Purdue is now 13-3 in first round NCAA Tournament games under Matt Painter, an this one was a rout pretty much from the word go. The game was at least somewhat in doubt for all of 19 seconds tied 2-2 very early on. The Fletcher Loyer hit a three to make it 5-2 and it was never really in doubt from there. I know our memories of St. Peter’s and FDU are still fresh, so it is a delight to see Purdue show up and just dominate a foe it should dominate. Queens was a solid team, but Purdue was better and left no doubt.

This was about as efficient of an offensive performance as you could ask for. The Boilermakers shot 63% from the field, 58% from three, had 15 offensive rebounds, 24 assists, and 12 turnovers, most long after the game was decided. Even when Queens hit a big shot just before halftime Purdue quickly erased any doubt with a dominant opening to the second half.

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It was everything you could ask for.

Some notes before we get to our postgame video:

Braden got the record. I said he would need about 5 postseason games and that’s exactly what it took. The pressure is now off of him as we go forward. It took a little longer than I expected, but No. 1,077 went to the same player that got assist No. 1 back in november 22: Trey Kaufman-Renn. Breaking an all-time NCAA record is a tremendous accomplishment in any category. Bobby Hurley held it for 33 years, but Braden may not hold it as long. Jeremy Fears Jr. of Michigan State is at 541 and counting with two years of eligibility left.

The TKR-Smith combo has been so good for four years, and it looks like they are planning on going out with a bang as TKR was dominant offensively. He and Oscar Cluff have been very good for Purdue this postseason, dropping a combined 34 and 20 tonight with 8 assists.

The story was Braden’s assists, but 26 points tonight is the most he has gotten in a game since he had 27 in the loss to Illinois. Queens was the perfect team for him to look to score first.

Nice to see CJ Cox get back in the flow of things. Aside from 12 agaisnt Nebraska last week he had been relatively quiet since the Northwestern game.

Is it just me, or has this team just turned on its focus the moment the postseason started? Purdue has played five games now since the regular season ended, and in all five it was clearly the better team. Even against a really good Michigan team it was in control most of the game.

Not only did we get a Liam Murphy sighting, he scored for the first time since the win at Maryland. It’s the first three he hit since the win over Minnesota in early December.

I don’t like that the walk-ons didn’t get some run late. We’re up big. Let them get in the box score and say they played in the NCAA Tournament.

Things will be much tougher in round 2, but damn, this team looks really good right now. Purdue is playing like we expected all season.

Purdue Press Conference

Queens Press Conference

Locker Room Video