Purdue's Liam Murphy gets March Madness moment in first NCAA Tournament
· Yahoo Sports
ST. LOUIS — Liam Murphy made three stops on his college basketball journey.
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His final one finally provided him an opportunity to play with a winning program, but Purdue basketball's deep roster didn't afford many opportunities for 6-foot-7 sharpshooter who previously spent time at Columbia and North Florida.
With the Boilermakers pulling away in a first-round March Madness game against Queens at the Enterprise Center on Friday, March 20, Murphy checked into an NCAA Tournament game for the first time in his career with 4:35 to go.
"I've been through college without getting to the dance," Murphy said after Purdue's 104-71 victory.
Not only did Murphy get to the dance, he got in the scoring column.
With 46 seconds left, Murphy caught the ball at the top of the key and fired a 3-pointer for the Purdue's final points in a first-round victory.
"PJ (Thompson) yelled at them to get a pindown for him," Purdue coach Matt Painter said. "He can really shoot the basketball. That was a really cool moment for him to make that shot."
Murphy had played in just 11 games and scored 25 points this season, 11 of those in a Nov. 7 win over Oakland. His last points came Feb. 1 in a 30-point win at Maryland.
Murphy came to Purdue as one of college basketball's most lethal outside shooters, having made 104 3-pointers at better than 42% shooting a season ago, but was set back by an injury over the summer after enrolling at Purdue. In the meantime, Jack Benter elevated into a backup forward role Murphy was in contention for.
Murphy never sulked through a final college basketball season in which things didn't play out from an individual standpoint the way he hoped.
"He's a guy that puts in a lot of work and does his job day in and day out and always comes in with a smile on his face," senior guard Fletcher Loyer said.
Murphy already knew if he got an opportunity, he was chucking up a shot. He did, after all, wait six years for his first NCAA Tournament appearance.
When it went in, the players on Purdue's bench erupted and the large contingent of Boilermaker fans in the stands did the same.
"That's kind of my game, so I always feel like if I've got daylight I'm going to let it fly," Murphy said. "I am glad I got to get in there and make a bucket."
Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X and Instagram @samueltking.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Purdue's Liam Murphy makes NCAA Tournament debut, has March Madness moment