UConn is unlike any other squad that Purdue has faced in the NCAA Tournament. Alex Karaban and Cam Spencer can fire from all cylinders to stretch out Matt Painter's defense. Tristen Newton and Stephon Castle can dominate the wings while overpowering anyone who tries to get in their way to the basket. Donovan Clingan will seal off Zach Edey and Trey Kaufman-Renn such that they make a minimal impact. So, who needs to step up for the Boilermakers? Well, Lance Jones already did his job in the Final Four. It is now Fletcher Loyer's turn to have a big game to bring the natty home to West Lafayette.
Why Fletcher Loyer?
Anyone who touches the ball in the Purdue basketball squad will get hounded by Dan Hurley's squad. UConn does well in defending the strong side. They also use Tristen Newton and Stephon Castle well such that all of the passing lanes are clogged. If someone between Zach Edey and Braden Smith attacks the paint, they will have to deal with the hyper-athletic anchor that is Donovan Clingan. Ball rotation and swinging along the perimeter will be Coach Matt Painter's best friends in this NCAA Tournament title game.
Obviously, Smith and Edey will be the ones getting the ball the most. Both of them can create space using the ball. But, it will be Fletcher Loyer's golden opportunity to shine. His screen navigation and off-ball movement to reach the three-point line have been outstanding all season for Purdue. This will be crucial in beating a UConn team that does well with on-ball defense.
Why not Lance Jones, you ask? He just popped off against NC State. Clearly, Dan Hurley will send more defensive help to prevent his squad from getting torched from deep. Moreover, it is Fletcher Loyer who is often the recipient of Zach Edey's passes off the post. With the Purdue big man taking his time against Clingan, only Loyer will be able to bail the Boilermakers out of a broken play.
Furthermore, opponents also dig when the National Player of the Year works in the post. Loyer will be the first line of defense in salvaging Purdue's broken plays and preventing turnovers in case the ball gets swiped away from Edey.
Will the Purdue sharpshooter deliver?
This will only be answered when the ball is up in the air come Monday. However, Purdue basketball fans do have a lot of assurance to cradle them to sleep. Loyer has only gotten better as an outside scoring presence for Coach Matt Painter. Throughout 20 Big 10 conference games this past season, he managed to knock down 48.5% of his shots from outside while attempting 3.4 of them on a nightly basis. This has netted him 10.5 points.
Since the NCAA Tournament started, his confidence along with his shot selection has only improved. He started it off with a 60% three-point field goal percentage against Grambling State then had a two-game stretch of recording 50% from outside. Tennessee did get the best of him as the Dalton Knecht-led squad limited him to 20% outside shooting on five attempts. However, he did make a big comeback by going perfect on two attempts from three-point land in their win over NC State.
All Loyer has to do is maintain this such that West Lafayette gets a taste of a national championship.
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