With NCAA Tournament Ahead, Purdue Looking to 'Have Fun' Again
INDIANAPOLIS — Quiet, frustrated and disappointed. Those are the words best used to describe Purdue's locker room following Friday's 86-68 loss to Michigan in the quarterfinal round of the Big Ten Tournament. It wasn't the way anyone wearing a black-and-gold uniform had anticipated the season going.
With Friday's loss to Michigan, Purdue ends the year without a Big Ten regular season title or tournament crown. Yes, it was a disappointing reality for the Boilermakers this year, a team that had hoped to win a third consecutive conference championship, but it's hardly the end of the road.
Purdue now shifts its focus to the NCAA Tournament with the goal of making another deep run. While this team can talk specifics about what it needs to do in order to make some noise in March Madness, one of its primary goals is getting back to having fun.
That was a theme in Friday night's postgame press conference following the loss to Michigan.
Basketball probably hasn't been too much fun for the Boilermakers over the last month. They've lost six of their last nine games and had an early exit from the Big Ten Tournament. But, as Braden Smith acknowledged, that stuff is all in the past now. It's time to trudge forward and put an emphasis on winning in the NCAA Tournament.
"Just having fun and understanding the meaning of this game. And flushing everything and it's in the past. It's in the past for a reason," Smith said when asked how Purdue can hit the reset button heading into March Madness.
"I think just for us, just regroup, focus back up, get in the gym, get shots up, and trust ourselves. I think we'll be just fine."
The final score may not indicate it, but Purdue ran its offense well against Michigan on Friday night. Trey Kaufman-Renn had a lot of good shots. Smith had plenty of good looks. Fletcher Loyer was aggressive when he got the ball. But those shots just didn't fall.
Sometimes, that's just the way the ball bounces. It was certainly frustrating for the Boilermakers, especially since it has to rely so heavily on offensive production to win games. When the shots haven't been dropping, it's been easy for Purdue to lose confidence.
"You just got to stay positive and keep working and keep competing. I thought our effort was good. I thought our execution was good. We just didn't finish things," coach Matt Painter said. "And then we weren't good enough on the defensive end. We're not going to go away. We're going to keep working. We're going to keep trying."
Purdue entered the Big Ten Tournament with the goal of bringing the trophy back to West Lafayette. After failing to win the regular season, the Boilermakers wanted to bring some hardware back to campus.
That won't be the case, but the Friday night loss does give Purdue a week the rest up and prepare for the NCAA Tournament. If there's anything positive about losing to Michigan, the benefit of rest is near the top of the list.
"Any way you look at it, you try to grab the silver lining as a coach and make it positive. You have to because the result's over," Painter said.
"Hopefully that's the case. Hopefully we play better in the NCAA Tournament. We get some rest here, get ready to go and have some fun."
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PAINTER UPDATES ON LOYER: Fletcher Loyer suffered an elbow injury in Purdue's loss to Michigan on Friday night. After the game, coach Matt Painter provided an update on the junior guard. CLICK HERE
WHAT PAINTER SAID: Purdue suffered an 86-68 loss to Michigan on Friday night in the Big Ten Tournament. Everything coach Matt Painter said following the game. CLICK HERE
PURDUE FALLS TO MICHIGAN: Purdue shot just 33.8% from the floor and Braden Smith and Trey Kaufman-Renn struggled in an 86-68 loss to Michigan on Friday in the Big Ten Tournament. CLICK HERE
