Virginia vs. Purdue: 2019 NCAA Tournament game preview, TV schedule
The South Region comes down to Virginia and Purdue with a spot in the Final Four on the line. Which head coach gets the monkey off of their back?
TV schedule: Saturday, March 30, 8:49 pm ET. TBS
Arena: KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, KY
After the historic and embarrassing loss to UMBC in last year’s Round of 64, Virginia Basketball (32-3) had some demons to exercise. After beating Gardner-Webb and Oklahoma to get to the Sweet 16, those Demons nearly caught up to them in the form of Oregon.
The Ducks pushed Tony Bennett’s team to the limits with a late lead in the second half. Neither team could get anything going offensively, but Virginia managed to survive with a final score of 53-49. They shot just 36% from the field and 9/33 from deep but held Oregon’s best players to bad offensive performances. Four Cavalier players were in double figures led by Ty Jerome‘s 13 points, six rebounds and six assists.
Virginia’s opponent in the Elite 8 Purdue (26-9) played in an offensive shootout, beating Tennessee 99-94 in overtime. They actually led by as many as 20 points before squandering the lead but managed to prevail in the extra time. Carsen Edwards got his expected offense in with 29 points but it was senior Ryan Cline who had the most spectacular performance with 27 points on 7/10 from three-point range. The Boilermakers shot as well from deep (15-31) as they did from the free throw line (16-33), which is both impressive and massively concerning against Virginia. Purdue likely won’t hit as many threes but needs to make their free throws.
One reason why the Cavaliers has had close games has been due to the struggles of key scorer Kyle Guy. So far in the NCAA Tournament, the junior is averaging around seven points a game and has only made 3/26 from three-point range. If he doesn’t get going, Virginia will be in another tight one. As for Purdue, having a second scorer outside of Edwards is crucial for getting the upset.
Next. Top 2020 recruiting prospects. dark
Both Matt Painter of Purdue and Tony Bennett of Virginia are two of the best coaches in the game of college basketball. But neither has a Final Four on their resume. Look for the Cavaliers to go from last year’s laughingstock to one of the final teams left in the Big Dance this time around.