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NCAA Tournament 2019: Top takeaways from 1st half of Round of 32 games

By Brian Rauf

JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA - MARCH 23: Tremont Waters #3 of the LSU Tigers goes up for a shot against Jalen Smith #25 of the Maryland Terrapins during the second half of the game in the second round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Vystar Memorial Arena on March 23, 2019 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA - MARCH 23: Tremont Waters #3 of the LSU Tigers goes up for a shot against Jalen Smith #25 of the Maryland Terrapins during the second half of the game in the second round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Vystar Memorial Arena on March 23, 2019 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images) /
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HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT – MARCH 23: Carsen Edwards #3 of the Purdue Boilermakers attempts a shot against Cole Swider #10 of the Villanova Wildcats in the second half during the second round of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at XL Center on March 23, 2019 in Hartford, Connecticut. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT – MARCH 23: Carsen Edwards #3 of the Purdue Boilermakers attempts a shot against Cole Swider #10 of the Villanova Wildcats in the second half during the second round of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at XL Center on March 23, 2019 in Hartford, Connecticut. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /

7) Elite Carsen Edwards is BACK

I’ve maintained all season long that Purdue will only go as far as Carsen Edwards was able to take them.

For four months, he was able to take them to the top of the Big Ten and into the top 15 nationally. Then he struggled down the stretch, shooting 25 percent or worse in four of Purdue’s last seven games, and the Boilermakers were bounced in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament.

Those struggles were a major reason why many (including myself) had them falling victim to the upset bug in the first round against Old Dominion, but now they’re headed to the Sweet 16 thanks to a victory over Villanova in what was the most dominant win of the day – and Edwards was right at the center of it.

The junior guard nearly outscored Villanova by himself in the first half and finished with a game-high 42 points, boosting his average to a tournament-high 34.0 points per game.

Yes, Purdue has other quality players but all of them would be classified as role players. Edwards is the engine that drives them and he’s back to playing like an All-American. If he keeps this up, Purdue will be a team no one wants to face next weekend.

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