Jaden Ivey Struggles as Purdue is Knocked Out of NCAA Tournament in Sweet 16
PHILADELPHIA — In a bitter end to Purdue's NCAA Tournament run, All-American sophomore Jaden Ivey closed his season with a poor showing against Saint Peter's in the Sweet 16.
After scoring a combined 40 points during the first weekend of March Madness to spearhead victories over Yale and Texas, Ivey was held below double figures for just the third time this season.
The 6-foot-4 guard out of South Bend, Indiana, just couldn't find a rhythm against a stout defensive Peacocks team. Ivey finished the game with just points on 4-12 shooting, including a 1-6 mark from the 3-point line in a 67-64 loss Friday night at the Wells Fargo Center.
Ivey was responsible for six of the Boilermakers' 15 turnovers, the most he has coughed up all season.
"I think they just did a good job of bottling him and trying to force him to make tough passes and tough plays and contested shots," Purdue senior guard Sasha Stefanovic said. "But give them credit, they game-planned well, and they did a good job."
Ivey opened the scoring for Purdue with a two-point jumper in the paint to start the game. But it was one of just two made shots in the first half. Ivey's second made basket came with 11 minutes still to play, and he would go into the locker room having shot 2-5 from the floor.
As the Boilermakers endured a back-and-forth affair, Ivey missed his next three attempts while turning the ball over twice. The second giveaway led to a scoring possession for the Peacocks that tied the game 27-27 with 3:46 left to play before the break.
Despite finishing the first period with four rebounds, he never logged an assist and was relegated to the bench for the remainder of the half after the mistake.
"He wants to do well," Purdue coach Matt Painter said. "He's a really talented guy and just trying to get him to calm down, watch the game a little bit from there and settle down. Just make simple decisions and just attack in space. That's all it was, just trying to get him to kind of settle into the game."
Purdue went into halftime leading 33-29, but the time Ivey sat on the sidelines didn't manage to ignite his scoring efficiency in the second half.
The team couldn't find a way to get the basketball through the hoop until Ivey made his third shot of the game. Nearly six minutes had already come off the clock, and Ivey already turned the ball over twice more and missed a pair of 3-pointers before dropping in a layup.
The Boilermakers were just 5-21 as a team from beyond the arc, making a single shot from the 3-point line in the second half. Ivey desperately tried to take over the game and will Purdue to victory, but the team couldn't find enough plays on the offensive end of the court to pull away.
"We knew their tendencies and what they did," Saint Peter's junior guard Daryl Banks III said. "We knew they were also going to go inside a lot with the height difference with us. But we just stuck to our defensive principles, executed when we needed to, and it worked out for us."
Still, despite his struggles, Painter wanted the basketball in Ivey's hands when the game was coming down to the wire. Ivey hit the team's lone 3-pointer of the second half, making it a one-point game with eight seconds left to play.
Saint Peter sank two free throws, courtesy of junior guard Doug Edert, to bring its lead back to three points. And with time winding down, Ivey took another deep shot with a chance to tie things up at the buzzer.
But the attempt fell just short, striking the front of the rim and falling to the court to end Purdue basketball's season.
"He just had to slow down a little bit," Painter said. "He had a fabulous year for us. He was an All-American. But you're going to get a lot of attention."
Stories Related to Purdue Basketball
- SAINT PETER'S RUN CONTINUES: Purdue struggled down the stretch on both ends of the floor and No. 15 seed Saint Peter's made history Friday night, beating the Boilermakers 67-64 in the East Regional semifinals. They are the first No. 15 seed to ever reach the Elite Eight. CLICK HERE
- LIVE BLOG: Relive all the play-by-play from Friday night's loss to Saint Peter's as it all played out in real time. CLICK HERE
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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.