ALL FOR YOU
Purdue wins one for fallen Haas
DETROIT — If you squinted hard enough, ignored the free-flowing hair that wouldn’t stay put and the 40-pound difference, the man in the middle for Purdue almost looked like the one who started 139 consecutive games there before Sunday.
Except it wasn’t Isaac Haas. It was Matt Haarms, the fiery redshirt freshman, surrounded by a group determined to win one for the 7-foot-2 anchor sidelined by a broken elbow.
Senior guard Dakota Mathias delivered an answer to that hope in the form of a dagger 3-pointer with 13 seconds left as the No. 2 Boilermakers fended off 10th-seeded Butler 76-73 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Little Caesars Arena.
“This was for Isaac,” Mathias said. “Our senior class, we’ve been through a lot together. I think this is the first game he’s missed, so to go out there and play for him, everything he means to this program, it just feels good to find a win and for him right there.”
Purdue (30-6) advanced to its second straight Sweet 16 and fourth under coach Matt Painter. It will meet the East Region’s third seed, Texas Tech, Friday in Boston.
The Bulldogs (21-14) got off a clean look at 3 from Kamar Baldwin at the buzzer, but it clanked off the rim, ending their season despite a game-high 29 points from senior Kelan Martin.
After the Boilermakers had pulled away from a tie to take a pair of 10-point leads, Butler clawed back, making its own run to close within 73-71 with 1:56 left. The Bulldogs had a chance to tie it on their next possession, but Vincent Edwards (20 points) came from behind to block a layup by Baldwin.
“We don’t want to stop anytime soon,” Edwards said.
The game was built up with intrigue surrounding Haas, who broke his right elbow on a fall in Friday’s first round. Purdue announced he would miss the rest of the tournament, but by Saturday, it had raised the possibility of his playing again.
Just shy of an hour before tipoff, Haas was on the court for warm-ups testing the elbow, which was wrapped in a bulky black brace. He was mostly shooting close to the basket with his left hand, unable to straighten his right arm in fear of the fracture poking out, he said.
But regardless of how much pain he would be playing through, or whether he’d be effective with one working arm, the decision wasn’t left up to Haas or his coach. The brace he wore did not meet player safety standards, according to the NCAA.
“They pulled out all kinds of strings trying to see what they could do to keep it legal … and also keep me safe,” said Haas, who said he expects to spend this week trying to get a new brace approved.
In his place, Haarms brought a shot of energy to the court. The 7-foot-3 Netherlands native chipped in seven points and six rebounds in his first career start.
“That’s my brother, man,” Haarms said. “He’s like my big brother. I just told him, ‘This is for you.’”