
Purdue has its date with history, but the Boilermakers need to clean things up to win a title
Purdue is safely through to this year’s national championship game, dispatching NC State with a big 63-50 win in Saturday’s Final Four action. The Boilermakers now have their date with history, but they must play much cleaner to get their first-ever national title.
Facing NC State, Purdue finished with 14 total turnovers, surpassing the 13-turnover mark that has been so crucial for the Boilermakers this season. Matt Painter continues to beat the drum that Purdue is undefeated this season when committing 13 or fewer turnovers.
The biggest saving grace of Saturday night is that Purdue could withstand their miscues defensively. Despite forcing more turnovers than Purdue, NC State has just 10 points off turnovers to Purdue’s 11.
In Monday’s title game, Purdue will face the winner of Alabama vs. UConn, and both of those teams have the firepower to take advantage of miscues. The Crimson Tide, led by Nate Oats, love to shoot the 3-ball to put pressure on opposing teams, and the Huskies are among the most balanced teams in the country in terms of offensive and defensive efficiency.
As expected, Zach Edey continued his magnificent tournament run with another game of 20+ points and 10+ rebounds, but he will not be able to carry the Boilermakers by himself on Monday. The complimentary pieces and role players must correct course after a relatively disastrous showing against NC State.
Here are the key takeaways from Saturday’s win by the Boilermakers:
Will the real Braden Smith show up?
Braden Smith is one of the most important non-Edey members of the Boilermakers. He’s the second-leading scorer for the team at 12.2 points per game and leads the team with 7.5 assists while averaging 2.6 turnovers.
Unfortunately, Smith did not play up to those numbers with 2 first-half turnovers coming on over-and-back violations without much duress.
Entering halftime, Smith was shut out with 5 turnovers. He would finish the game with a made 3-pointer but was just 1-for-9 overall from the field with 3 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 turnovers and 3 fouls.
Facing the backcourt of UConn or Alabama is not a recipe for success by any stretch of the imagination, but Smith will certainly be hungry to get back on the court.
The bright spots
Any time Smith goes 1-for-5 from deep, the Boilermakers are liable to be in trouble. This time around, the performances of Lance Jones, Fletcher Loyer and Mason Gillis were enough to step up in key moments.
Jones was actually the second-leading scorer Saturday night with 14 points on 4-for-9 shooting from 3-point range while also playing 38 minutes. Loyer was 3-for-5 from deep, and Gillis delivered a pair of 3-pointers to go with 4 rebounds off the bench.
Lance Jones hits AGAIN from deep 😳#MarchMadness @BoilerBall pic.twitter.com/v5MnBiwo4w
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) April 6, 2024
2nd chance points loom large
Even with DJ Burns limited to just 8 points Saturday night, NC State was largely able to keep pace with Purdue in points in the paint. The Wolfpack finished with 20 points in the paint while the Boilermakers had 24 in a valiant effort down low by NC State.
However, 2nd chance points provided a key area where Purdue was able to exploit NC State.
The Boilermakers registered 11 offensive rebounds (3 from Edey) and turned those boards into 19 2nd chance points. NC State, on the other hand, had just 7 2nd chance points off 6 offensive rebounds.
Now, Purdue can safely breathe after advancing into Monday’s title game where the Boilermakers will take on Alabama or UConn. Be sure to track the game line for Monday’s matchup via ESPN Bet.