Purdue Basketball: 3 keys for Boilermakers to defeat No. 18 North Carolina
By Tommy Farmer
Limit Carolina’s Trips to the Free Throw Line
Through three games, North Carolina has done an outstanding job of getting to the free throw line. They are averaging a whopping 29.33 FT attempts per game which have caused a ton of issues for their opponents. While they have only converted on 61 of their 88 attempts which aren’t phenomenal, that is too many free points to give up and too worrisome as far as foul trouble goes.
Caleb Love is leading the way getting to the line for the Heels. He has shot 28 times from the charity stripe and has converted 21 of them. Assuming Ivey is tasked with guarding Love, this could be a major problem for the Boilermakers. Ivey is so crucial to what Purdue does on offense that unexpected stints on the bench due to foul trouble could really hurt Purdue.
Armando Bacot, Brady Manek, and Dawson Garcia make up most of the rest of Carolina’s free throw attempts. While Purdue has exceptional frontcourt depth and foul trouble isn’t as important as it could be with Ivey, the Boilermakers need to make them earn their points inside. Manek and Garcia have both been solid from the line, and you don’t want to give them easy scoring opportunities.
The Heels like to play fast and get out in transition which draws fouls for them at a high rate. Purdue needs to still get back in transition even though it can be difficult for a team that can be as dominant on the offensive glass as they can be a time. If the Boilermakers can defend without fouling and sending Carolina to the line, that would be one huge step in the right direction for winning this game.