SAN JOSE, Calif. — Purdue is still dancing.
The second-seeded Boilermakers avoided an upset from No. 11 Texas in the Sweet 16 on Trey Kaufman-Len’s last-second putback shot and continued their March Madness momentum with a 79-77 win and a advance to the Elite Eight.
The game was a back-and-forth affair from beginning to end, with the Longhorns trailing by three points at one point. Texas’ Daylene Swain made a bucket and foul with 11 seconds left to tie the game at 77.
The Boilermakers had the final possession and guard Braden Smith drove to the winning lane but missed. Luckily for Purdue, Len was right there to clean up and take the lead with a putback with 0.7 seconds left. Texas couldn’t get the Shocker to succeed with a full-court impact.
Len had the winning bucket and scored a team-high 20 points in the win, capping off a big night for him. Purdue currently awaits the winner of No. 1 Arizona and No. 4 Arkansas in the Elite 8 with a spot in the Final Four on Saturday, March 28th.
USA TODAY Sports will have more coverage of this game.
