yahoo - 3/27/2026 4:58:29 PM - GMT (+2 )
March Madness is routinely a home for buzzer-beaters, prayers, Hail Mary lobs and miracles.
The 2026 Men's NCAA Tournament saw another addition to the madness Thursday, March 27: No. 2 seed Purdue eked out a 79-77 win vs. No. 11 Texas in the West Region after Trey Kaufman-Renn had a last-second putback following a Braden Smith miss.
As Boilermakers coach Matt Painter exited the court at the SAP Center in San Jose, he perfectly captured the sentiment of many college basketball fans around the country:
"Holy s---," Painter said in a video captured by Eli Gehn of WTHR-TV in Indianapolis (editor's note:explicit language used).
REQUIRED READING: Inside the game-winning play that advanced Purdue to Elite 8
Painter was slightly more composed when speaking about the play in Purdue's postgame news conference.
"We got a good shot there at the end," Painter said. "Braden, I thought he executed well, made the right read, and took the right shot. And perfect timing. That's what you want. You want a chance to get a stick back. If you don't, then you go to overtime.
"TK was around the basketball, and it's one of those things that happened, as coaches, you want to fill your defense, and you want the best defenders out there. Sometimes your best offense is a missed shot in those situations. You see it happen a lot, but we've also seen it where you do that and then guys make shots. You feel like, it doesn't matter as a coach either way. It's really, really difficult."
TREY KAUFMAN-RENN GAME-WINNER 🚨
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 27, 2026
PURDUE ADVANCES TO THE ELITE 8 🤯 pic.twitter.com/CYj7ltsGXT
Added Kaufman-Renn:
"I think when you give the ball to Braden, he can go by anybody in the country," he said. "We have plays designed for him to do that. I thought he got a good shot. Then Coach always says that it's not — a lot of times it's not the first shot that goes. They're the tip-in at the end of games. He said that my four years here, so it's kind of cool to actually experience that."
Next up for Purdue is No. 1 seed Arizona, with the West Region championship — and a spot in the Final Four — on the line. The Boilermakers and Wildcats play on Saturday, March 28 at 8:49 p.m. ET.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Matt Painter reacts to Purdue last-second win over Texas in Sweet 16
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