No. 23 Purdue Suffocates Davidson to Advance to Charleston Finals
#BoilerNotes
- Purdue improved to 4-0 with a 79-58 victory over Davidson to advance to the championship game of the Charleston Classic against Virginia Tech … Purdue has won three of its four games this year by at least 21 points.
- Purdue is playing in a regular-season tournament championship game for the third time in four years … the Boilermakers won the 2015 Hall of Fame Tipoff Classic vs. Florida (85-70) and the 2016 Cancun Challenge over Auburn (96-71).
- Purdue is 4-0 for the eighth time in 14 years under Matt Painter.
- The Boilermakers are now 33-14 under Matt Painter during in-season tournaments … Purdue has won 15 of its last 17 in-season tournament games.
- Matt Painter needs one win for 300 during his Purdue tenure (14th year).
- Purdue has scored at least 79 points in the season’s first four games for the second straight season … however, it’s just the second time under head coach Matt Painter … before last year, the previous last time it had done so was the 1973-74 season.
- Purdue outscored Davidson 18-0 in second-chance points … Purdue is outscoring its foes in second-chance points this year 76-29 … Purdue has grabbed 58 offensive rebounds this year, ranking 11th nationally in offensive rebounding rate.
- Purdue has made at least 13 3-pointers in three of four games … for the first time in school history, Purdue has attempted at least 30 3-pointers in four straight games … Purdue has won 17 straight games when making 10 or more 3-pointers … Davidson also hit 10 3-pointers tonight … however, Purdue has now won 10 straight games when foes make at least 10 3-pointers.
- Purdue is outrebounding foes by 11.8 rebounds per game this year … the Boilermakers are also +3.00 in turnover margin … Purdue has attempted 41 more field goal attempts in four games.
- Carsen Edwards scored 29 points, his fifth straight game of 23 or more points, dating to last year … his 107 points through four games are the most for a Purdue player since Glenn Robinson in 1993-94 … Edwards is the first Big Ten player since Indiana’s Eric Gordon did so in seven straight to start the 2007-08 season … Edwards moved into 38th on the school’s career scoring list (1,153 points) … he also moved into 13th on the school’s career 3-pointers made list (165) … Edwards has made six or more 3-pointers in two of Purdue’s five games … Edwards is shooting 50.0 – 45.2 – 100.0 percent from the three levels.
- Nojel Eastern held Jon Axel Gudmundsson to just seven points (five when guarding him) on 2 of 7 shooting and 0 of 4 from 3-point range … Gudmundsson entered the game averaging over 24 points per game and had 33 in the first round against Wichita State.
- Ryan Cline scored 12 points and added a career-high six rebounds.
- Matt Haarms scored 10 points with five rebounds and career-best four assists … Evan Boudreaux scored 12 points with seven rebounds … he now has 990 career points in 58 career games … Purdue’s two main centers are averaging 21.3 points and 11.5 rebounds per game while shooting 32 of 53 (.604) from the field in 36.5 minutes per game.
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Carsen Edwards was amazed by the support for Purdue at the Charleston Classic.
The junior guard responded with another memorable show.
Edwards scored 29 points to help No. 23 Purdue beat Davidson 79-58 on Friday night in the tournament semifinals.
Next up for the Boilermakers (4-0) is Sunday night’s championship game against No. 16 Virginia Tech (3-0), which advanced with an 88-60 victory over Northeastern.
Edwards was relentless, pushing the pace while leading Purdue to its second win by 20 or more points in the tournament. He went 6 for 12 from 3-point range in his fifth straight game with 20 or more points.
Edwards and Purdue got plenty of support while building on their perfect start. Most of the fans in the crowd of more than 4,000 were dressed in the familiar gold and black of the Boilermakers.
“It’s awesome,” Edwards said. “It’s pretty cool to see people do this.”
The Hokies (3-0) are playing for a tournament title for the first time in coach Buzz Williams’ five seasons.
They seized control in the first half against Northeastern, going from trailing 24-23 to leading 46-26 at the break.
It was a goal to go far in Charleston, said Virginia Tech guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker.
“None of us here have been able to do it, so this means a lot,” said Alexander-Walker, who finished with 20 points.
Ahmed Hill began Virginia Tech’s big first-half run with a 3-pointer, then closed it with an even longer 3 that swished through at the halftime buzzer.
It was the second straight game that the Hokies closed the first half strongly — and capped it with a long buzzer-beater.
On Thursday against Ball State, Virginia Tech broke a 24-all tie with a 19-5 run over the final seven minutes of the half. Justin Robinson hit a long 3 as his teammates headed into the locker room.
“I got excited,” Williams said of Hill’s 3, which caused him to break out in a brief dance.
Purdue coach Matt Painter said Virginia Tech is hard-nosed on defense and won’t give up easy baskets.
“When you play them, you know you better bring your lunch pail,” he said.
