Caleb McConnell, Clifford Omoruyi Speak on Upcoming Rematch Against Purdue
CHICAGO — After suffering its first loss of the season, Purdue basketball head coach Matt Painter said if he was going to war, he would stop in New Jersey to pick up players at Rutgers.
The Scarlet Knights came to Mackey Arena on Jan. 2 and held the Boilermakers — who were 13-0 at the time — to just 39.6 percent from the field, including 6-of-25 in the first half to escape West Lafayette with a 65-64 victory.
The two teams will meet again in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament on Friday at noon ET inside the United Center in Chicago. Rutgers defeated Michigan 62-50 on Thursday in the second round to advance.
After the win, the team was asked about getting another shot to take down Purdue, a feat that it has accomplished five times in the last six contests.
"Matt Painter is a great coach, they're a great team right now, and they also have things rolling," Rutgers fifth-year guard Caleb McConnell said. "I feel like we're going to come up with a great game plan, the same thing we did last time. We just stick to the game plan, and I feel like we'll do a great job."
In the first meeting of the season, Zach Edey fought through foul trouble to start the game, and the Boilermakers trailed 34-24 going into the second half. The 7-foot-4 junior center still managed to score a team-high 19 points but finished just 6-of-10 from the field with three turnovers.
The Scarlet Knights had 18 points off 13 Purdue turnovers in the matchup, and three of their players scored in double figures. Senior guard Paul Mulcahy led the way with 16 points to go along with eight rebounds and six assists.
Fellow senior guard Cam Spencer posted 14 points, including what ended up being the game-winning 3-pointer with 13 seconds left to play. Junior center Cliff Omoruyi logged 12 in his matchup against Edey.
"The last time we beat them as a team," Omoruyi said. "Like my guys did, deflect the passes. Just have to keep them out of the paint. In order to get this W, we have to play as a team. We're going to do that tomorrow."
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D.J. Fezler is a staff writer for BoilermakersCountry.com. Hailing from The Region, he is from Cedar Lake in Northwest Indiana and has spent the last two years covering Purdue football and basketball.