Purdue's Matt Painter Cheers as Final Shot Seals Sweet 16 Triumph
The Purdue Boilermakers overcame past narratives by taking down the Michigan Wolverines in this past Sunday's Big Ten Tournament championship game, becoming the first No. 7 seed to do so. Now, Matt Painter trusts his team to take the next step toward a national title.
Purdue's Matt Painter describes team closeness entering NCAA Tournament run originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . The Purdue Boilermakers earned a trip to St.
Louis this Friday in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, thanks to them winning four games in four days, as it was capped off by an 80-72 win in the Big Ten title game against the Michigan Wolverines from the United Center in Chicago this past Sunday. Transitioning their focus to the opening game against Queens (7:35 p. m.
ET, truTV), coach Matt Painter told reporters how excited he is for his team to keep marching toward bigger goals and ambitions as a collective. "It's a great sign," Painter said of the team's chemistry. "There's a lot of teams -- and we've been one of those teams before that have just played great and then all of a sudden get into tourney time and not play as well.
It's a little bit of a mix, like you've got to keep working towards getting better. " Painter said his team is so well-connected that he doesn't feel he has to coach them to an excessive level, but rather fine-tune fundamentals. He also recognizes that there's a bigger picture than just basketball with the way the sport operates in today's climate.