NCAA Tournament Bracket Update: Purdue Advances After Cruising Past St. Peter’s, 65-43
On Friday night, 3-seed Purdue dominated 14-seed St. Peter’s from start to finish. The Boilermakers won their first game of the NCAA Tournament to advance in the bracket, 65-43.
Purdue protected a 33-17 halftime lead with ease in the second half. E’Twaun Moore led his team with 19 points. Meanwhile, JaJuan Johnson scored 16 points to match his 16 rebounds. Lewis Jackson chipped in with 12 points, six rebounds, and four assists.
Read Article >NCAA Tournament Scores, Purdue Vs. St. Peter’s: Boilermakers Cruising At Half, 33-17
On Friday night, the 3-seed Purdue Boilermakers are kicking off their stay in the NCAA Tournament against the 14-seed St. Peter’s Peacocks. Thanks to a stifling defensive effort, Purdue leads St. Peter’s at halftime, 33-17.
The Boilermakers are distributing the ball fairly evenly in Chicago. E’Twaun Moore leads the team with nine points, and JaJuan Johnson has added eight more to go with his eight rebounds. Purdue is shooting 44.1 percent from the field.
Meanwhile, none of St. Peter’s players scored more than four points in the first half. The Peacocks were out-rebounded, 14 to 22, while only managing a 25.9 percent field goal percentage (7 for 27).
We do see 3-seeds fall to 14-seeds once every year or two. So far, though, the Boilermakers haven’t given us any reason to believe that they’ll join those ranks. The winner of this game will face the winner of Friday night’s Georgetown-VCU game in the next round of the tournaent. Follow the game with Boilermaker fans at our Purdue blog, Hammer and Rails.
Other March Madness resources: Our updated printable 2011 NCAA Tournament bracket ... the full March Madness schedule.
Read Article >NCAA Bracket Preview, Predictions: Purdue Vs. St. Peter’s
Star Watch: JaJuan Johnson is so importan to the Boilers inside on both ends of the floor. He’s the team’s only back to the basket threat on offense, and serves as one of the college game’s premier erasers on the back end of a suffocating Boilermaker defense. On the perimeter, you won’t find a more hard-nosed player with the elite skillset of E’Twaun Moore. Not only will Moore straight up guard you, but he’s got shooting range for days on the offensive end.
Prediction: The Peacocks have a dynamic duo of their own in Wesley Jenkins and Jeron Belin. The problem for St. Peter’s is that their pair is more perimeter oriented and Purdue’s Achilles’ heel is defending the paint against multiple post threats. Purdue wins by a score of 65 to 51.
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