Timing Is Everything for Purdue

Purdue Coach Gene Keady called it an attitude adjustment. Whatever it was he did with his team, it worked and the Boilermakers, who stumbled into the NCAA tournament, are in the round of 16 for the second year in a row.

“Twenty, 21 days ago we had an attitude adjustment, kind of got refocused,” Keady said Sunday after No. 10-seeded Purdue beat No. 2-seeded Miami, 73-63, in the second round of the East Regional. “We got things back to playing hard and doing what we practice. That changed it and turned it around.”

The Boilermakers, who lost five of six games before the tournament and waited anxiously to see their name on the Selection Sunday telecast, took control against the Hurricanes by closing the first half with a 15-0 run for a 32-17 lead.

Miami finally started making some shots and was within 43-38 with 11:05 left, but Purdue went on a 13-2 run to match its biggest lead at 56-40 with 6:21 left.

“Coach always tells about new seasons,” said forward Brian Cardinal, who led the Boilermakers with 20 points. “We’re making the best of this one and are 2-0.”

Purdue (21-12) will play No. 6-seeded Temple on Friday at East Rutherford, N.J. The Boilermakers, who beat No. 7-seeded Texas in the first round, lost in the round of 16 last year to Stanford.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun in New Jersey,” Keady said.

Miami’s loss at the FleetCenter left Maryland as the only No. 2-seeded team alive in the tournament.

The Hurricanes (23-7) entered the tournament having won nine of 10 games and an opening-round win over No. 15-seeded Lafayette was their first in NCAAplay. “Our goal was to come here and prove we could play with the best teams from across the nation,” said Tim James, who led Miami with 19 points. “Today we stepped up and stumbled.”

Purdue’s solid defense and Miami’s worst half of shooting this season combined for the Boilermakers’ big halftime lead.

The Hurricanes’ previous low half had been 21 points, but they rallied to beat Rutgers in that game. Miami was six for 33 in the first half against Purdue and it didn’t score for the final 7:23, missing nine shots and turning the ball over five times in that span.

Purdue shot 57.9% for the game, its second-best effort of the season, and Miami shot 32.9%, its worst effort of the season.

“In the second half we played somewhat closer to the style of defense we are used to,” Miami Coach Leonard Hamilton said. “We got within five points but then made four or five bad decisions and couldn’t get over the hump. Purdue had something to do with that.”