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March Madness 2019: Buy or Sell Texas Tech, LSU, Purdue and Houston?

By TJ Miller

BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA - FEBRUARY 19: Matt Haarms #32 of the Purdue Boilermakers celebrates after the 48-46 win over the Indiana Hoosiers at Assembly Hall on February 19, 2019 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA - FEBRUARY 19: Matt Haarms #32 of the Purdue Boilermakers celebrates after the 48-46 win over the Indiana Hoosiers at Assembly Hall on February 19, 2019 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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COLUMBUS, OH – JANUARY 23: Carsen Edwards #3 of the Purdue Boilermakers attempts to drive around Luther Muhammad #1 of the Ohio State Buckeyes in the second half on January 23, 2019 at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Purdue defeated Ohio State 79-67. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OH – JANUARY 23: Carsen Edwards #3 of the Purdue Boilermakers attempts to drive around Luther Muhammad #1 of the Ohio State Buckeyes in the second half on January 23, 2019 at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Purdue defeated Ohio State 79-67. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images) /

SELL: Purdue (South)

Purdue went 13-2 over the months of January and February before dropping two of four in March, both to Minnesota. Even after coming back down to earth a bit, it really is amazing this team was able to finish deadlocked in 1st place with Michigan State. The Boilermakers lost a lot from a year ago but here we are.

Obviously you have to start with Carsen Edwards. He’s one of the leading scorers in the nation at 23.0 PPG and should be considered one of the few players in the NCAA Tournament capable of singlehandedly taking his team on a run. The problem of course is what happens when Edwards starts missing shots. Edwards has shot just 34% from the field in the Boilermakers’ losses and this team doesn’t seem to have much of a plan B beyond having Edwards just keep shooting the rock.

To his credit Edwards does do an excellent job running the show. Ryan Cline gets open looks every game because of the attention Edwards attracts and the same could be said about Grady Eifert. In addition, the 7-3 Dutchman Matt Haarms lurks off the ball and is a factor on both ends.

But beyond Edwards stepping up to have some absolutely massive performances, it’s hard for me to see Purdue stringing together three or four wins in a row. Old Dominion feels under-seeded at 14, and a things won’t get any easier should a round of 32 matchup happen vs. 6 seed Villanova.

It pains me to go against Matt Painter because I really think he’s one of the most underrated coaches out there. Yet, when it comes to the NCAA Tournament, a team like Purdue scares me simply because I believe they have overachieved as a whole this season. Purdue was barely thought of as an NCAA Tournament team in early November. Now in March we’ll find out if Matt Painter can work more magic and if Carsen Edwards can get hot. If not, an early exit might be in store for the Boilermakers.

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