Michigan Basketball: 2021-22 keys to victory against Purdue Boilermakers

2. Take away the secondary options defensively and let Purdue’s big men work 1 on 1

John Beilein’s Michigan teams took an approach through the years to let Purdue’s monster big men face single coverage and limit the shooters and secondary scorers around them – essentially trading twos for threes and exploiting Purdue by forcing them to play entirely through their best post option.

Juwan Howard should be very familiar with this scheme – Tom Izzo used it to perfection against Michigan last week, letting Hunter Dickinson face single coverage to the tune of 25 points on 19 shot attempts drawing 15 fouls on the Michigan State centers, but ultimately holding Michigan’s guards and wings to 10-33 from the floor.

There is no one on the Michigan roster who can stop Zach Edey. Purdue’s non-post players (everyone besides Zach Edey and Trevion Williams) average 57.5 points per game, led by Jaden Ivey, Sasha Stefanovic, Mason Gillis, and Isaiah Thompson, all four of whom shoot 40% from three or better.  In Purdue’s three losses this season, non-Edey and Williams Boilermakers are averaging 40.3 points per game, a 17-point difference from their season average.

The Purdue offense sometimes forgets about Jaden Ivey for long stretches in the half-court, and if Eli Brooks, Devante Jones, and Caleb Houstan can stay home on Purdue’s elite shooters, they’ll have a chance to slow down the explosive Purdue offense.