Stunning.
Shocked.
A missed opportunity.
All of the above summed up Purdue’s loss to Saint Peter’s in their Sweet 16 match-up. A region that seemingly was paved for the Boilermakers to make their first Final Four appearance since 1980 came crashing to the ground in Philadelphia last Friday as the Peacocks edged Purdue 67-64 to keep their Cinderella run alive for one more game before being dismantled by the North Carolina Tar Heels. So much went wrong for Purdue all in one game. Jayden Ivey had arguably his worst performance of the season, Zach Edey couldn’t hold onto the ball or use his size to his advantage, Matt Painter was outcoached by Shaheen Holloway and Purdue’s best opportunity in decades went up in flames.
So where do the Boilermakers go from here? Ivey is expected to be a top-10 pick in this year’s NBA Draft, Trevion Williams also has his eyes on the Draft, so the focal point of Purdue’s basketball program is expected to be Edey. Matt Painter will go back to the drawing board in a season where, despite Purdue reaching the #1 ranking in the country at one point, finish with a third-place finish in the Big Ten standings, ousted in the Big Ten Tournament championship and a Sweet 16 appearance.
On Monday’s edition of Kevin & Query, Big Ten Network analyst and former Boilermaker Rapheal Davis joined the show to discuss the fallout of Purdue’s loss and what’s next for the program.
Turnovers killed them against Saint Peter’s. 15 turnovers and Saint Peter’s turned those into 11 points. Turnovers were a season-long issue.” – Big Ten Network’s Rapheal Davis on the issue that plagued Purdue all season
Davis mentioned turnovers as Purdue’s Achilles heel all season long and it reared its ugly head during their Sweet 16 game against Saint Peter’s. He also mentioned what’s next for the Boilermakers with guys like Ivey and Williams moving on.
I think you assume Edey is returning. I also have high hopes for Brandon Newman and Ethan Morton as well. I would put my money on Edey being the number one center in the country. – Rapheal Davis looking ahead to who will lead the Boilermakers next season
For the full interview with Rapheal Davis including his thoughts on Matt Painter and how he coached the team throughout the tournament, you can listen to it in the link below and be sure to listen to Kevin & Query every weekday morning from 7-10 on 93.5 & 107.5 The Fan!
