By Paul Trembacki
Sports Editor

TUCSON, Ariz. - Purdue's Rodney Smith thought of a happy place and now the Boilers are headed to a better place - the Sweet 16 in Albuquerque, N.M.

All sorts of thoughts could have entered Smith's mind as he stepped to the foul line with 21.3 seconds left in Purdue's second round tournament game against Oklahoma on Saturday. With the Boilers ahead, 63-62, he could have been thinking about the weight of the season on his shoulders - especially the fortunes of the five Purdue seniors. Or he could have let the pressure of the NCAA tournament affect him.

"I was thinking about going to a happy place in the back of my mind — at home playing basketball in my backyard with my dad," said Smith, who made the two free throws to give Purdue a 3-point advantage.

The free throws helped the Boilers beat the Sooners (27-7) on Saturday, helping them advance to the Sweet 16 for the third consecutive year.

Smith's vision of himself and his father, Purnell, shooting around in Indianapolis was enough to cool his nerves. Smith hit one more free throw with 11.5 seconds left to account for the final score, 66-62.

With the win, the sixth-seeded Boilers (23-9) will face 10th-seeded Gonzaga at 7:55 p.m. on Thursday in The Pit on the University of New Mexico's campus.

Smith said he just wanted to do what he could to help Purdue advance in the NCAA tournament.

"I didn't want to let my teammates down," said Smith, "because I had let them down a couple of minutes before."

A few minutes earlier Smith threw a bad pass that turned into an Oklahoma 3-point basket. The basket was Oklahoma guard J.R. Raymond's only one of the game, but it gave the Sooners a 45-39 lead — their largest of the game.

Smith may have faltered on that play, but he didn't do so when Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson expected him to. Sampson was jumping up and down telling his players to foul Smith, a 70.5 percent foul shooter.

"I didn't feel any pressure," said Smith. "Before every game we have a free-throw shooting contest and I'm usually in the finals."

Had Sampson known that, he might have tried a different tactic. As a result, the sixth-year Sooner coach lost for the second time in three tries against his friend, Purdue coach Gene Keady.

Keady, who improved his career record in the NCAA tournament to 17-16, said both teams deserved to win.

"This was an up and down game the entire way, and we were able to pull it out," said Keady. "I am so proud of the team that we were able to pull it out. This is such a sweet feeling right now; we really worked hard for this."

One of the hardest workers for Purdue was senior Greg McQuay, who led the team with 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting. He also made 6 of 9 free throws and added five rebounds.

"This was a very big win for us," said McQuay. "All that hard work that we put into things in the pre-season is paying off."

McQuay was in the starting lineup Saturday, a role he had relinquished to Smith late in the season. He limited the effectiveness of Oklahoma All-American Eduardo Najera, denying him the ball in the post and forcing the 6-foot-10 senior to take jump shots.

Najera had 15 points on 7-of-15 shooting before fouling out with 12 seconds left in the game. Guard Nolan Johnson led the Sooners with 20 points and a career-high 10 rebounds.

Although Johnson, Najera and freshman guard Hollis Price scored in double figures, McQuay said the Boilers did a good job on defense. He said he was motivated by the fact that if he didn't step up, it would be his last game.

But that wasn't all that inspired McQuay.

"I wanted to do it for my brother, Gary, who is in the hospital with leukemia," said McQuay. "I wish he was here. Hopefully, we can make it to the Final Four this year and he can make it."

Gary and Greg played together last season at Purdue before Gary decided to transfer - something that has been put on hold with Gary's illness.