INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — No. 11 Purdue and No. 17 Texas A&M arrived in Indianapolis fully anticipating a bruising battle in the paint.
Steven Crowl made sure No. 20 Wisconsin created a similar image Saturday against Butler.
So, the four teams participating in the second Indy Classic reverted to their more natural styles by relying on some good, old-fashioned physical basketball.
“They’re a tough, hard-nosed, physical team and they certainly play a little differently from some of the teams we’ve played in their league,” Boilermakers coach Matt Painter said after the 70-66 loss. “I just thought they were the tougher team today.”
Painter certainly heard that line coming from opponents for most of the last couple seasons, thanks to having two-time national player of the year Zach Edey in the middle.
But without Edey, Texas A&M (9-2) turned the tables on Purdue.
This time, the Aggies were throwing the ball into the middle and rolling defensive coverages to keep the ball away from Purdue’s top scorer and newest center of attention, Trey Kaufman-Renn. It worked to perfection. Kaufman-Renn was just 3 of 9 from the field and finished with 11 points, well short of the 18.9 points he was averaging in the Boilermakers’ first 10 games.
For the nation’s best offensive rebounding team, it was all by design.
“Our toughness, that’s our identity,” Aggies guard Zhuric Phelps said. “We harp on that every day, talk about it every day and you guys see it. You know when we play, we play hard and just sticking to our foundation, that’s who we are — is tough.”
Phelps and Pharrel Payne certainly did their part. Each scored 16 points, Payne grabbed nine rebounds and Phelps had four assists in a gritty game where, at times, it seemed every player on the court was hitting the floor.
But after watching the Boilermakers (8-3) claw their way back late, a motivated Crowl made sure he hopped on the bandwagon.
It’s been a rocky start to his fifth season with the Badgers (9-3). Crowl scored 13 points and made only five baskets in his three previous games, all losses, and came to Indy in search of his first double-digit scoring tally since Wisconsin’s second game.
So when the 7-footer opened the game with two early baskets through the chest of Butler defenders, it set an emphatic tone. He finished with a season-high 18 points, six rebounds and made two 3-pointers after making only three through the first 11 games.
“These past few practices we’ve really been getting into it, making a concerted effort to be aggressive as a team,” Crowl said. “I think the big thing is just being coachable, coming in every day and just working our (butt) off every day and fortunately it paid off tonight.”
Crowl wasn’t the only Wisconsin player benefitting.
Second-year center Nolan Winter, who Crowl has been mentoring, also took full advantage with a career-high 20 points and eight rebounds.
For the Badgers, who hadn’t won a game since Nov. 30, it was about time. They beat Butler, 83-74.
For Butler coach Thad Matta, it was a reminder from his Ohio State days of just how physical Wisconsin can be. And now the Bulldogs (7-4) know it’s their turn to pull the tough guy act when they open Big East play Wednesday at No. 5 Marquette.
“I’ve played like over 120 college games or some ridiculous amount,” Patrick McCaffery said after scoring 16 points against Wisconsin. “So this isn’t the first time I’ve lost three in a row, and just because you lose three games in a row, it doesn’t mean you’re going to have a bad season. It’s just you’ve got to show up the next day, go to practice, put in the work and keep pushing forward.”
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