INDIANAPOLIS — The excitement of March Madness is upon us at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, and that's where it will start for top-seeded Purdue, as they take on 16-seed Grambling State Friday at 7:25 p.m.
There's a new energy around this Purdue basketball team, with all their goals still out in front of them. It's a focused group.
As head coach Matt Painter said last week, this isn't Six Flags the amusement park. They're here for one reason and one reason only — survive and advance, looking for this program's first Final Four appearance since 1980.
For three straight tournaments, this team has lost to a double-digit seed, including Fairleigh Dickinson one year ago, but Painter and Fletcher Loyer say this is a mature group that has gotten better and has elevated confidence.
"Looking forward to playing our first game and getting out there and compete," Painter said. "We've waited a full year after sitting in it for the full year, but we've done a great job of getting better and working and being functional."
"It's not too much that goes into it," said Loyer, a sophomore guard. "Other than just that, that taste that was in our mouth at the end of last year, it's something (you) never want to feel, something I don't wish on anyone else, but ultimately, it's probably gonna make us better."
The team is focused on using that bitter end in a positive way in this tournament.
"Yeah, I think it's a little bit of motivation," sophomore guard Braden Smith said. "I think we were just so anxious and ready to just get to this point again just so we can kind of prove everybody wrong about what happened last year and just be ready for this year and not make those same mistakes, really."
Senior center Zach Edey agreed.
"It's kind of one of those things that goes unspoken," Edey said. "Everybody knows what this team is. Everybody knows what we can do, and everybody has the ultimate confidence in ourselves. Everybody kind of knows what this upcoming game means, and everybody's gonna take it super seriously."
Edey is a force down low, no question about it, but this team knows they're more well-rounded than a year ago — second in the country in three-point percentage, able to win in more ways than one, leading to a heightened sense of confidence.
"I think a lot more confident, just because we've been through it," Smith said. "We understand, and we've just been through the ups and downs. We just kind of have that extra motivation, I guess, just to push through and understand how to handle each situation."