Purdue Basketball had an 18 game home winning streak snapped by Texas. Can the Boilermakers rebound in Milwaukee, against Marquette?
Purdue Basketball’s Mackey Arena is a tough venue to steal away a victory. Yet, after two regular-season games, Purdue finds itself with a 1-1 record, for the first time since the 2016-17 season, when they dropped a close one to visiting Villanova. The third game on the non-conference slate sees Matt Painter’s squad traveling to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to do battle with the Marquette Golden Eagles. After being shocked at home by Matt Coleman, what are Purdue’s keys to victory, in the hostile environment, of the Fiserv Forum?
Key #1: Control the ball
The box score of the Texas game reveals that 16 turnovers contributed to Purdue’s game two demise. If the Boilermakers don’t want a second loss to stain their non-conference record so early in the season, then they should focus on maintaining control of the ball. The two main offenders for Purdue were 6’4″ sophomore Eric Hunter Jr. with three turnovers and 7’3″ junior, Matt Haarms, with four ball-handling miscues. There were a total of 15 points off turnovers tallied by Texas.
Overall, there were 14 turnovers committed by the Purdue team, so half of those points off turnovers can be credited to Hunter and Haarms, accounting for 7.5 points. Since the margin of defeat was four points, you can see how critical keeping possession of the ball can be. Limiting turnovers limits your opponent’s scoring opportunities.
Key #2: Defense needs to pressure the perimeter
Marquette lit up Loyola with an artillery barrage of three-pointers. The Golden Eagles shot nearly 61% from beyond the arc converting 14 of 23 attempts. The nets at Fiserv must be coated with flame retardant, otherwise, they surely would have burnt to a cinder from that kind of heat. The key player responsible for the three-point onslaught is Big East Player of the Week, Markus Howard. Howard shot 70% from three, 55% from two and converted 90% of his free throws. He is clearly a one-man wrecking crew.
If Purdue couldn’t contain Matt Coleman, they will need to come up with a better plan to limit Howard’s long-range lethality. A 1-3-1 zone defense could do the trick. You have a 7’3″ center providing resistance in the lane and your guards and small forwards contest the long ball. Purdue’s Big Ten counterpart Maryland recently implemented this type of zone defense to perfection, against Rhode Island. It will be interesting to see what Coach Painter’s plan to deal with Markus Howard, will be.
Key #3: Make your free throws
Free throws are the x-factor in close games. Usually, after the game is all over and you look at where you can improve your opportunities for winning, converting a higher percentage of free throws will become glaringly obvious. Think about it. Your team has done everything that’s within its control. They have played excellent defense, communicated, hustled after loose balls and boxed out on every rebound.
All that effort and expended energy have gained them the bonus of multiple free throw attempts. The clock is stopped. Your player is at the line. All he has to do is sink all of his attempts. During the Texas game, in front of a gracious crowd, Purdue as a team sank 67% of their free throws. In front of a rowdy, loud and frenetic crowd, Texas sank 81%.
If Purdue wants to come out of Milwaukee with a “W” in the win column against Marquette, the team will need to improve on its prior outing, in several areas. Limiting turnovers, pressuring the opponent’s perimeter shooting capabilities and converting a high percentage of free opportunities for points will go a long way, in establishing a Boilermaker victory, on Wednesday. Thank you for reading this article. Please leave any comments or feedback, if you so wish. You can check out my other articles here.