Purdue uses poor strategy at end of upset loss to Saint Peter's

The Purdue Boilermakers became the latest victim of Saint Peter’s in the NCAA Tournament, and some bizarre late-game tactics may have played a part.

The Boilermakers were playing from behind late against the Peacocks, but Mason Gillis scored a layup to bring Purdue within 2 with 25 seconds left. Purdue called timeout, but they were inevitably going to have to foul, as the shot clock would be off for Saint Peter’s.

The Boilermakers came very close to forcing a turnover on the ensuing inbound, but the Peacocks escaped and were able to get the ball across the timeline. Perhaps encouraged by the near-steal, Purdue kept trying to force a turnover instead of fouling. By the time Purdue actually did send Daryl Banks III to the free throw line, 11 seconds had run off the clock.

Bizarrely, the same thing happened after Purdue scored again. Jaden Ivey made a long three to make the score 65-64 Saint Peter’s, but with eight seconds to go, a quick foul was a must. Purdue instead tried to trap, seemingly focused on forcing a turnover. The Peacocks kept their cool, and once again, four more seconds ran off the clock before Purdue finally fouled. The Peacocks made their free throws to close out a 67-64 win.

The bizarre clock management was widely noticed on social media, and immediately criticized.