Are we having any fun yet? Purdue cruises again and earns a spot in the Sweet Sixteen

The game was close for a few minutes, and then, just like that, it wasn't. The redemption tour continues with a blowout over Utah State.

The pressure isn’t off, not yet, not completely, not for a Purdue team that has designs on a Final Four and a national championship. As Zach Edey said after the Boilers’ immaculate 106-67 victory over Utah State Sunday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, reaching the Sweet Sixteen is not this program’s end game. They know, anything that doesn’t involve a trip to the Phoenix area is going to be a massive disappointment.

But the ghosts of early eliminations past have been chased, first with a 28-point victory over Grambling State and then this 39-point blowout of Utah State, and the whole process is starting to get downright fun.

Like…here was Lance Jones, the Boilers guard, borrowing a photographer’s camera and going around the locker room, taking snapshots of his teammates. And not just the big names; on a day when 11 Boilers scored in a game – we’re talking Will Berg and Myles Colvin and Brian Waddell and Sam King denting the scoresheet, among many others  – Jones wanted to get shots of the bench players who had turned a one-sided game into a historic blowout.

“Will, Will, here,” Jones said, focusing on the The Next 7-Footer at Big Man University. Berg, who was talking to a reporter, faced the camera and smiled for his portrait.

They’re having a blast now, even after Jones caught grief for a late airball, then turned to the Utah State crowd and repeatedly pointed at the scoreboard.  This was a joyride, the Boilers scoring 83 points after falling behind early 24-23, scoring 57 points in the second half with just two of those points coming courtesy of Edey. If anybody in the country is playing better basketball than Purdue right now, I haven’t seen them.

Nobody has.