Bracketology 2020: Buy or sell Memphis, Purdue, Texas, Florida and Wisconsin
By Bryan Mauro
Purdue Boilermakers – Buy
Purdue is a Jekyll and Hyde this year. They are a completely different team away from Mackey Arena. At Mackey Purdue is one of the best teams in the country and already has blowout wins against Virginia, Michigan State, Iowa and fellow bubble member Wisconsin. The Boilers are a much different team away from home. On the road, Purdue has been blown out by Illinois and a loss that is going to rear its ugly head come selection Sunday, at Nebraska.
As of late the Boilers have been more consistent and look to be well on their way to the NCAA tournament. The Boilers currently sit at No. 30 in the NET rankings but much like their conference mates Wisconsin, Purdue has a record close to .500 as well and with the inconsistency, they have shown from home and road they have a much greater chance of landing at just at .500. If that happens Purdue will not make the NCAA tournament.
The Boilers’ biggest problem is their offense not traveling. They have had some games that have been dreadful. This year they don’t have Carsen Edwards or Ryan Cline to bail them out when they need a basket. Matt Painter is one of the best coaches in the NCAA and he is going to be good enough to get this team in the tournament.
If they win all the home games and lose their road games Purdue would finish the regular season at 17-14. That would still require a win or two in the Conference tournament provided Purdue can find enough offense to get them over the hump. Purdue is well-coached and will get the job done and find themselves back in the tournament.