ST. LOUIS (AP) — Purdue was struggling to put away Miami in the second half of their second-round NCAA Tournament game on Sunday when Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer and Trey Kauffman-Renn combined to score the Boilermakers’ next 22 points, helping them to turn a three-point lead into a 79-69 victory and a spot in the Sweet 16.
It was exactly what coach Matt Painter has come to expect from his guys over the last four years.
The antithesis of college basketball in the age of free transfers and name, image and likeness money, the Boilermakers are two wins away from a second Final Four appearance in the last three years by keeping things decidedly old-school: They recruit players that fit their program, develop them over time, and then they lean on them when it matters the most.
“It comes down to culture,” Smith said. “Having what we have here in the last four years is really special. I think we’ve had maybe four transfers in my four years that we have had, and I think that’s pretty special, and not a lot of teams ever have that.”
It’s unique in college basketball, to be sure, but not necessarily unique in the Sweet 16.