Purdue Goes Into Great Wide Open

Baylor's Transition Defense Exploited By Boilermakers: Purdue 90, Baylor 79

On two early possessions yesterday, Purdue guard Keaton Grant raced upcourt and waited several seconds until a Baylor player rotated to guard him. After a season of gritty Big Ten defensive battles, Grant was startled to see so much open space.

"We knew they were poor in transition defense, but we didn't know they were that poor," Grant said after Purdue's 90-79 victory in the first round of the NCAA tournament. "It just kind of surprised me. No one guarded me for about 10 seconds. After a while, I got used to it and it put a big smile on my face."

Unafraid of playing at Baylor's frenetic pace, Purdue took advantage of the porous defense and scored a season high. The sixth-seeded Boilermakers advanced to play third-seeded Xavier in a West Region second-round game tomorrow that promises to be more of a defensive struggle.

Purdue got 30 points from reserves yesterday and scored 23 second-chance points. And the Boilermakers showed the Verizon Center crowd of 18,400 they could play at any style.

"We got a little winded at times, like we were playing the Phoenix Suns," said Grant, who scored a team-high 17 points. "But it shows that we can play up-tempo, and if we need to grind it out and play physical ball, we can do that, too."

Purdue (25-8) has its most wins since the 1997-98 season even though it relies heavily on scoring from freshmen and sophomores. Five players scored in double figures, including sophomore guard Chris Kramer, the Big Ten defensive player of the year who made 4 of 6 shots and collected three steals. Freshman guard E'Twaun Moore had 16 points and eight rebounds.

"If somebody wants to run up and down the court, we'll run up and down the court," Purdue Coach Matt Painter said. "If they want to play in the half court, we will play with them in the half court."

The loss concluded a resurgent season for 11th-seeded Baylor, which had not been to the NCAA tournament since 1988. Fifth-year coach Scott Drew, who rebuilt the program from rubble after one of the worst scandals in college basketball history, said, "This team picture is going to mean a lot to everybody for years to come."

Baylor (21-11) made a late run but trailed by 25 points in the second half and did not seriously threaten. For much of the game, Baylor looked like the team that lost to last-place Colorado in the Big 12 tournament.

Ten seconds into the game, Kramer jumped into a passing lane, stole the ball and raced upcourt for the game's first basket. Baylor looked discombobulated the rest of the half.

Purdue made nine of its first 13 field goal attempts and held Baylor scoreless for nearly four minutes during a first half it dominated. Baylor made only 33.3 percent of its shots in the half.

Moore made a three-pointer from the top of the key to give Purdue a 10-point advantage midway through the half and forced Drew to call a timeout. It did little good, as Purdue continued to build on its lead. The Boilermakers took a 32-18 lead when guard Tarrance Crump made consecutive shots. The pace was more conducive to Baylor's frenetic style of play, but the Boilermakers protected the ball well, only committing three turnovers in the first half.

When Painter was asked whether the experience of playing defensive-oriented Big Ten teams prepared Purdue for the tournament, he said: "We don't think we need to sit around and defend ourselves. Whatever the talking heads say, you still have to go out there and play, and really just stick with what you do."

Purdue will now prepare for a balanced Xavier team that prides itself on defense. The Musketeers ranked first in the Atlantic 10 in field goal percentage defense and three-point field goal percentage defense. "If it is a good defensive team, we just have to grind it out with them," Grant said. "Like Big Ten basketball."