Purdue hasn’t been sharp to end the regular season.

The Boilermakers, who controlled their fate for an outright Big Ten title with 3 games left, lost 2 straight at Michigan State and Wisconsin before beating Indiana on senior day Saturday in Mackey Arena. But even in the victory, the Boilermakers had to hang on, surviving the last couple of minutes to beat the Hoosiers 69-67.

Perhaps it’ll be good for the Boilermakers to turn the page to the postseason, giving them an opportunity for a fresh start. The Boilermakers, who had been the No. 1 team in the country for a week in early December, have to feel unfulfilled after coming up short in their quest for a league title.

Yet Purdue, which finished the regular season 25-6 (and 14-6 in the Big Ten), has plenty of weapons for Big Ten and NCAA Tournament runs, especially if it can find its offensive mojo once again. With Jaden Ivey, Zach Edey and Trevion Williams, the Boilermakers have a trio who stack up against almost anyone in the country.

Purdue is hoping for a big week in Indianapolis for the conference tournament, where the Boilermakers are the No. 3 seed. They’ll get either No. 6 Ohio State, or perhaps 11-seed Penn State or 14 Minnesota. A run to Sunday’s title game might earn Purdue as high as a 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. But first things first, let’s take a look at 5 things the Boilermakers need to do to advance — or potentially even win — the B1G Tournament:

Limit turnovers

It’s not so much that the Boilermakers turn the ball over an overwhelming amount — Purdue’s 11.6 average per game ranks in the top half of the Big Ten — but when they do get loose with the basketball, the giveaways come in bunches. And that propensity to turn the ball over multiple times in a row has prevented Purdue from being able to put teams away of late.

Take Saturday’s win over Indiana in the season-finale: The Boilermakers led the Hoosiers by 5 with about 12 minutes to play. Then they committed 4 turnovers in a 5-possession span while seeing IU go on an 8-0 run to take the lead. In the loss at Wisconsin 4 days before, Purdue was within striking distance near the end of the first half, but 3 turnovers in 3 minutes helped the Badgers take a 5-point lead into the locker room. The Boilermakers committed 17 turnovers in the previous loss at Michigan State, including 6 in the first 6 minutes of the second half.

The Boilermakers have lost 4 games this season on near-last-second 3-pointers. Had they kept an extra possession, rather than throwing the ball away, then perhaps they’re able to hang on in the final seconds.

Hit free throws

If turnovers are Problem No. 1 for Purdue’s offense, then free-throw shooting is a close second.

In the Boilermakers’ 6 conference losses, they’ve given away points at line, shooting only 61.8% (68-110). Whereas in the 14 victories, Purdue is hitting almost 71% of its freebies. It’s a significant difference, especially when looking at the Boilermakers’ margin of loss. Aside from the Michigan loss, in which Purdue was nuked by 24, the other 5 losses have come by a combined 16 points.

Purdue’s biggest issue is the players who shoot the most free throws. In terms of volume in Big Ten play, big men Zach Edey and Trevion Williams have the 2nd- and 3rd-most attempts, behind Jaden Ivey, and they shoot only 57% and 58% respectively.

Defend the P&R

Lately, opponents have found the biggest weakness in the Boilermakers’ mediocre defense.

Purdue is having trouble slowing down the pick-and-roll. The reasons are multiple: Purdue isn’t a great on-ball defensive team and its bigs — Edey and Williams — haven’t been quick in terms of hedging on the pick, then rotating back to the paint. And because of those deficiencies, Purdue’s allowing points in bunches on the pick-and-roll.

It happened against Indiana with regularity in the season-finale. IU point guard Xavier Johnson routinely broke down the Boilermakers’ defense, scoring 18 points. But when he wasn’t scoring, he was finding others; he assisted on 12 baskets, often finding screener Trayce Jackson-Davis on a dash to the basket.

While Purdue has gotten at least marginally better at some aspects of its defense, like closing out on 3-point shooters (not perfect, but better than early in the season), the Boilermakers have not been able to stop the pick-and-roll with much success lately.

Go Ivey go

Although Ivey has been able to still get his points, twice scoring more than 20 in the past 4 games, there’s a sense that he’s forcing the issue offensively.

An indication might be his turnovers. The star sophomore has 11 turnovers in the past 3 games, with his tendency to give the ball away coming at particularly inopportune times. As a ball-dominant guard, Ivey is going to occasionally give the ball away, but they need to come within the flow of the offense, at the very least. Lately, it seems like they’ve been careless mistakes, like 3 times dribbling the ball off his foot against the Hoosiers.

If Purdue is to make a run in the Big Ten Tournament — and the NCAA, too — then Ivey has to limit the critical mistakes.

More bench production

At the beginning of the season, it was thought that the Boilermakers would be able to wear down opponents in the second half because of their depth.

Purdue played with a 10-man rotation and for a few of its nonconference games in November. The Boilermakers found a second-gear midway through the second, then blitzed opponents for victories. But in the Big Ten, that kind of onslaught hasn’t continued, at least consistently.

Purdue’s not getting a lot of bench production of late. Against Indiana, 5 players logged at least 30 minutes. A 6th, Williams, put in 19 off the bench, and the other 3 Boilermakers who played combined for only 22. And those 3 — Caleb Furst, Isaiah Thompson and Ethan Morton — combined for 2 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists.

In tournament play, Purdue’s bench could make a huge difference, but only if it’s productive.