Purdue wobbled, bids to get back on track vs. High Point

Purdue's eight consecutive years as a top-four seed in the NCAA Tournament is now the longest active streak in the country. As Matt Painter knows, winning games once you get there is another matter. The Boilermakers are a No. 4 seed in the Midwest Region and streaking 13th-seeded High Point arrives as a motivated challenger on Thursday in Providence, R.I. Purdue (22-11), which lost six of its final nine games, has not-too-distant memories of falling as a No. 1 seed to No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson in 2023. The Boilermakers brushed that off and reached the championship game last season, where they lost to UConn. This is Purdue's first tournament of the post-Zach Edey era, but Painter expects the battle scars will give senior Caleb Furst and juniors Trey Kaufman-Renn, Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer an edge. "I talked about it the other day with our team -- the feeling you have when you lose games and how that doesn't go away, but how it helps you from a human nature standpoint to get ready for that next game," Painter said. "That's what you want. You want to be on edge, and you can't forget because as the season gets long, this is what you work for." There could be a rich reward for advancing the Sweet 16 with the Midwest semifinals and final played 65 miles from the Purdue campus at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Kaufman-Renn led Purdue in scoring (20.2 points per game) and rebounding (6.2), including a whopping 25.6 points over his last five. Smith ranked second in Division I in assists per game (8.7), led Purdue in steals (2.2) and was the No. 2 scorer (16.1). Both could garner All-America honors. Loyer (13.8 points) injured his elbow during Purdue's last game, a Big Ten quarterfinal loss to Michigan. But Painter said Loyer would "definitely play" Thursday, even if he doesn't practice during the week. The Panthers (29-5) have been off since March 9, when they beat Winthrop 81-69 for the Big South title. They own the nation's longest active winning streak at 14 games, which might make it harder to sneak up on a high-major opponent. "All that means is that we had a great season," High Point coach Alan Huss said. "But it doesn't gain us any points or anything like that. It probably wakes Purdue up a little bit." Painter is impressed with Huss, who has guided the program to its first-ever NCAA Tournament bid in his second season on the job. Purdue assistant coach Paul Lusk worked with Huss on the staff at Creighton earlier this decade. Painter was also familiar with Huss' work coaching Indiana prep power La Lumiere School. "I've been to his practices. Very good coach," Painter said. "Obviously going from Creighton to High Point and how successful they've been in a short amount of time is very impressive." High Point ranked 25th in adjusted offensive efficiency on KenPom.com this year (Purdue was No. 7). The Panthers' leading scorers are Kezza Giffa (14.8 points), D'Maurian Williams (13.5) and Kimani Hamilton (13.4). A deep bench contributes to an offense producing 82.2 points per game. But Huss will be more concerned with containing, or at least keeping up with, the experienced Boilermakers. "I haven't watched a ton of them yet, but they've got elite offense, one of the best point guards in the country and they're gonna be prepared," Huss said. "It'll be fun. It'll be a great test for our guys." --Field Level Media