Playing Purdue

[Andrew]

6 minutes ago, Gibbz said:

Don't wanna get too far ahead, but if UNT could pull off the miracle against Purdue they'd have a very winnable round 2 matchup against Nova missing their PG or 12-seed Winthrop.

I would have loved to have swapped places with Winthrop! 

[MeanGreen2019]

When watching Eden play, he is really really slow. We might need to push the pace when he is in the game. This will be a tough game, but the one thing they don’t have that we do is Coach Mac. Let’s go!!

[MeanGreen_MBA]

2 minutes ago, CMJ said:

Virginia just based on how we match up against them.  Not saying they're the worst 4 seed...on paper Purdue might be.  But the matchup itself with Purdue poses more problems (to me).

Play small ball and let the 3’s rain

[DeepGreen]

I may have missed it....when do we play Purdue?

[Andrew]

Just now, CMJ said:

They're making fun of you.

Well... I would stand by resting starters early in tournament games when you are up or having a rotating sub in. Many other coaches would do the same thing. Mac took a chance and it paid off big. We are all thankful for that. Coaches are allowed to have differing views on game plan and end game situations. It doesn’t mean we all don’t have respect for each other. 10 different coaches and they all would do something a little different. That’s fine. 🙂

[outoftown]

Gotta keep the pace down. Games with low numbers of posessions increase variance. increased variance is the friend of the underdog.

[greenminer]

Initial numbers: Mean Green // Purdue

RealTime RPI 52 // 27
NCAA NET 61 // 22
Kenpom 71 // 13

Official Purdue Bball
 

 

[greenminer]

ESPN Stats

 

[CMJ]

12 minutes ago, DeepGreen said:

I may have missed it....when do we play Purdue?

Friday.  Game times have yet to be determined...probably on account of venue Covid precautions.

[GrandGreen]

Bad draw being this will be close to a home game for them, like NT had a site advanage in 
CUSA tournament.

Best player 6'10 Williams. going to an extreme challenge with 7'4 player also starting.

I don't think their record is all that good but being fourth in the B10 trumps records.   

I hate the NCAA loads up on the power conference schools and basically only allows the champions of lesser leagues.  Created play-in games in lieu of limiting the field and cutting some of these borderline major conference teams. 

Make the conference count for something, if you are not in the upper 25% or league champion, you're out.

 

Edited March 14, 2021 by GrandGreen

[ChiefTenBeers2015]

So I read on ESPN That we’re facing West Virginia?  

[GreenGuy123]

Well, I hope that our OOC schedule give our guys the confidence and mentality they need to have going into this. Just hope we don't go out and play like a bunch of DEFENSEMEN FROM PURDUE!

Edited March 14, 2021 by GreenGuy123

[RiseUNT]

ESPN bracketology just skipped over our game.

The games that don’t get attention are the ones where upsets happen.

[ChiefTenBeers2015]

Projected per ESPN’s Joey “Brackets” Lundari

[Gibbz]

Purdue opens as an 8-point favorite. Not too bad.

[greenminer]

Quote

Matt Painter's squad quietly finished top-five in offensive and defensive efficiency in Big Ten play, per KenPom. The Boilermakers also finished fourth -- ahead of Ohio State and Wisconsin -- in the Big Ten standings with a 13-6 record. Few teams in America can match Purdue's frontcourt size with 6-foot-10 Trevion Williams (15.2 PPG, 8.8 RPG) and 7-foot-4 Zach Edey (8.9 PPG, 4.5 RPG) in the paint. It's still unclear if the Boilermakers can hang with the top-tier teams in America -- they lost to Illinois, Michigan and Iowa by 40 points combined -- but their 6-1 finish in the regular season suggests Painter's crew is improving.

ESPN

[greenminer]

2 minutes ago, ChiefTenBeers2015 said:

Projected per ESPN’s Joey “Brackets” Lundari

Not sure why this is relevant when the official bracket is out.

[greenminer]

10 minutes ago, RiseUNT said:

ESPN bracketology just skipped over our game.

The games that don’t get attention are the ones where upsets happen.

[greenminer]

official printable bracket

[UNTLifer]

48 minutes ago, CMJ said:

They're making fun of you.

[bstnsportsfan3]

Purdue doesn’t have a single senior on the roster. I think thats a small advantage to us! 

[greenminer]

Purdue made a great run in the 2019 bracket.  They have to have some roster carry-over from 2 years ago?

[NorthTexasSportsNetwork]

If we handled Bassey well, I think we can handle these guys. Reminds me of the freakishly tall dude from Arkansas 

[greenminer]

BoilerBall podcast

[BoilerMKT]

Greetings, Mean Green.  Boilermaker here.  Congrats on winning your conference!  Thought I would stop by and familiarize you with the team you will be facing in the first round.  I hope you will provide the same in return.

