked Boilermakers on the road against Rutgers and North Carolina State, their weaknesses were exposed. Purdue failed to make shots and struggled to defend the 3-point line.
But when the team stepped onto the court against Butler for the 11th and final iteration of the Crossroads Classic on Saturday, it put those issues behind it. Purdue found its rhythm from the perimeter and stifled the Bulldogs in a 77-48 blowout at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
This event has molded the Boilermakers over the years, and Painter still can’t fathom that it won’t be on the schedule next season.
“It's a great event,” Painter said. “It's great for the fans, like what was bad about today? Even I've been on the other end of those. I've been in those games where we've lost and walked away. The one thing that loss has always done for us at this time of the year, was it just told us the truth. And that's all you want as a coach. You want to win every single game. But then when you play real people, you get the truth.”
Purdue, after a pair of poor shooting performances against Rutgers and North Carolina State last week, was left searching for its identity when the ball can’t find the bottom of the net. When the team couldn’t consistently find its mark, it walked away with its first loss of the year and an overtime victory.
The Boilermakers flip the script against the Bulldogs, led by sophomore guard Jaden Ivey’s 22 points. He was a perfect 6-for-6 from the 3-point line, which tied the Crossroads Classic record by an individual for a single game.
"Just taking rhythm shots and taking what the defense gives me," Ivey said. "Sometimes they play me to drive the ball, well I feel confident in my shot. I was just confident today, and I just thank my teammates for putting the ball in my hands to make plays."
Purdue, as a team, was 11-22 from beyond the arc. Sasha Stefanovic and Isaiah Thompson each added a pair of 3-pointers, and Ethan Morton hit on his only deep shot of the afternoon. But a solid defensive effort prevented Butler from ever crawling its way back into the game.
The Boilermakers allowed the Bulldogs to score on just 32% of the shots from the field while giving up only four 3-pointers on 28 attempts.
“I still think if we don't make shots today, we win,” Painter said. “Because I thought we were pretty sharp today defensively. We did some really good things. We were just aware of what's going on. Sometimes we do break down drills to prepare us for the live play. And then at times, when it happens in the game, we don't we don't know what's going on. Today. I thought everybody knew what was going on.”
Thompson said the team was locked into the scouting report this week. They were aggressive, preventing Butler from taking quality shots. The Bulldogs were led by senior forward Bryce Golden’s 17 points.
After the victory, Purdue improved to 10-1 on the season and 4-7 all-time in the Crossroads Classic. The Boilermakers end their run in the event on a high note, earning back-to-back victories.
“One thing that we do at Purdue is we try to play really good people and sometimes we take it on the chin,” Painter said. “Notre Dame is great, and Butler's great in my opinion. So they've already been great opponents for us. And we've been on the short end of those games more times than that, but it's helped our program and it's helped us get ready for the Big Ten and it's helped us getting ready for the NCAA Tournament. And that's what it's all about.”
The team is back at home Monday night for a nonconference matchup with Incarnate Word.
Stories Related to Purdue Basketball
- PURDUE BASKETBALL BACK ON TRACK: No. 3-ranked Purdue closed out the Crossroads Classic in style on Saturday, blowing out Butler 77-48 to get their 10th win of the season — and some renewed confidence. CLICK HERE
- LIVE BLOG: Relive all the play-by-play of Saturday's Butler-Purdue game in real time in our live blog straight from press row. CLICK HERE
- HERE'S WHAT SASHA STEFANOVIC SAID ON SASHA LIVE! PODCAST: Purdue guard Sasha Stefanovic sat down for Episode 7 of the Sasha Live! podcast at Mad Mushroom Pizza in West Lafayette, talking about the Boilermakers' first loss of the season to Rutgers and their overtime win versus NC State. Stefanovic said Butler will also be a challenge come Saturday. CLICK HERE
- PURDUE FALLS TO THIRD IN AP TOP 25 POLL: Purdue basketball fell to No. 3 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll after being defeated on a buzzer-beater 3-pointer against Rutgers. The team nearly followed with a loss against North Carolina State but rallied for a victory in overtime. CLICK HERE
- PURDUE RALLIES PAST NC STATE IN OVERTIME: Senior forward Trevion Williams scored 22 points and registered 12 rebounds and a career-high nine assists as Purdue came back from down 13 points in the second half against North Carolina State. The Boilermakers found their first lead of the contest in overtime and avoided losing two straight games. CLICK HERE
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