Purdue made his way south to Tallahassee and brought home a 79-69 win over the Noles that took their record to 7-0 and secured a win in their swan song at the ACC/Big10 Challenge.
Once again, Purdue started the game cold. The Seminole length bothered the shooters and the Boilermakers committed 8 turnovers in the first half. After Purdue slowed down the game and fed the post, things worked as they should. Zach finished the half with 15 points on 6-8 shots from the floor and 3-4 from the strip. When they played FSU’s frantic, up-and-down game, things were ugly. Braden Smith went 1-5, Fletcher Loyer went 1-4 and Mason Gillis was 1-3 at the half.
Meanwhile, Florida State shot better in the first half than it has all season. Darin Green Jr. caught fire, hitting 5-7 for 16 points, including 3-4 from deep. Matthew Cleveland, once a Purdue recruiting target, gave the Boilermakers fits and went off the field 4-5, giving the Noles the second scoring opportunity they’d been missing all season. On defense, they made the game ugly, using their length to disrupt Boilermaker ball handlers and block shots on the rim.
Despite FSU bringing their A game and everyone on Purdue outside of Edey bringing their C game (or worse), Matt Painter’s crew went into the dressing room with a 2-point lead. The Seminoles’ inability to build a lead (or take a lead), despite Purdue struggling to shoot and turn the ball over, was the difference in the game. At some point, Purdue will be punished for starting slow, but that night wasn’t tonight.
The second half started with more of the same. Purdue hammered the ball inside to Edey, and Green and Cleveland provided the Noles’ goal. Green, in particular, found his punch from deep and punished the Purdue guards for giving him room to pull from deep. Though the Seminoles performed better on offense than they had all season, the Boilermakers continued to keep a low profile and kept Coach Hamilton’s team at a distance.
Purdue was up 48-47 at the 13-minute mark before Smith and Furst fueled a 7-point run with a Smith layup and a Furst dunk followed by a 3-pointer, both from a Smith- assistant Purdue extended the lead to 55-47 and forced a timeout from Leonard Hamilton to stem the bleeding. His team would not get a point for the rest of the game.
Midway through the second half, Purdue held a 6-point lead. An offensive board from Gillis pushed the lead to 8 before a 5-point FSU run with Edey on the bench put them back in the game. Full credit to Florida State, at several points in the game it looked like Purdue would hit them with a knockout run, but it never materialized. You could see they were fighting for their season at home, and this isn’t Coach Hamilton’s first rodeo. HE had his team ready to play.
Purdue held a 3-point lead with 6 minutes left before Smith and Loyer started a 6-point run, with layups from both and two free throws from Smith to extend the lead to 9. Purdue’s backyard newcomer responded to the challenge of taking the road and offering points when Boilermakers needed them most.
On the track, Florida State ran out of gas on offense and the Boilermakers continued to accumulate points, building an 11-point lead before the Noles drilled a 3 with 1:07 to close the gap to 8. Purdue entered the free throw portion of the game and got through in the clutch. Morton came to the line and drilled a pair followed by Brandon Newman who hit 2 and David Jenkins who hit 2. That streak was cut short after Jenkins missed a pair, but the Seminoles couldn’t put a significant dent in the lead. Newman stepped back to the line with 12 seconds left, knocking down a pair and Purdue clinched a 10-point win back north to Indiana.
Zach Edey led all scorers with 25 points, but his 8 rebounds didn’t lead to Purdue. That honor went to Braden Smith. The shortest player on both teams pulled down 9 boards, dished out 7 assists, grabbed 2 steals, and scored 13 points for good measure. The freshman point guard committed just 2 turnovers despite being pressured all game by Florida State’s long-armed mutants. Needless to say, every coach in the Midwest is scratching their heads trying to figure out how they let him go to Purdue essentially unhindered.
Overall, this wasn’t Purdue’s best performance, but any road win, even a road win against a team that fights like FSU, is a good win. Purdue needed their young guards to get through, and Smith and Loyer combined for 24 points, 11 assists, 9 rebounds and just 2 turnovers. Another great night for Purdue’s incipient backyard. Remember, if all goes according to plan, they will be Purdue’s starting berth for the 2025-26 season. That should help everyone get a good night’s sleep tonight.
Fifth-seeded Purdue is on court when they open the Big10 season at home against Minnesota on Sunday, December 4.