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Oscar Cluff gets away with travel, leads to big Purdue three-pointer in Elite Eight

IMG_0985by: Griffin McVeigh03/29/26griffin_mcveigh

An incredible game is unfolding in front of our eyes in San Jose. Arizona and Purdue are putting on a show early in Saturday’s Elite Eight matchup. A spot in the Final Four is on the line and to say emotions are running high would be an understatement. Purdue’s Oscar Cluff looks to be up for the moment, though, making a massive play just before the under-eight media timeout.

Cluff found himself playing perimeter defense, jumping into an Arizona passing lane for a rare steal. He then began to dribble down the floor before running into some trouble around the free-throw line. This is where the Arizona bench began to go crazy. There was seemingly a missed travel on Cluff before getting the ball over to Fletcher Loyer.

Moments later, Gicarri Harris was in the corner, hitting a shot from deep. Purdue took the lead and sent their fans in attendance into a frenzy. You can check out the full sequence here.

If Purdue is going to find long-term success in this game, Cluff needs to continue to be a key figure in the action. Maybe not when it comes to transition points. But his ability inside could prove to be huge for Purdue. Everyone knows what Arizona’s goal is, looking to get points inside and at the free-throw line. Cluff being able to play well defensively down low might be the lone way to slow them down.

“We played (Trey Kaufman-Renn) as an undersized 5 the year before, and we didn’t have the rim protection and the overall rebound position even though we did get to the Sweet 16,” Matt Painter said of Cluff before the game. “So it was just a perfect fit for us. But he’s been great. He’s been great. He works hard. He does a lot of dirty work for us, can rebound the ball, can pass the ball. That’s something I didn’t know, how good of a passer he was. But very unselfish player.”

But he may have gotten away with one on the offensive end. Purdue will not be apologizing about the play, though. Those three points shortly after the missed travel call turned into a massive momentum swing for them. Taking the lead is pretty nice as well, even if there is still nearly 30 minutes of the game remaining. Folks wearing black and gold are hoping more moments like them are coming.