Getty Eric Hunter Jr. of the Purdue Boilermakers reacts after a foul against the Tennessee Volunteers.
After a second-half comeback by the Tennessee Volunteers that forced overtime, the Purdue Boilermakers would battle back in the extra frame to pick up a win in a wild finish. Carsen Edwards and Ryan Cline led the way with monster 29 and 27 point performances to lead the way for the Boilermakers in the Sweet 16.
With such a crazy ending to the game, it only made sense that Twitter erupted into a frenzy as things got close down the stretch.
Twitter Reactions to Wild Tennessee vs Purdue Sweet 16 Finish
Bleacher Report’s Taylor Rooks let us all know that the Purdue Tennessee game was a drop-everything and turn it on type game.
You shouldn’t be doing anything else right now except for watching this Tennessee-Purdue game
CBS Sports reminded us of why we love the absurd finishes of March Madness.
This Purdue-Tennessee game is reason number 12,939,201 why we love March Madness.
Sportsline jumped into the mix with a classic Undertaker GIF.
I can confirm that I sent/received multiple texts about the end of this insane game.
Purdue-Tennessee reached “text-every-basketball-fan-you-know” status with over eight minutes left and somehow continues to reach new levels of drama. One of the best tournament games in years.
Even Patrick Mahomes couldn’t resist bringing up how wild of an ending the game had.
Tennessee vs Purdue 😅😅
Complex came in with a newer but hysterical clip of the Lakers reacting to the infamous Lance Stephenson crossover of Jeff Green.
THIS TENNESSEE-PURDUE GAME. #MarchMadness
Purdue Boilermakers Elite Eight Matchup
Punching the first ticket out of the Sweet 16, Purdue awaits the winner of the Virginia vs Oregon matchup in the Elite Eight. While on paper, Virginia poses one of the most dangerous stylistic matchups on the year, the Oregon Ducks are arguably the hottest team in college basketball and would make for a very difficult matchup should they pull off another upset.
Virginia and their dangerous pack line defense would make for a tough matchup for the Boilermakers, who thrive on attacking the basket to set up open looks from three. Matt Haarms is a massive size mismatch down low but the pack-line defense is predicated on collapsing on interior baskets and making life tough for opponents down low. Virginia is athletic and disciplined enough to recover and effectively close out on threes as well, making them a well-rounded and dangerous defensive team to go up against.
Oregon wouldn’t offer a much kinder matchup to the Boilermakers, despite their lowly 12th seeding. With only star playmaker Payton Pritchard standing under 6’9″ in the starting lineup, Oregon runs out one of the most athletic and versatile defensive units in the nation. Playing with an increased ferocity on the defensive end since going on a tear to end the year and subsequently win the Pac-12 tournament, the Ducks are one of the hottest teams in college basketball and a terrifying matchup for any team still left standing in the tournament.