A lot of vitriol and animosity has existed between different fanbases of college basketball and the Purdue basketball program. It has long been rooted in Coach Matt Painter's lack of success in getting a national title for the Boilermakers despite having a good standing in the Big Ten Conference. They have got the star talent in the past years with Jaden Ivey and Zach Edey. However, this year is looking to be different for their March Madness run. A lot of signs point toward the NCAA Tournament national title coming to West Lafayette in 2024.
The first indicator of a good team's chances of winning March Madness is their history. Experience has molded the Boilermakers through a lot of heartbreaks. The NCAA Tournament has not been kind to Coach Matt Painter in the past few years. His Purdue basketball program suffered upsets from Doug Edert's Saint Peter's back in 2022 and the soul-crushing defeat in March Madness' first round to the FDU Knights. Both of which have molded this team to be better in a lot of situations. This is very evident in how they handle late-game droughts and push to gain momentum.
Purdue's generational offense
The Purdue basketball squad's record also speaks for itself. They are the best team in the Big Ten with an outright title and were only a Lance Jones shot away from reaching the finals of their conference tournament. Looking back, the Zach Edey-led squad has gone undefeated against all Quad 2 to 4 teams during their 2023-24 campaign. They also boast an astounding 12 wins over Quad 1 teams while only suffering losses to Boo Buie's Northwestern, Keisei Tominaga's Nebraska, Ohio State, and Wisconsin.
Three out of these four entries in the loss column were determined by four points or less. The only exception was when Nebraska got on an absolute heater and demolished them by 16 points. Since that loss, Coach Matt Painter has been able to adjust his schemes to create a better flow on both sides of the floor. The emergence of Braden Smith and Trey Kaufman-Renn also allows them to have a creator on offense. Rather than just the Zach Edey post-ups and paint touches to shooters like Fletcher Loyer, Lance Jones, and Mason Gillis, they added a new dimension to their point of attack.
These adjustments have given them 83.4 points scored on average and a +13.2 average score margin which are both good for 10th in all of college basketball. A big part of their offense is how they keep the ball moving without any stagnant plays. The constant search for the open man mixed with precision passing has gotten the Boilermakers 18.4 assists on a nightly basis which ranks them fifth in the nation. Their assists-to-field goals made of 0.645 and assists-to-turnover ratio of 1.602 also sit them fourth and 16th respectively.
Painter's ever-evolving defense
Now, defense wins championships and Purdue basketball has been doing better in that regard heading into March Madness. They may not have the impressive perimeter defense of Houston and Iowa State but the Boilermakers can hold their own. They allow only 70.2 points per contest which is the 10th-best across all programs. Their ability to get into good positions to disallow rebounds from opponents is also generational. Purdue basketball only made their rivals notch 29.6 boards which is good for third in college basketball.
Moreover, one of their most important assets is not allowing opposing players to get a shot off. They are the 10th-ranked defense as Purdue only allows 0.230 of those attempts to bear fruit. When rivals do get a shot off, Coach Painter's schemes only make them shoot a 47.7% effective field goal percentage which is the 44th-best in the nation.
All of this equates to a deep run that the Boilermakers can make in the NCAA Tournament. They should be able to take it one game at a time and beat whoever wins between Grambling State and Montana State first. BTFU!
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