Haarms Perfect in Purdue Win, Boilers Keep Pace Atop the Big Ten
By Keith Carrell (@BoilerColts)
ISL Purdue Columnist
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — How did Matt Haarms’ night go? In a microcosm, heading to the free throw line in an attempt to score his 18th point, the Boiler big man put up an attempt that was short but the ball appeared to will itself in by sticking to the front of the rim, rolling over the top of the rim and through the hoop… that’s the kind of night that Haarms had and the Boilers followed suit in a 73-56 triumph over the visiting Illini.
“We’ve been improving throughout the year… We’ve been getting better at executing our offensive game plan… We’ve been cutting hard, working to get catches, that kind of stuff, we’ve been just emotionally matured.”
-Matt Haarms on Purdue’s progress
For a half, Illinois not only kept it close, but actually took a 33-32 lead into halftime after Purdue scored only two points in the final 3:57 of the opening stanza. Illinois began the game making four of their first six (and five of their first eight) three point attempts as Purdue struggled to keep position in transition. For the season, the Illini had made 34% of their perimeter shots heading into the contest at Mackey Arena. Illinois also outscored Purdue by six from the charity stripe in the first half, making all six of their attempts while Purdue missed both of theirs (two one-and-one opportunities by Carsen Edwards and Grady Eifert).
While Illinois was getting it going on the outside, Purdue’s game plan early was to penetrate for shots near the rim. Carsen Edwards got it started early and drove for a couple of quick buckets and then almost in an obvious, apparent attempt to give notice to everyone that Nojel Eastern can in fact participate offensively, Purdue consciously ran a majority of the offense through the sophomore guard in the first half. Time and time again Eastern would drive to the hoop to attempt a layup or Ryan Cline would give up an open three on the wing to pass to a wide open Eastern under the rim. The plan had mixed results as Eastern did score eight points in the first half, but did so on eight field goal attempts. Purdue, as a team, only made ten of their 16 layup attempts in the opening half, a number of which were as wide open as you can be in Big Ten play.
Purdue came out of the locker rooms for the second half on a mission. The Boilers rattled off a quick seven points that forced, Illinois head coach, Brad Underwood to call a timeout 95 seconds into the period. Within the first five minutes, Purdue had pushed the lead to nine (46-37) after Edwards sank a pair of free throws. But that run was quickly stymied as five different Illini sank field goals to knot the game at 48 midway through the second half. The final two points of the Illinois run coming from a questionable (read: incorrect) goaltending call when Andres Feliz was fouled attempting a layup.
The Boilers had seen enough as they scored the games next twelve points — half of which came from the free throw line. The run appeared to take any potential wind Illinois had in their sails out, the momentum firmly in the clutches of the Boilers. Alan Griffin sank a three to cut it to nine, but Purdue scored the next five to seal the victory and coasted from there, gradually building to the 17 point final margin.
But what about Haarms, he was perfect and grabbed the headline and then hardly mentioned in the article. The animated, 7’3″ center was not the focal point of the offensive game plan, but was often involved through Purdue’s typical screen and roll action and by being active in the motion offense. Haarms not only scored a double-double, but set or tied career highs in points, rebounds, and blocked shots against Illinois. Haarms attempted eight field goals, one three, and four free throws — he made them all. Haarms snared ten boards, including five on offense, and blocked five shots on defense. Four of those blocks came in the second period to help Purdue hold the Illini to 23 points. Haarms also chipped in an assist for good measure, but here’s what Haarms didn’t do. In 32 minutes of action, Haarms did not commit a single turnover and in the critical second half he didn’t commit a single foul. Whatever illness struck down Trevion Williams that forced Haarms back into the starting lineup appears to have made the Center comfortable in that role as he’s been on a tear of late. Over the last four games, Haarms has scored 62 points, 29 rebounds, and 14 blocks.
The win allowed Purdue to keep pace with Michigan State in the race for the Big Ten regular season crown, each team owning a 14-3 conference record with three games remaining. The Spartans remaining schedule is at Indiana then home against Nebraska and Michigan. Purdue hosts Ohio State before traveling to Minnesota and Northwestern. In the event that the two schools tied for the title, Michigan State would hold the tie-breaker for seeding in the Big Ten tournament by owning a better record against the next best team, Michigan, after the Spartans won at Michigan over the weekend.
Next up:
Home: Ohio State on Saturday, 3/2 (2 pm, ESPN)
Quick Hits:
Earlier in the day, Matt Painter was announced as one of 15 finalists for the Naismith National Coach of the Year award… Illinois has not won at Purdue since 2008, losing seven straight in Mackey… Purdue has now won at least 21 games in five straight seasons… The win was Painter’s 316th at Purdue, the tenth most wins in Big Ten history… Feliz started in place of Trent Frazier, likely to match up with Edwards on defense, ending Frazier’s start streak at 42… Edwards got some offense going after struggling in recent games scoring 23 points on 14 field goal attempts, including 2-5 from three… The 23 points moved Edwards into 13th place on the Purdue career scoring list, the 12th Purdue player to break the 1,700 point mark… Purdue alum, Dakota Mathias, was in the arena to watch the game and got a solid cheer from the fans when shown on the video board… Purdue’s bench scored only two points, a layup from Williams on an inbounds play (the Illini bench scored 26 points… Illinois’ Giorgi Bezhanishvili was held to a season-low two points… Cline missed all four of his three point attempts, he had made 44 of his previous 94 attempts… Purdue’s defense prevented any Illini player from scoring in double figures, Feliz and Ayo Dosunmu were closest with nine each… Purdue’s starters each had solid stat lines: Eastern had 14 points, six boards, and six assists; Eifert had 11 points, six rebounds, two assists, and no turnovers (plus a lot of gritty plays per usual); Cline only scored two points, but added eight rebounds, seven assists, and two steals… After making five of their first eight threes, Illinois finished the game making only three of their final 21 attempts… Purdue remains undefeated at home for the season, the only Big Ten team to accomplish that feat through Wednesday’s games.
