Purdue lost in the first round during the 2020-21 season. Then it lost in the Sweet 16. Last season’s ending was painful on a new level.

The Boilermakers are close to exorcising some demons. They’re heading back to the Sweet 16 after bashing 8-seed Utah State 106-67 on Sunday to escape the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament completely unscathed.

The 106 points were the most Purdue has ever scored in an NCAA Tournament game. And the top-seeded Boilermakers have now won their first two games by an average of 33.5 points.

Purdue (31-4) will meet 5-seed Gonzaga (27-7) in the Sweet 16. But first, here are 3 takeaways from its Round of 32 win.

Another smart game

With a little more than 10 minutes remaining and Purdue holding a 28-point lead, Purdue was working late in the shot clock and Mason Gillis was atop the break with nowhere to go. Braden Smith came around the end, right to left, for a dribble handoff. Smith fumbled the exchange but kept possession. With the shot clock ticking under 5 to play, Smith turned down a wing 3, drove baseline, jumped, and fired a pass to Camden Heide in the weakside corner.

Smith put it in the shooting pocket. Heide rose and splashed a 3 to go up 31 points. No panic. No desperation. Just fundamentally sound offense.

This was Purdue on Sunday, which shot 56% from the field and made 11 of its 23 3-pointers. The Boilermakers had 29 assists on 38 made baskets. They outscored Utah State in the paint 44-18. They made 19 free throws.

With Zach Edey on the bench and Purdue well on its way to the Sweet 16, the Boilermakers were running sets and spraying passes for open shots.

Edey, of course, did his thing. He made 8 of his 11 shots and 7 of his 8 foul shots for 23 points to go with 14 boards, 3 assists, 3 blocks, and 2 steals. He had locked up his fifth consecutive double-double before halftime. And he became the first player since Lew Alcindor in 1968 to post at least 50 points, at least 35 rebounds, and better than a 65% clip from the field through their first 2 tournament games.

But it wasn’t the Edey show. Braden Smith had 5 points and 6 assists. Fletcher Loyer had 15 points and 6 assists. Trey Kaufman-Renn scored 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Coach Matt Painter was running an 8-man rotation until garbage time, and all 8 of those players scored at least 5 points. Everyone took multiple shots from the field. No one had more than 13 attempts. Seven of the 8 recorded at least 1 assist.

This was a surgical performance on the offensive end.

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Utah State short-circuits

Utah State had a 24-23 lead with 8:46 to play in the first half.

Great Osobor caused some problems early. Ian Martinez scored 11 straight points for the Aggies. Then Josh Uduje scored 7 in a row to nudge the Aggies ahead of the top seed in the Midwest Region.

Purdue then used a 15-point run to blow the game open and just continued to pull away in the second half. The Boilermakers led by as many as 41 in the second half. The offense, as previously mentioned, was exceptional. Utah State couldn’t match the same level of efficiency.

After the 8:46 mark, Martinez didn’t score again for the rest of the game. Uduje scored just 6 the rest of the way. Osobor went 1-for-4 on shot attempts in the second half.

With Purdue tightening the screws, Utah State fell apart on offense. As the Boilermakers pulled away, the Aggies too often resorted to “one pass, shoot” possessions. Purdue overloaded the strong side of the floor and Utah State didn’t move the ball to take advantage.

During Purdue’s 15-point first-half run and beyond, Utah State missed 12 straight shots. It opened the second half with just 2 makes on 12 shots.

When the avalanche started, Utah State couldn’t stop it.

Kaufman-Renn puts the moves on

Worry about Zach Edey too much and Trey Kaufman-Renn will hurt you. Just ask the Aggies.

He scored Purdue’s first 8 points on Sunday with tough-nosed rebounds and finishes in the paint. In the second half, he had a dizzying spin move in the paint that produced a layup. Kaufman-Renn’s 18 points were the third-most in a single game through his first 2 years at Purdue.

The former top-50 recruit has to take a backseat to Edey most nights because, well, that’s what happens when you play with a (likely) 2-time Player of the Year. On Sunday, Kaufman-Renn surged to the forefront and gave Purdue a boost right away.