Maui Invitational: #2 Purdue Topples #11 Gonzaga in Quarterfinal

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00:00 (upbeat music)

00:02 - Why don't we head back out to the Big Island here, John.

00:05 Not great weather here on the East Coast,

00:06 fantastic weather out in Hawaii.

00:07 The question I actually want to ask you here is,

00:09 change of venue here.

00:10 Usually the Maui Invitational is played on Maui

00:12 in that small gym.

00:13 You can get right on top of those players

00:15 for giving rims over as we're using the norm.

00:18 Now we switch up to the Big Island,

00:19 a couple unders there in that tournament,

00:21 but also included Purdue with a comeback victory

00:23 over Gonzaga, 73 to 63 in the finality.

00:26 Have you gotten any word behind the scenes

00:28 that the change of venue here

00:30 may be a little bit different playing style

00:32 or are the teams adapting fine?

00:33 Hey, we're just happy to be out in Hawaii

00:35 playing good basketball against good teams.

00:37 - Well, the location of the Maui Invitational every year

00:41 where it's normally played always has giving rims.

00:43 That's part of the situation that you deal with every year.

00:46 This now in Honolulu is the site of where we see

00:50 the Diamond Head Classic played every year,

00:53 which obviously a lot of people like me opt to watch that

00:56 when we're going to the movies on Christmas Eve

00:58 or Christmas Day.

00:59 So this is more a traditional college setting

01:01 than it is obviously what we're going to see

01:04 in the normal Maui Invitational.

01:06 But if you're familiar with the Diamond Head Classic,

01:09 if you remember obviously Nick Johnson's block

01:11 on Miami in 2013 when Arizona beat Miami,

01:15 you remember obviously the great consolation game

01:18 that we saw last year, I believe between Iona and SMU

01:21 where they played in the early rounds.

01:23 I was at the stumble in on 76 and second

01:25 during that game, you're just trying to connect with family

01:28 but at the same time, keeping an eye on who really

01:30 could finish third in the American Conference

01:32 or first in the MAAC Conference.

01:34 Remember Ben, it's okay not to be social.

01:37 - Listen, great burgers up at the stumble in.

01:40 They're loaded, they're juiced up with the cheese

01:43 inside the actual meat patty.

01:45 We love that each and every time.

01:48 John, let's look at what Purdue did yesterday.

01:50 Down by five at the break, the Boilermakers come back

01:53 in the second half against Gonzaga, led by Zach Eaddy.

01:56 25 points, 14 rebounds, three blocks.

02:00 What a rim protector they have in West Lafayette

02:03 with the reigning National Player of the Year in Zach Eaddy.

02:06 As you forecast this Boilermakers team, John, in 2023-24,

02:11 what is the expectation in West Lafayette for Purdue?

02:15 - The expectation, Ben, for Purdue is what it's going to be

02:20 the last couple of years, which is during a very icy

02:22 in the NCAA Tournament, be the best team in the Big Ten,

02:24 have a chance to advance in the NCAA Tournament.

02:26 But Purdue cannot exercise this of last year against FDU

02:31 without getting to the Final Four.

02:33 And when you look at the last five years of this program,

02:37 and really the purgatory that it's put its fans,

02:40 alumni, and coaching staff through,

02:42 it's really unfathomable.

02:44 In 2018, I felt that Purdue had a team good enough

02:47 to go to a Final Four.

02:49 In the NCAA Tournament, Isaac Haas has an elbow injury.

02:52 They lose to Texas Tech in the Sweet 16.

02:55 2019, it was the epic and heartbreaking loss to Virginia

03:00 in the Elite Eight when Mamadi Diakite made that shot

03:03 to send the game into overtime.

03:05 Virginia goes on and wins the National Championship.

03:07 2021, you're a fourth seed in the bubble.

03:10 You lose to North Texas.

03:12 2022, you have a roster that features Jaden Ivey,

03:15 Zach Eaddy, and Travion Williams,

03:18 and then you lose to St. Peter's.

03:19 And then last year, you were officially taken

03:22 to the gates of hell when Purdue, a one seed

03:26 that won the Big Ten regular season tournament title,

03:29 loses to FDU in the biggest upset

03:31 in the history of the NCAA Tournament.

03:34 Purdue, to exercise its demons and really bookend this story,

03:39 has to get to a Final Four for the first time since 1980.

03:43 Nothing else will fill the gap.

03:46 (upbeat music)

03:48 [MUSIC]

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