MILWAUKEE _ There are times in college basketball when the most obvious difference between mid-majors and teams from power conferences is exactly what you might think _ size. The larger schools and bluebloods tend to have it, and everyone else generally does not.
Such was the case in the first-round NCAA Tournament matchup between No. 4 Purdue and No. 13 Vermont at the BMO Harris Bradley Center on Thursday. It was, from an aesthetic standpoint, like pitting a high school team against elementary students in terms of height and weight.
And ultimately it was Purdue's physical advantages _ 6-foot-9, 250-pound Caleb Swanigan; 7-foot-2, 290-pound Isaac Haas; 6-foot-8, 225-pound Vincent Edwards _ that eroded the undersized Catamounts in piecemeal fashion. It was far from domination, but the accumulation of body blows allowed girth and athleticism to ultimately win out. The Boilermakers survived a stern test, 80-70, to reach the Round of 32.
Purdue (26-7) will play No. 5 Iowa State.
"Our guys, you know, answered every one of their runs," Purdue coach Matt Painter said. "They were a good team. One of the best teams we've faced all year. ... This was a huge win for us."
Yet it was the plucky, feisty and fearless Vermonters who led for the majority of the first half. Purveyors of a 21-game winning streak, the Catamounts (29-6) unnerved Purdue with ball movement and unselfishness that produced 10 assists on their first 13 field goals. As point guard Trae Bell-Haynes (15 points, seven rebounds, six assists) sliced inside among the trees, his teammates slid to open spots on the floor for unobstructed shots and layups.
By halftime, the nine-point underdogs were alive and well: Purdue 37, Vermont 36.
"I couldn't be more proud of this team, the way they battled tonight, you know, and just gave everything they had against a really good Purdue team," Vermont coach John Becker said.
If the Catamounts were to be undone, their lack of size was always the likeliest cause. Their unraveling took place in fits and starts as Purdue began to assert itself in spurts.
The initial burst came from Edwards, whose primary defender, Vermont swingman Kurt Steidl, left the game with a knee injury in the first half and did not return. Edwards chipped in eight points in the first three minutes of the second half to nudge the Boilermakers in front, 45-38. Without Steidl, the Catamounts were forced to use "smaller" and "slower" players to guard Edwards, as Bell-Haynes described it, and none of them did the job.
Defensively, the Boilermakers exploited the offensive inability of Vermont guard Dre Wills, who shoots as frequently as doctor's offices operate on time. Purdue, quite simply, did not guard him and instead left a fifth defender on the interior to clog the paint.
"They had one extra guy on defense and (it) just became really difficult to score," Becker said.
Finally, the Big Ten player of the year shut the door in the waning moments. Swaningan, who had 16 points and 14 rebounds, blocked three shots in the final three minutes to push Purdue into the next round.
