3 Thoughts From Purdue's 79-64 Loss to Arizona in the Elite Eight

Purdue's run in the NCAA Tournament concluded on Saturday night in San Jose. The Boilermakers fell 79-64 to Arizona in the Elite Eight, coming up just one win short of reaching the Final Four for a second time in three seasons.

It also marks the end of the road for Purdue's veteran trio of Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer and Trey Kaufman-Renn. All three spent their entire careers in West Lafayette and had hoped to win a national championship.

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The Boilermakers gave Arizona a strong fight, but the size and athleticism of the Wildcats proved to be too much to overcome. Here are a few thoughts from Purdue's season-ending loss in the Elite Eight.

Slow start to the second half

Purdue Boilermakers guard C.J. Cox (0) reacts after an Elite Eight game against the Arizona Wildcats. | Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

Purdue ended the first half looking like the team destined to return to Indianapolis for the Final Four. Despite trailing Arizona by six points early, the Boilermakers bounced back and took a 38-31 advantage into the locker room.

What the Boilermakers needed, however, was a strong start to the second half to force Arizona to dig out of a deep hole. Instead, the Wildcats had closed the gap to 43-42 by the first media timeout. At the 12:09 mark, Anthony Dell'Orso made a three-pointer to make the score 51-45 in favor of the Wildcats.

There may have still been 12 minutes left on the clock, but that felt like the kill shot. Arizona really got into a rhythm after that, and Purdue had no response. Once the Wildcats got the Boilermakers down, there was nothing they could do to get back into the game.

The bench stepped up in the first half

Purdue Boilermakers guard Gicarri Harris (24) celebrates in the first half. | Eakin Howard-Imagn Images

A major reason Purdue had a first-half lead is because of the play of Gicarri Harris, Omer Mayer and Daniel Jacobsen. Those three all provided a spark in the first 20 minutes of the game.

Jacobsen was called upon early because of foul trouble with Trey Kaufman-Renn. He played alongside Oscar Cluff and provided Purdue with some great minutes. He finished the game without a point or a rebound, but his impact on the floor was noticeable.

Harris hit a pair of big three-pointers to give Purdue a lead in the first half and Mayer knocked down a pair of jump shots. The Boilermakers finished the game with just 12 bench points, but those three really provided a boost of energy early in the game.

Shooting just wasn't good enough

Purdue Boilermakers guard Braden Smith (3) reacts in the second half against the Arizona Wildcats. | Eakin Howard-Imagn Images

In order to beat a team as skilled as Arizona, you have to shoot the basketball at a high clip. Purdue did that in the first half, but its percentages dropped off a cliff in the second half. Obviously, Arizona's defense had a lot to do with that.

Purdue ended the game shooting just 38% from the floor and 36% from three-point range. It's really the second-half numbers that matter, though. In the final 20 minutes, Purdue was 9-of-28 and made only 1-of-8 attempts from behind the three-point line. That lone make was Loyer's final attempt with just seconds remaining in the game.

Braden Smith, who started the game off scoring 11 points, was 4-of-11 from the floor for the contest and didn't make a single field goal in the second half. Nobody could find the bottom of the bucket in the final 20 minutes.

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