Purdue's Matt Haarms is thinking about a man bun. Evidence suggests he really needs one.

The real star of Purdue’s second-round NCAA tournament win over Purdue wasn’t Vince or Carsen Edwards. It wasn’t Isaac Haas – thanks, NCAA. It wasn’t Haas’ backup, either. It was his backup’s hair.

With Haas sidelined by a broken elbow, the world was introduced to 7-foot-3 freshman Matt Haarms, an 18-year-old from the Netherlands who can’t play consecutive possessions of basketball without adjusting his hair.

It appears to have become a compulsive habit. The Athletic’s Nicole Auerbach was in Detroit, and was tracking Haarm’s hair adjusting habits. She reported that the lanky Dutchman keeps his locks in line even when he’s on the bench:

Haarms appears to be unwilling to taint his ‘do with any gel or other type of product. Or maybe his gel just isn’t strong enough. Either way, his hair regularly flops down onto his forehead. It rarely, if ever, gets all the way down into his eyes. But it’s clearly at least somewhat bothersome.

So if gel isn’t the solution, what could be?

Harm’s may have picked up a hint from Houston’s Rob Gray on Saturday night against Michigan. Gray has one of the more distinctive hairstyles in college basketball:

Haarms took note, and thinks a man bun might be the solution.

Or, maybe …

Haarms’ hair, and the lengths he goes to to keep it up, will be one of the stories of the Sweet 16. Purdue takes on Texas Tech on Friday.

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Henry Bushnell covers soccer and college basketball for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Question? Comment? Email him at henrydbushnell@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @HenryBushnell.

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