Baylor Beaten by Purdue in NCAA Tourney
to end Bruce's College Career
www.baylorbears.com
22 Mar 2008
WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) - Richard Roby scored eight of his 32 points in the second overtime and Colorado put a dent in Baylor's NCAA Purdue won another first-round game in the NCAA tournament, and had a blast doing so.
Instead of resisting Baylor's urge to play an uptempo game, the Boilermakers abandoned their usual plodding pace and ran away to a 90-79 victory Thursday.
"I remember at one point in the first half, with about 4 minutes to go, it was just up and down like a track meet almost," Purdue forward Robbie Hummel said. "Baylor's style was to get up and run, and it was just a fun game to play."
The Boilermakers built a 19-point halftime lead and cruised to their 10th straight opening-round win since 1993. In the process, Purdue reached the 90-point mark for the first time in 2007-08 and made a season-high 33 field goals.
"If somebody wants to run up and down the court, we'll run up and down with them," Purdue coach Matt Painter said. "It was more fast paced, and our guys did a good job knowing when to go and when not to."
Keaton Grant scored 17 points and E'Twaun Moore had 16 for Purdue (25-8). The sixth-seeded Boilermakers, who have won 15 of 18, will face No. 3 seed Xavier on Saturday in the second round of the West Region.
Purdue had a blast against Baylor, but expects to return to a more familiar style against Xavier.
"We just have to grind it out with them, like Big Ten basketball," Grant said.
Baylor, meanwhile, will have to wait at least another season before seeking to end a 58-year winless drought in the NCAA tournament. The Bears (21-11) were making their first trip to the tournament since 1988 and second since 1950.
"It wasn't the performance that we wanted, but at the same time I think this team has accomplished a tremendous amount this year," coach Scott Drew said. "It's something that hopefully they can be proud of the rest of their lives."
Curtis Jerrells had 27 points and eight assists for Baylor, LaceDarius Dunn scored 15 and Henry Dugat added 13. Aaron Bruce was scoreless in 11 minutes of action. Full Story
