What Matt Painter, Zach Edey, Lance Jones and Braden Smith Said After Purdue's 80-68 Win Over Gonzaga

No. 1 seed Purdue defeated No. 5 Gonzaga 80-68 to advance to the Elite Eight. Here's what Zach Edey, Braden Smith, Lance Jones and coach Matt Painter said following Friday night's win in Detroit.

Dustin Schutte | Mar 30, 2024

Mar 29, 2024; Detroit, MN, USA; Purdue Boilermakers guard Braden Smith (3) in the second half guard / Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

For the first time since 2019, Purdue has advanced to the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament. The Boilermakers defeated Gonzaga 80-68 in the Sweet 16 on Friday evening. Purdue is now just one win away from reaching its first Final Four since 1980.

After Friday's win, coach Matt Painter and Zach Edey, Lance Jones and Braden Smith met with reporters to discuss the victory. Here's what they had to say following the win.

Matt Painter's opening statement ...

Painter: "Very pleased, obviously, with our effort, beating a great Gonzaga team. They're well coached. I thought our guys did a good job adjusting at halftime, I thought our defense was much better in the second half. I thought they got a little bit tired. Lance Jones did a really good job of getting up and getting some pressure, Braden did a good job guarding the basketball.

"Then in the second half we just wanted to stay one-on-one and just try to stay home on their shooters. They made four threes in the first half and Graham Ike made two of them. He made two of them the first time (in Maui). He's made seven on the year and made four against us. So, go figure, right? Always seems to happen to you.

"Braden did a great job running the team. Had 15 assists, which is a big-time stat, especially in a Sweet 16 game. And then we just wanted — as the game went down the stretch — just giving Zach the right of first refusal. I think that was important for us to be able to establish him down there. If they doubled, then he could pass. If not, just be aggressive and try to go right at them.

"Just pleased with our effort. Our guys were ready to play. Had some breakdowns in transition, had some breakdowns from a communication standpoint. We weren't perfect tonight but obviously good enough to get the win."

On having so many Purdue fans in Detroit ...

Smith: "We have an unbelievable fanbase and when you make plays and go on runs like that and get them involved, I think it makes our jobs a little bit easier. Paint talks about it a lot, give them something to cheer for and when you do that it just make things so much easier."

On Edey getting smacked across the face by Ben Gregg ...

Edey: "Yeah, I mean, it didn't feel good. Obviously, he was trying to make a play for the ball. He just missed it and gave me a Whack-A-Mole on my head a little bit."

On what Painter has learned about Purdue through three games ...

Painter: "More than anything, with this win, we're 26-0 when we have 13 or less turnovers. And just taking care of the basketball. When we give ourselves a chance to score and execute and get good shots, outside of making them, we're also a good offensive rebounding team. And then if we do miss them and don't get it, it sets our defense.

"So like, It just kind of enhances that for us. Throughout the year, when we take care of it, we outrebound our opponents by about 10 normally — we didn't quite get there tonight. ... Just the balance, just the possession war. These guys are resilient. They've been in a lot of close games, we had one of the best schedules in the country, been undefeated in nonconference the last three years.

On Smith's command of Purdue's offense ...

Jones: "Braden is the head of the snake. I tell him all the time, we go as he goes. He runs the offense, I just try to be in the right position so he can find me. I just do my best to play off of him."

Edey: "I've been saying it all year. I don't think people appreciate how good he is. He sets me up. I've never played with anyone who sets me up like that. I know I wouldn't be putting up the numbers I would be without him. I don't think people give him enough credit."

On how Jones has adjusted to his role at Purdue ...

Jones: "When I committed here, I knew what sacrifices I had to make. To be on a team that's in the Elite Eight currently, I would give up anything, whether that's scoring or doing whatever I used to do. It's bigger than me. I go to war with these guys every day. I'll give up anything and do whatever is necessary to win."

On Purdue's second-half run to stretch the lead ...

Edey: "Everybody just started playing, everybody started hitting shots. When we play like that, it opens everything up for me. They were trying to double and trying to take away my post touches in the first half. Trey (Kaufman-Renn) got some for us. People made some big shots and they kinda went away from that double. We were knocking down threes, it allowed me to play one-on-one a little bit. So they really opened everything up for me."

On Purdue having second half success in the tournament ...

Smith: "I think we just take a little longer to settle in. It's March Madness, it's what it is. Once we came in and really locked in defensively in the second half and pushed the ball and started knocking down shots, it's hard for teams to pick and choose and give and take."

On Edey's competitiveness ...

Painter: "Well, if they're trying to trade fouls, which some people do, by getting into an altercation — we had that happen in the Big Ten Tournament — he just needs to back out of it. I think he did a good job tonight of doing that. Just keep your mouth shut and carry a big stick. That's what I always tell him. Like, I don't know why you have to say anything. In society, when you you run your mouth, the percentage of getting your ass kicked goes up. The guy that keeps quiet is normally the victor.

"His stamina is something for someone his size. And now they have these long timeouts and it convinces me to not take him out. Guys are like, he needs a blow, he needs a blow. And I'm like, no, the timeouts are longer, so we don't have to take him out. ...

" Just keeping his composure from all the physicality is something that's pretty impressive."

On wearing down Gonzaga ...

Painter: "It just depends on how the game is gonna flow. You just wanna stay on your rules, stay on the functionality of the game. You want to take care of the basketball, you want to rebound the basketball, but you also want to take what they give you. That's something really important for individual players and teams to understand — don't have predetermined thoughts. You can have an understanding of what might happen or should happen, doesn't mean it's always going to.

"It just kinda happened. You can't go on runs if you don't get stops. It's the combination of getting defensive stops and obviously scoring at the other end. Each team just tries to score in different ways. You gotta get in transition and you gotta get on the glass. If you're only scoring in the half court, against quality teams, it just gets to be too tough."

On players who have made sacrifices for Purdue's success ...

Painter: "We have guys who have played more for us in the past who don't play as much now. Their sacrifices have been huge for us. That's a hard pill to swallow. You get this late in the season and you're set in rotations — we're putting as much skill as we can out there. I think that's something that really helps us. ...

"Everybody helps us. Even some guys who didn't play very much or play at all, just having a great attitude and sticking with it and understanding the team is above everything else."