A 16.5-point favorite should never be down double-digits at home (or anywhere else, for that matter). So Thursday wasn't as simple for Purdue as it should've been; even coach Matt Painter would tell you as much. Either way, let the record show that the Boilermakers eventually rallied to avoid what would've been a costly Q3 loss and extended their winning streak to nine games with an 84-76 victory over Minnesota.
"Our decision-making just wasn't very good in the first half," Painter said, "and our attention to detail on defense wasn't very good."
It got better, though.
After Purdue allowed Minnesota to make nine 3-pointers in the first half and shoot 47.1% from the field, the Gophers only sank three 3-pointers in the final 20 minutes while shooting 40.0% from the field. That was enough to allow Purdue to first erase a deficit and then pull away while the Boilermakers got 24 points and 15 rebounds from Zach Edey, the reigning CBS Sports National Player of the Year.
"I've watched him dominate games for four years now," Painter said.
Purdue remains No. 1 in Friday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings — and I expect the selection committee to also make the Boilermakers No. 1 when it announces its top 16 seeds (heading into this weekend) during the NCAA March Madness Bracket Preview show that's scheduled for Saturday afternoon at 12:30 ET on CBS. Could UConn instead be No. 1? Yes, UConn could obviously instead be No. 1. But, as I've explained many times over the past few weeks, regardless of how folks in the Associated Press Top 25 poll are voting, Purdue clearly has the sport's best body of work.
The Boilermakers are 15-2 in the first two quadrants with nine Q1 wins and zero losses outside of Q1. UConn is 13-2 in the first two quadrants with eight Q1 wins and zero losses outside of Q1. So Purdue has more Q1 wins, more wins inside the first two quadrants and just better wins in general. (If you add the number of victories over teams ranked in the top 25 of the NET, Purdue has seven and UConn has three.) None of that necessarily means that Purdue is better than UConn; that's debatable. But what's not debatable is that Purdue currently has a better body of work than UConn, and that's all the selection committee should care about when it unveils its top 16 seeds heading into Saturday's games.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Zach Edey finished with 24 points and 15 rebounds in Thursday's 84-76 win over Minnesota. The Boilermakers' next game is Sunday at Ohio State. | -- | 8-4 |
| 2 |  | Alex Karaban finished wth 21 points and five rebounds in Wednesday's 101-65 win at DePaul. The Huskies' next game is Saturday against Marquette. | -- | 10-3 |
| 3 |  | J'wan Roberts finished with 20 points and eight rebounds in Saturday's 67-62 win at Cincinnati. The Cougars' next game is Saturday against Texas. | -- | 8-3 |
| 4 |  | Tyler Kolek finished with 27 points and seven rebounds in Tuesday's 78-72 win at Butler. The Golden Eagles' next game is Saturday at UConn. | -- | 11-2 |
| 5 |  | Caleb Love finished with 19 points and three assists in Saturday's 99-79 win at Colorado. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday against Arizona State. | -- | 6-5 |
| 6 |  | Dalton Knecht finished with 22 points and four rebounds in Wednesday's 92-63 win at Arkansas. The Vols' next game is Saturday against Vanderbilt. | -- | 11-0 |
| 7 |  | Jayden Nunn finished with 27 points and three steals in Tuesday's 79-62 win over Oklahoma. The Bears' next game is Saturday at West Virginia. | -- | 7-3 |
| 8 |  | Tamin Lipsey finished with 15 points and four assists in Tuesday's 68-59 win at Cincinnati. The Cyclones' next game is Saturday against Texas Tech. | -- | 10-1 |
| 9 |  | Jaylin Williams finished with 23 points and two steals in Wednesday's 101-61 win over South Carolina. The Tigers' next game is Saturday against Kentucky. | -- | 11-1 |
| 10 |  | North Carolina allowed the Orange to shoot 62.5% from the field in Tuesday's 86-79 loss at Syracuse. The Tar Heels' next game is Saturday against Virginia Tech. | -- | 7-5 |
| 11 |  | K.J. Adams was 1 of 10 from the field in Monday's 79-50 loss at Texas Tech. The Jayhawks' next game is Saturday at Oklahoma. | -- | 9-2 |
| 12 |  | Mark Mitchell finished with 23 points and eight rebounds in Monday's 77-69 win over Wake Forest. The Blue Devils' next game is Saturday at Florida State. | -- | 10-2 |
| 13 |  | DaRon Holmes finished with 24 points and 11 rebounds in Tuesday's 75-59 win over Duquesne. The Flyers' next game is Saturday against Fordham. | -- | 10-3 |
| 14 |  | Mark Sears finished with 23 points and five assists in Saturday's 109-92 with at LSU. The Crimson Tide's next game is Saturday against Texas A&M. | -- | 10-2 |
| 15 |  | South Carolina allowed the Tigers to shoot 61.0% from the field in Wednesday's 101-61 loss. The Gamecocks' next game is Saturday against LSU. | -- | 9-3 |
| 16 |  | Terrence Shannon Jr. finished with 31 points and three assists in Tuesday's 97-68 win over Michigan. The Illini's next game is Saturday at Maryland. | -- | 8-3 |
| 17 |  | Jaedon LeDee finished with 27 points and six rebounds in Tuesday's 71-55 win over Colorado State. The Aztecs' next game is Friday against New Mexico. | -- | 8-2 |
| 18 |  | Steven Crowl finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds in Tuesday's 62-54 win over Ohio State. The Badgers' next game is Saturday at Iowa. | -- | 10-3 |
| 19 |  | Myles Rice finished with 25 points and five rebounds in Thursday's 84-65 win over Cal. The Cougars' next game is Saturday against Stanford. | -- | 10-3 |
| 20 |  | Isaiah Stevens was 4 of 13 from the field in Tuesday's 71-55 loss at San Diego State. The Rams' next game is Saturday against Utah State. | -- | 7-5 |
| 21 |  | Oklahoma allowed the Bears to shoot 54.9% from the field in Tuesday's 79-62 loss at Baylor. The Sooners' next game is Saturday against Kansas. | -- | 12-0 |
| 22 |  | Jaxson Robinson finished with 21 points and two rebounds in Tuesday's 90-88 win over UCF. The Cougars' next game is Saturday at Oklahoma State. | -- | 9-2 |
| 23 |  | Baylor Scheierman finished with 15 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in Tuesday's 94-72 win over Georgetown. The Bluejays' next game is Saturday at Butler. | -- | 8-5 |
| 24 |  | Augustas Marciulionis finished with 28 points and six assists in Thursday's 103-59 win over Pepperdine. The Gaels' next game is Tuesday against San Francisco. | -- | 10-3 |
| 25 |  | Chase Hunter finished with 20 points and four assists in Wednesday's 77-60 win over Miami. The Tigers' next game is Saturday against NC State. | -- | 10-3 |
| 26 |  | Darius Brown II finished with 24 points and eight rebounds in Wednesday's 84-76 win at Wyoming. The Aggies' next game is Saturday at Colorado State. | -- | 11-1 |
