Purdue's effort above all else propels it past West Virginia to open Phil Knight Legacy

PORTLAND — Paced by Zach Edey‘s 24 points but driven by countless big-time effort plays by Caleb Furst, Mason Gillis, Ethan Morton, Braden Smith, etc., No. 24 Purdue opened the Phil Knight Legacy by grinding out a 80-68 win over West Virginia at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

The Boilermakers led pretty much from start to finish — opening the game 9-0 and leading by as many as 14 — and most of the way by double-figures, but turnovers weighed heavily in the Moutaineers getting within just four with 5:30 to play. But Ethan Morton made the pass of the night so that Braden Smith could make the shot of the night, a three from the corner that stopped West Virginia’s run dead in its tracks and led to Purdue hanging on.

Mason Gillis scored 14 points.

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PURDUE’S WILL SHOWS UP

There’s still no telling how Purdue’s season is going to play out, but one thing seems to be becoming evident: Boilermaker fans, knowing what they tend to appreciate about basketball teams, ought to like this group.

With just under five minutes to play and moments after Smith made the biggest shot of the game after West Virginia had gotten the closest it had been since the score was 2-0, Zach Edey blocked a shot. The ball was bouncing out of bounds and the shot clock still running when Smith made the play of the night, laying out completely and hitting the floor hard so that he could punch the ball toward the other end of the court, forcing West Virginia to run it down and eat a shot-clock violation.

“It was a combination of a couple things,” Smith said. “I thought I saw (Morton) at halfcourt and I thought if I could tip it, maybe we could get a layup, but then also I knew the shot clock was under 10 so I figured if I could hit it all the way down there, we could get some time off.”

That was the game’s defining moment for Purdue, probably.

“That was a big-time play,” Morton said. “That’s a play that I don’t think many freshmen are even thinking about making.”

But it was one of countless such plays for Purdue, which stole points and stole back possessions with a steel-cage approach to the game against a program known for making you have to fight.

Mason Gillis slid Chris Kramer-style during the first half to not only save what might have been a turnover, but also give Purdue an advantage that led to a couple of made free throws. Caleb Furst laid out for a loose ball and called timeout, saving a possession that wound up with Zach Edey drawing a foul to beat the shot clock and making both shots. Ethan Morton made a similar play. When Edey missed two free throws late in the game and the outcome probably already decided, Gillis split two Mountaineers for the offensive rebound and the foul that came with it. He split the pair, but that’s a point Purdue wouldn’t have otherwise had.

“All of (those effort plays) are the things (Painter) preaches to us every single day,” Gillis said.

PURDUE WAS FAR FROM PERFECT, BUT …

The Boilermakers committed 18 turnovers, the singular reason Purdue could never really run away and hide despite being up double-figures much of the game and having numerous opportunities to push the cushion toward 20.

Zach Edey committed six of those turnovers, some of them more on him than others, but nevertheless, Purdue gave up far too many possessions, the single biggest teachable moment that’ll come from this game.

But Purdue stole a lot of possessions back, too, with the aforementioned hustle plays and by leveraging the bonus to its fullest. Purdue hit the bonus with 8:14 on the first half and 14:28 in the second and made their first eight free throws that came off one-and-ones. The Boilermakers were 16-of-16 at the foul line nearly three quarters of the way through the game and finished 24-of-28.

Purdue also weathered its own giveaways by making the shot it needed so often, none bigger than Smith’s three with five minutes left after West Virginia had gotten within four.

Trey Kaufman-Renn made a three-pointer at 15:47 of the second half after the Boilermakers open the half 0-for-7 from the floor, minutes before Brandon Newman made a step-back three that bailed Purdue out of a middling offensive possession.

Edey closed the game strong to keep the Mountaineers at arm’s length.

“I thought he had an average game,” Matt Painter said. “I think he’s one of the best players in college basketball and when you get 24 and 12 in an average game, that’s pretty cool.”

ETHAN MORTON COMES UP BIG

This may have been the best game of Ethan Morton’s Purdue career, as the junior totaled a team-best nine assists with no turnovers. Disregard his scoring (four points tonight) as a measure of his value. He’s a big-picture sort, and on this night, he made Purdue’s offense go while being completely uninvolved with the Boilermakers’ turnover issue.

Morton was as instrumental to Purdue’s success tonight as anyone, as the Boilermakers’ “glue” really showed up, not just with Morton, but also Brian Waddell giving Painter great minutes again and a couple key assists, as well as all the pivotal hustle plays outlined above.

However you want to define it, Purdue’s playing the game the right way, and that’s a big part of the reason the Boilermakers are 4-0 heading into Friday night’s showcase game against Gonzaga.