Purdue on doorstep of redemption, but recognizes UConn’s stature as it prepares for title clash

Matt Painter hopes to join Tony Bennett in leading his program from first-round loss to national championship one year later when Purdue takes on UConn Monday night. (Photo by Michael Conroy/Associated Press)

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Six years ago, the University of Virginia was an unfortunate writer of history when the Cavaliers — the No. 1 overall seed in the 2018 NCAA Tournament — were shockingly ousted by UMBC in the first round, the first top seed to lose to a No. 16 seed since the tournament expanded in 1985.

After reaching its nadir after that 74-54 defeat in Charlotte, Tony Bennett and Virginia atoned for it a year later when the Cavaliers outlasted Texas Tech in overtime in Minneapolis, bringing a national championship back to Charlottesville.

History can repeat itself Monday, if Purdue — who was notoriously bounced in the opening round of the tournament by FDU a year ago — can complete a similar worst-to-first turnaround against defending champion UConn. Head coach Matt Painter has been candid and willing to discuss the comparisons between his Boilermakers and Virginia in the days leading up to Monday’s titanic showdown, correctly recognizing the accuracy of the narrative, but also drawing similar parallels to how Bennett handled such unique adversity.

“The thing I grab from it more than anything is just the humility of Tony Bennett and how he handled it with class,” Painter said Sunday. “I think anytime you can dish it out, you’ve gotta be able to take it, right? We can say whatever we want, then it hurts when it comes back your way.”

What makes the Virginia connection even stronger is its direct impact on Painter. Shortly after Purdue lost to FDU, Bennett took the time to personally reach out to the Boilermaker coach, just one day after his own team was eliminated from the NCAA Tournament on a game-winning shot in the final seconds by Furman.

“More than anything, what stood out to me was when we had that loss, we joined that club with Virginia and Tony Bennett,” Painter recalled. “He had just gotten beat by Furman, so for him to think of us, to think of me and reach out to me on that day, that was great. You’re at a low when you have tough losses like that, so from just a humanity standpoint, there are some good people out there that are thinking about others, even when they’re down and out. It’s not who you are, it’s what you do for a living. It means a whole lot, but it’s not who you are.”

With that being said, Purdue now turns the page to once again trying to join Virginia, this time on the right side of history. The Boilermakers are the third Big Ten team UConn will face in its title defense during this tournament, joining Northwestern in the second round and Illinois in the Elite 8. Painter stressed the respect Purdue has for the Huskies, but at the same time, made sure to note that his players are unfazed by the specter of their opposition.

“The most important team is your team,” he prefaced before delving further into UConn. “I think anybody would say that at this point, but UConn’s a very, very good basketball team. (Dan Hurley has) just done a phenomenal job. There’s been some teams that have hung in there with them and then they’ve separated from them, and there’s some other teams that have gotten flat out blitzed.”

“They understand what we’re up against, they understand we haven’t played anybody like UConn. We have cable where we’re from, so we’re very familiar.”

Comprehension aside, the game is still played on the floor, and while not necessarily needing to play the perfect game, Purdue recognizes the need to be fundamentally sound if it is to be the last team standing in Arizona Monday night, making history while denying UConn the chance to write its own.

“They’ve dominated people,” Painter admitted. “They haven’t just dominated the bad teams, they’ve dominated some great teams. They swarm you, they get into you, they make it difficult on you. Those guys are really good at pressuring.”

“What they do a great job of is when blood is in the water. When you show weakness or turn your back on pressure, those guys are the best in the business. They will make you pay. They’re just waiting for you to do something stupid. Don’t do something stupid. That’s our challenge, (to) handle pressure, take care of the basketball, make good decisions.”