Purdue Basketball: Takeaways from win over Butler

Haas will be missed, but Purdue can recover.

If Purdue has something that no other team in the East region has, it’s depth. The Boilermakers got contributions from their deep bench on Sunday, including their third center Jacquil Taylor, forward Grady Eifert, and guard Ryan Cline. Each of these players was on the floor for extended periods of time as a result of the Haas injury.

The major change to Purdue’s lineup, however, was the drastically increased role of the ever-energetic freshman center Matt Haarms. Haarms played 29 minutes, longer than he has ever played in a college basketball game. His final stats didn’t jump off the page, recording just seven points and snatching six rebounds, but he was able to defend effectively in the middle and prevent Butler from scoring consistently in the paint.

Defensively, Purdue is comfortable with two seven footers in the middle. But offensively, Isaac Haas will be missed immensely if he is unable to return next week. As a true post player, Haas dominates with his back to the basket and allows the offense to control the pace of the game while getting production in the paint. Without him, as was evident in the early stages of this game, Purdue was playing at a pace they weren’t comfortable with and they struggled to score near the basket.

Still, much like the Boilermakers recovered over the course of this game, they can move forward without Haas if absolutely necessary. Doing so requires more production from the guards and the bench, and this game revealed the elite depth of Purdue.