Purdue basketball is rolling, and McNeese State is breaking.
The Boilermakers led 48-28 with 15 minutes, 47 seconds left as the game went to commercial break for the Under-16 timeout. Reports surfaced and when the broadcast resumed, it showed that McNeese State coach Will Wade, who is headed to NC State, furiously yelling at officials, and Christian Shumate following his coach’s lead.
They were upset over a no-call on Trey Kaufman-Renn initiating contact in the post. Kaufman-Renn instead drew a foul. Wade didn’t cool down, despite officials’ efforts as CBS analyst Gene Steratore said, and he got hit with a technical foul, as did Shumate.
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It turned into a five-point possession — Fletcher Loyer missed one of the four technical free throws — that put the Boilermakers up 53-28 at the 15:47 mark. However, the Cowboys went on a 9-0 run to cut the lead to 53-37 with 11:02 left.
It was the second oddity, so to speak, from the 12th-seeded Cowboys. In the first half, McNeese State’s Shumate had his jersey ripped, which needed a replacement not even three minutes into the game.
Should the Boilermakers hold on, they’ll advance to the Sweet 16 and give the Big Ten a historic 9-0 start to March Madness. Follow along here.