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NCAA Tournament 2019: Purdue, Ja Morant and Virginia among early winners

By Jonathan Geib

COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA - MARCH 24: Kyle Guy #5 of the Virginia Cavaliers celebrates a layup against the Oklahoma Sooners during the second half in the second round game of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Colonial Life Arena on March 24, 2019 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA - MARCH 24: Kyle Guy #5 of the Virginia Cavaliers celebrates a layup against the Oklahoma Sooners during the second half in the second round game of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Colonial Life Arena on March 24, 2019 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT – MARCH 23: Carsen Edwards #3 of the Purdue Boilermakers waves to the fans after his teams win over the Villanova Wildcats 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 waves to the fans after his teams win over the Villanova Wildcats 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) /

Purdue Boilermakers

The Boilermakers are for real and if you have not followed them this season, it is now time to start taking notice. Purdue has won their first two NCAA Tournament games by an average of 19.5 points per game. It may be no surprise that they dominated 14-seeded Old Dominion in the first round, but the absolute dismantling of the reigning NCAA Tournament champion, Villanova Wildcats, sent a message to the remaining sixteen teams in the Tournament.

Make no mistake, Purdue is a real contender to be the National Champion THIS year. The Boilermakers are winning their games on the defensive end by playing suffocating defense. In the first game, Old Dominion was held to just 27% shooting from the field and scored only 48 points. For the second round, the Villanova Wildcats shot 35% from the field as a team. That would be a poor shooting percentage for Villanova if it was only their three-point percentage, however, from behind the arc they shot just 29% in their match up with Purdue.

This is not teams having a bad shooting night; this is playing against the team that is playing the best defense in the country at the right time. Tennessee has struggled against strong defensive teams, so look forward to seeing Purdue in the Elite 8.

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