Matt Painter finally got over the hump and has Purdue Basketball in the elite eight for the first time since 2000 and his very first appearance in a Regional Semifinal. What are the Boilermakers going to have to do to beat the Number one seed Virginia?
Purdue Basketball reached its fifth sweet 16 under Matt Painter including their third consecutive. The Boilermakers were a four seed twice, a five seed and a two seed. This was their first time making the Regional Semifinal as a three seed with Painter as a head coach. That must’ve been the lucky seed because he’s in his first elite eight as the Boilermakers’ head coach.
Purdue has had some really talented teams under Painter in the past. Including last year which seemed like a final four team. But it’s the one with Carsen Edwards leading the pack and a senior who doesn’t want his basketball career to end.
The consensus first team All-Big Ten guard is averaging over 32 points per game in the NCAA Tournament this year. Ryan Cline averaged just over four points per game in his three seasons at Purdue. He’s averaging over 12 this year and just recently dropped 27 against Tennessee including seven three-pointers.
The Boilermakers heard the talks of being a three seed falling victim to a 14 seed. Purdue took care of Old Dominion by 13. They routed the defending National Champions in the 6-3 match up to get to the sweet 16. The Boilermakers then played in a track-meet with the Volunteers and Purdue was up for the challenge. The Vols had to play in its second straight Overtime game against a Big Ten team and they couldn’t quite slow down Cline and Edwards.
Virginia is a wonderful team. But the narrative on the Cavaliers to begin the Tournament was getting by the 16. It was foggy at first, but before you know it, Tony Bennett has his team back in the elite eight. The Cavaliers have the complete makeup of a final four team. They are led by a trio of guards, three more guys that go six-foot-nine or taller and a pretty solid bench. But the Boilermakers are playing team basketball with a couple of great play-makers who aren’t done shocking higher seeds.
1. Purdue has to take advantage of their bench
It’s a little strange to think Purdue actually has a decent sized bench when they lost so much talent from a year ago. Purdue though has developed four consistent starters with a nice rotation at the five. The obvious choice at the beginning of the season was going to be Matt Haarms. He struggled awhile so the Boilermakers experimented with a couple different guys, brought Haarms back and that created the depth.
Aaron Wheeler has been a reserve the entire season. The six-foot-nine freshman has played in all 35 games and is averaging over 13 minutes. Wheeler is a force in the front court. He averages almost five points and three boards per game with 16 blocks and 20 steals. Wheeler has done a great job spelling with whomever gets the nod at the five.
Evan Boudreaux was shaping out to be the main sixth man off the bench for Purdue. When Haarms started to struggle, the transfer from Dartmouth started four games. He was a great contributor with over five points per game, three boards and could hit the occasional three. But a new guy came on the scene when Purdue took down Michigan State.
Trevion Williams had only played double-digit minutes once in 12 games. He quickly came on with three straight games of 10 or more rebounds which included three double-doubles. Williams would play in 10 or more minutes 12 out of the next 13 games. The six-foot-nine 280 freshman has seen his minutes go down a bit lately, but his playing time really improved Haarms.
Virginia brings some nice size off the bench. Braxton Key is a lengthy guard. Jack Salt and Jay Huff both go six-foot-10 or taller. But in close games, those are going to be the only three guys Virginia brings off the bench. Just like the Boilermakers, the Cavs have a revolving door at the five. No matter what, Wheeler and Williams need to be up for the challenge. Eric Hunter Jr. needs to be a great distributor and Sasha Stefanovic has to knock down shots.