Starters:

• Trevion Williams--6'10", 265, junior.  Trevion made first-team all-B1G, averaging about 16 and 9.  He is mostly a back-to-the-basket player with a quick first step and a wide variety of post-moves.  Loves the jump hook over his left shoulder, but also likes to spin and hit the reverse layup.  He is an elite rebounder and an elite passer for a big man.  Very patient with double teams.  He is an average at best defender and occasionally takes dumb fouls.  He is a very below average free throw shooter despite having what looks like good form.  Was backup center on the '19 Elite Eight team.
• Mason Gillis--6'6", 230, redshirt freshman.  Glue guy.  Always seems to be around the ball.  Most of his points come on putbacks or dives to the basket.  Is a capable three-point shooter but not a volume one.  Excellent free-throw shooter and makes them when it counts.
•  Jaden Ivey--6'4", 200, freshman.  Future NBA player.  Elite athlete.  Got off to a slow start this year due to a foot injury but has really come on the last two months.  Averaging 14 over the last dozen games.  Great at attacking the basket and finishing.  Is an improving 3-pt shooter and has been about 85% at the line on high volume over those same twelve games.  Also a very good on-ball defender.  He makes multiple plays per game that we haven't seen at Purdue since probably Glenn Robinson.
•  Sasha Stefanovic--6'5", 200, junior.  Our best 3-point shooter and best post-feeder, which is very important in our offense.  Can be stifled by really good defenders, but the attention he draws opens things up for others.  Is capable of putting on the deck and finishing, but that's usually a last option.  Average one-on-one defender, but is very important in the team defense concept.  Backup 2 on the Elite Eight Team.
•  Eric Hunter, Jr.--6'4", 170, junior.  Our best perimeter defender, having shut down some of the B1G's elite scorers.  Generally a good decision-maker at the point.  Is a very capable but often inconsistent scorer who is most comfortable in the mid-range pull-up game.  Backup point on the Elite Eight Team.

Bench:

•  Zach Edey--7'4", 285, freshman.  An absolute revelation.  The #429 recruit in his class.  Has only been playing basketball for three years after spending his youth playing hockey and baseball in Canada.  Everyone expected him to redshirt, then he went out and scored 36 points in the first two games of the season vs. Liberty and Clemson.  I saw someone refer to him as really slow, but he actually moves very well for his size, and when your wingspan looks like it covers the whole lane you probably don't have to be all that quick.  Great hands and footwork, soft touch (except for when he's tearing down rims).  Flushes alley-oops while barely jumping.  Unlike Trevion, an excellent free throw shooter.  He is not yet an elite shot blocker.  Will generally just wall up to try to avoid fouls.  And if drawn out high in P&R situations, he is pretty easy to get around.  Is foul prone, but draws a ton of them, too.  Finished the regular season with 21 and 20 vs. Wisconsin and Indiana in just 39 minutes.
•  Brandon Newman--6'5", 195, redshirt freshman.  Our next best three-point shooter.  Can score at all three levels, but most shots are from three.  Good rebounder for a guard and pretty good defender.  Started most of the season until the emergence of Ivey and the return of Sasha from COVID.  Foul prone.  Has not totally adjusted to coming off the bench.  Had a 29-point game vs. Minnesota.
•  Aaron Wheeler--6'9", 205, junior.  Message board whipping boy for most of the last two years as his shot wasn't falling like it did during his freshman season, but has found himself again over the last few games, dropping 7 of 11 from distance.  Has always rebounded well and is very athletic. Began the season as a starter, but now splits minutes about 60/40 with Gillis depending on who's having the better night.   Key bench contributor on the Elite 8.
•  Isaiah Thompson--6'1", 160, sophomore.  Backup point.  Provides some quickness and occasionally gets hot from three.  Can be overpowered by more physical guards.

 

Offensive approach:

Purdue runs a mix of motion offense and sets that have options off of options off of options.  Looks to play through the post most of the time, taking advantage of Williams one-on-one moves and passing ability and Edey's ability to obliterate the sun.  They like to shoot the three, but have not made them at the rate they've grown accustomed to in recent years.  Medium to below average pace.  Have worked in more P&R this year because of Ivey's capabilities.  Shot selection has consistently gotten better as the freshman have matured.  Still a bit more turnover prone than a typical Painter team.  Very good offensive rebounding team.

Defensive approach:

100% man-to-man.  Not a pressing team, but will pick up the primary ball-handler for 94 feet.  Switch almost everything.  General philosophy is to force tough twos.  Can be exposed by elite P & R teams, and the freshmen still make freshmen mistakes on that end.  Also vulnerable to teams that have bigs who can shoot the three.

Miscellaneous:

The team does not quit.  Won a game they trailed by 17 at half at Michigan State, and just went to overtime two days ago vs. Ohio State after trailing by 18 at half.  

Won their last five and eleven of their last fourteen regular season games and finished 4th.  At the beginning of the year, being on the bubble was a reasonable expectation, but the freshmen have played well beyond their years and the juniors have stepped into leadership roles.  Playing with house money at this point.  It's next year that should be really fun.

 

Again, don't know anything about NT.  KenPom makes it look like you are very good defensively, very good at shooting the three and play at a Wisconsin pace, meaning you will force us to defend.  Would love to hear your thoughts and looking forward to the game Friday.

Oh, by the way.  We won't be allowed to play at Mackey Arena of course, but if the game is at Assembly Hall in Bloomington, recognize that is our auxiliary home court  🙂

 

Cheers!