Bracketology 2024: Christmas gifts for UConn, Purdue, Kansas, Arizona, and Houston

No. 1 Purdue Boilermakers - A suitcase to take their home dominance on the road

Like Arizona, the new No. 1 team in the country, the Purdue Boilermakers haven't had much go wrong this season. So, when we look at a Christmas gift for Matt Painter and his team, we have to take the unconventional route. The one-loss Boilermakers are a balanced offensive team that has the best player in the country in Zach Edey. In the upset of Arizona, they showed that depth with Edey, Braden Smith, and Fletcher Loyer accounting for 75 of their 92 points.

Moving forward for Purdue, if they want to win a championship they could really use a suitcase. What I mean by that is even though they've won a lot of games on neutral sites, they've done so in less than convincing fashion. While this isn't football and style doesn't matter, having the ability to put teams away in dominating fashion does, if for no other reason than to get your most important players some rest.

Despite their 10-1 record heading into their game with Jacksonville on Thursday, the margin of victory differential between their home games and their road/neutral games is stark. In home games, the Boilermakers have won by an average of 29.6 points, while all of their other games have a margin of victory of just 4.5 points and including their only loss to Northwestern. They are going to need that home dominance on the road with them if they want to reach their ultimate goal.