The Purdue basketball team is once again one of the top teams in the country, and could be one of the top contenders to win a national title this season with Matt Painter on the sidelines and Zach Edey being the best player in college basketball.
Everyone knows that the Purdue basketball team suffered a brutal loss in the first round last season, becoming just the second No. 1 seed to ever be upset in the NCAA Tournament with the loss to Fairleigh Dickinson. Now, Zach Edey, Matt Painter and the Purdue basketball team are trying to have the same fate that Virginia lost as a No. 1 seed.
Virginia went on to win the national championship the next season, so it is possible for Purdue to pull off that feat. This year's team is arguably better than last years, which despite the loss, was a very talented squad.
However, as always with the NCAA Tournament, a team can be beaten or upset. One bad matchup could spell the end of Purdue's season, or any other contender.
The top three teams have separated themselves this season in Purdue, UConn and Houston. Those three teams are all basically interchangeable. Based on how the season is going, it is likely that Purdue will end up with a No. 1 seed, and if they do, they will in all likelihood end up in the midwest region.
Regardless, they still have four games to win before getting to the Final Four, and they would need two more wins after that to win a national championship. With that being said, let's get into the one fatal flaw that could ruin Purdue basketball's Final Four hopes.
Purdue's potential fatal flaw: Guard size
This might be a surprising flaw, but it is something to watch for when Purdue is making its way through the NCAA Tournament, and we are here to explain why.
Everyone knows that Zach Edey is the focal point for the Boilermakers. He is the most dominant player in college basketball. The one problem with having your big man be the most dominant and important player is that you have to work hard at times to get him the ball.
Purdue features Braden Smith as the starting point guard, which Lance Jones playing shooting guard. Braden Smith is six feet tall, while Lance Jones is 6-foot-1. Both of them are on the smaller side when it comes to guards.
Look at other contenders, with UConn being an example. Tristen Newton, one of the starting guards, is listed at 6-foot-5, while the Huskies' other starting guard is listed at 6-foot-6.
UConn, or a team with bigger guards like UConn has, could give Purdue some trouble. The size advantage from a guard standpoint would allow those players to try to pester Braden Smith and Lance Jones, while also trying their best to deny Edey from getting the ball.
This could be one of the biggest determining factors when it comes to Purdue winning a national championship or not. A team that has big guards could be the type of team that the Boilermakers do not want to see come the NCAA Tournament. When the brackets come out on Selection Sunday, it will be worth seeing the potential matchups for Purdue and what teams have bigger guards who could present this type of problem.
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