LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Down the stretch of regulation on Thursday, it looked like Matt Painter's Sweet 16 curse was set to continue.
Four tries, four losses. Untimely injuries, bad matchups and consistently having to face top seeds -- Painter hadn't had the best of luck in regional semifinals.
And after Purdue blew an 18-point, second-half lead to Tennessee and Grant Williams finished a putback with eight seconds left, defeat seemed likely. But Carsen Edwards got fouled shooting a corner 3 with 1.7 seconds left and made two of three to send the game to overtime, where Purdue pulled away to win 99-94.
If there was ever a game for Painter to get perhaps the biggest win of his career, it was Thursday's Sweet 16 matchup -- arguably the best game of this year's NCAA tournament. Purdue put on a clinic in the first half, shooting 55.2 percent from the field and making seven 3-pointers. After Painter spoke on Wednesday about needing to prevent 22-4-type runs by Tennessee, the Volunteers turned things around in the second half. They went on a 14-0 run midway through the period to tie the game -- and the two teams essentially exchanged haymakers down the stretch to force overtime.
"Man, that was obviously a great game," Painter said afterward.
"We were just able to battle it out, have guys that battle it out," Edwards added. "Ryan [Cline] made huge shots for us. We were just able to pull it out."
Edwards and Cline were essentially Purdue's entire offense for long stretches, Edwards finishing with 29 points and Cline finishing with 27 points and seven 3-pointers before fouling out. Edwards became the first player since Steph Curry to score 25 points in four straight NCAA tournament games. Cline was unconscious from 3-point range.
Although Edwards finished with more points, Cline's 3-point shooting kept Purdue in the game late. He buried four 3-pointers in the final five minutes and scored nine straight Purdue points after Tennessee took a late lead.
