After 44 years, the Purdue Boilermakers are back in the NCAA Tournament's Final Four. Coach Matt Painter and Zach Edey have now shrugged off the terrors of the past which started off with heartbreaking losses to North Texas, Saint Peter's, and Fairleigh Dickinson. This year, a flipped switch within the program saw them steamroll Grambling State, Utah State, Gonzaga, and Tennessee. All they have to do is force the slipper out of NC State's foot to end their Cinderella run.
The X's and O's on offense
While Zach Edey is the best player for Purdue entering this game, Braden Smith will need to be the person who has a big game. Coach Matt Painter runs a primary offensive set which gets his National Player of the Year the ball. They run a lot of horns variations that will necessitate the primary ball handler to read the NC State defense before choosing which roller to pass to. Opposing defenses like Gonzaga and Tennessee have chosen to defend Zach Edey closer to the rim. This is not the usual strategy that the Wolfpack employs which could spell their doom. Instead, DJ Burns sticks with the roller and seals them early into the play action.
This will give the Purdue star guard multiple opportunities to either pull up from three or create space for a mid-range jump shot. Coach Matt Painter will have to trust Braden Smith's shot diet a lot against NC State. The sophomore has not failed his head honcho so far because he knocks down 45.3% of his shots from the three levels of scoring. Moreover, he can see open corners when opposing defenses choose to dig in when Zach Edey is in the post. This gives him an open passing lane to someone like Mason Gillis, Lance Jones, and Fletcher Loyer.
The guard play is crucial to get their offense running.
Purdue's defensive schemes
DJ Burns is not a new opponent to Zach Edey. The Purdue star had to face Kenneth Lofton Jr., Adem Bona, and Oumar Ballo among others who had the same styles of play as the NC State big man. It is safe to say that he will be able to hold his own.
The difference will now have to rely on the rotations and decisions that each of the other Boilermakers makes. Burns might get a touch off the post and create space but his passing ability is still lethal. He draws double teams fairly quickly from guards and makes the easy passes to DJ Horne or Michael O'Connell. His creativity even allows him to make deeper inside passes to a cutting Mohammad Diarra.
What should Purdue do in this situation? They just have to stick with what they have been doing all year round. Trey Kauffman-Renn roams the paint while the other Boilermakers stay with their assignments. This disallows Diarra from receiving an easy pass while Burns has to go one-on-one against Edey because his shot creators are sealed off. Eventually, he will just get tired and not be able to execute properly.
Purdue has the personnel and scheme advantage in this game. This squad boasts the 10th-best defense in the nation by only allowing 70.2 points per contest. Moreover, the Boilermakers' offense nets them 83.4 points and an average win margin of +13.2. All of these say that this is their Final Four game to lose. They just need to dictate the game and play their own brand of basketball to get past the Final Four. BTFU!
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