Beat at their own game

Purdue's season ended against Connecticut last night, 72-60 in a 70 possession game. The Huskies dominated the Boilermakers on the defensive end - the only thing Purdue had going was that it didn't turn it over much against a team that doesn't force turnovers. Not only did Hasheem Thabeet alter plenty of shots in the paint (4 blocks, Purdue shot just 42% on two pointers), but UConn's guards did an excellent job of locking up the perimeter as well, where the Boilers made just 26% of their attempts. Even though Robbie Hummel and JaJuan Johnson didn't have their best games (30 points on 29 shots), it was a lot better than the rest of the teams' efforts (30 points on 37 shots). Box score.

Purdue fans I'm sure are grumbling this morning about the way the game was called as two Boilermakers fouled out and three more had 4 fouls. Only one of the Huskies had as many as three fouls called on him. One thing to take note of is that UConn leads the country in defensive free throw rate, but it's also no secret that Purdue plays a very aggressive style on defense. The officials in this one weren't going to let them get away with that, and Matt Painter's team didn't adjust.

Michigan State now stands as the conference's last remaining team, and they face Kanas tonight. Tipoff is approximately 8:30 CT.