Purdue Cruises to 78-56 Victory Against Yale in NCAA Tournament First Round
MILWAUKEE — No. 3 seed Purdue basketball is moving on to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Coming off of last year's first-round exit at the hands of North Texas, sophomore guard Jaden Ivey didn't want to experience the early taste of defeat again. He led all scorers with 22 points while adding four rebounds and an assist to push Purdue past No. 14 seed Yale in a 78-56 victory on Friday inside the Fiserv Forum.
Sophomore center Zach Edey added 16 points and notched a team-high nine rebounds in the win.
"It felt good just going out there," Ivey said. "All of our guys, I feel like we all had energy. We all felt the feeling of losing last year in the first round. I felt like all of our guys were motivated, and so was I."
Right from the jump, Ivey took over the game. He reached double figures in the first five minutes of play, hitting a pair of 3-pointers, slashing into the lane for a layup and also knocking down two free throws.
Ivey, who averaged just 35.6% from deep entering the matchup, hit on three of his six 3-pointers in the contest. He hasn't shot 50% or higher from beyond the arc since a victory over Ohio State on Jan. 30, when he drilled a last-second shot from the 3-point line to win it.
But despite any recent struggles, Ivey wouldn't be deterred from finding his rhythm against the Bulldogs.
"It's just my confidence, for real," he said. "I'm willing to take any shot if it's the right shot for me and for my team."
However, even with the fast start, Purdue still needed time to settle into the game defensively. Yale kept pace early on, hitting on seven of its first nine shots. The Bulldogs, led by senior guard Azar Swain, managed to climb into the lead, going ahead 16-15 with 13:06 to play in the first half.
Swain scored 13 points in the first half, hitting six of his 11 shots. He only managed to hit one 3-pointer on three tries in the period, but he grabbed two rebounds and recorded one assist without turning the ball over.
But the advantage was short-lived as Purdue went on a 10-0 run while Yale failed to put the basketball through the net in more than three minutes. Ivey hit his third 3-pointer of the first half during the stretch.
"We wanted to really make it hard for Swain," Purdue coach Matt Painter said. "That was our number one thing. Not to let him get threes, to take up his space. He got going early in the game and after that, we did a much better job on him.
The Boilermakers began to pull ahead, leading by as many as 15 points before taking a 46-33 advantage into the locker room at halftime. Ivey, who led all scorers with 18 points at the break, was 7-9 from the free-throw line.
Edey also reached double figures in the first half, scoring 13 points on 4-7 shooting from the floor. He was 5-6 from the free-throw line and notched seven rebounds before halftime.
"It wasn't like I had a lot of space down there," Edey said. "On the rebounds, I felt like I could just get over them. They couldn't really keep me off the glass physically. But it wasn't anything revolutionary. Just rebound the ball, score the ball when I'm open and pass out when I'm doubled."
Yale committed 11 fouls in the first half, sending Purdue to the foul line 19 times. The Boilermakers made 14 of their attempts, while the Bulldogs didn’t step to the line until after their first offensive possession of the second half.
Ivey and Edey continued their dominance after the break, scoring the team’s first seven points before senior guard Sasha Stefanovic knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers. He was just 2-8 from deep but contributed a team-high four assists.
"I think from an execution standpoint, we do everything that we want to do," Stefanovic said. "We really cut hard, we set screens, we are starting our plays in the right spots and we don't turn the ball over. I think it's kind of the main thing, that when we're doing all those things, our offense is as efficient as they come.
"Obviously, we're one of the best in the nation at that. Just all those little things that go into an offense and the details of it, I think we're really good at. And we just need to make sure that's a focus for us moving forward."
Purdue ran away with the game as Yale struggled to score down the stretch. The Bulldogs went on a drought that lasted just over nine minutes, and the Boilermakers took a 63-39 lead with 11:27 left to play in the game.
Swain finished as the only player in double figures for Yale, scoring a team-high 18 points on 8-19 shooting.
For most of the second half, Painter left backups in the game to close the game out. Freshman forward Caleb Furst logged 10 points and four rebounds in 21 minutes, the most playing time he’s seen since before Big Ten play.
Furst was 2-2 from the floor, including a 3-pointer, and knocked down five of his six free throws. He finished the game without turning the ball over.
"I just thought it was a good team win for our guys," Painter said. "We had the opportunity to play a lot of people, get out there and get some experience, and get into this tournament. Yale was a very good team."
On Sunday, Purdue will play the winner of the matchup between No. 6 seed Texas and No. 11 Virginia Tech.
Stories Related to Purdue Basketball
- WHAT MATT PAINTER SAID: Purdue basketball defeated Yale 78-56 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Here's everything coach Matt Painter had to say during the postgame press conference following the victory. CLICK HERE
- WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID: Here's everything players Jaden Ivey, Zach Edey and Sasha Stefanovic had to say during the postgame press conference following the victory. CLICK HERE
- PURDUE, YALE LIVE BLOG: Purdue basketball tipped off against Yale in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday inside the Fiserv Forum. 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.