MILWAUKEE — Vincent Edwards scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half, and Purdue held off Vermont 80-70 on Thursday night for its first victory in the NCAA Tournament in five years.
Caleb Swanigan added 16 points, 14 rebounds and four assists for the fourth-seeded Boilermakers (26-7), who were upset by Arkansas-Little Rock in double-overtime in the first round of last year’s tournament. Dakota Mathias made three 3-pointers and finished with 13 points.
Next up for Purdue is a second-round game against the winner of Nevada-Iowa State.
“It feels good but I don’t think we want to stop here,” Mathias said.