Purdue vs. Gonzaga: 5 keys to win Sweet 16 showdown

When Purdue beat Gonzaga earlier this season in the first round of the Maui Invitational, it wasn’t the prettiest of games.

The Boilermakers hit only 4-of-17 3-point attempts and had 13 turnovers to turn in what might have been their most offensively disjointed performance of their 3-game November stay in Hawaii. (They also went on to beat Tennessee and Marquette — which could also be their next 2 opponents in the NCAA Tournament — and set a tone for what they hoped would be a Final Four run months later.)

And here Purdue is. But to get a Final Four opportunity, either against Tennessee or Creighton on Sunday in the Elite 8, the top-seeded Boilermakers will need to find a way past what appears to be an improved 5th-seeded Gonzaga squad, which won 13 of 14 games to end the regular season, then looked impressive in beating Kansas in the Round of 32.

Purdue is favored by 5.5 points, via DraftKings. Here are 5 keys — outside the obvious, like fed Zach Edey, hit perimeter shots and limit turnovers — for the Boilermakers on Friday night.

Unleash Jones

Senior Lance Jones has turned in 3 consecutive single-digit scoring games, the first such streak this season.

Purdue will need a big offensive showing from him in the tournament at some point, perhaps vs. the Bulldogs. Jones, a transfer from Southern Illinois playing in his first NCAA Tournament, has shown to be a big-shot maker during his time with the Boilermakers, making up for some misses — he’s hitting 36% from long distance — by nailing them at critical times. Purdue operates at full offensive efficiency when its trio of guards, Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer and Jones, are all knocking down jumpers, forcing defenses to scramble to attempt to cover all of the bases, in combination with trying to slow Edey inside.

When Jones is dialed in, it makes the task darn near impossible.

‘Zags’ 3 bigs?

Gonzaga’s fortunes shifted this season when Mark Few started to employ a 3-big lineup, featuring 6-10 Ben Gregg, 6-9 Graham Ike and 6-8 Anton Watson.

Whether that will help the ‘Zags in containing Edey remains to be seen — few have been able to do so this season, and the 7-4 All-America has 53 points and 35 rebounds in 2 tourney games — but it could create matchup difficulties for the Boilermakers. Loyer, who is on the floor more for his shooting than his defensive prowess, is likely going to have to guard a bigger player. Perhaps that will help him on the offensive end, but what happens on defense? Matt Painter will need to find the matchup there that works best for the Boilermakers.

And Purdue’s feasted much of the season on the offensive glass, where it ranks 43rd in the country in pulling down more than 12 per game. But if the ‘Zags can negate that advantage, particularly by keeping Edey off the boards, then it will be troublesome to the Boilermakers. In November, the teams played to a 38-all tie on the glass, with Purdue snagging only 8 on the offensive end.

Control Nembhard

Neither team is adverse to transition basketball.

Gonzaga averages 84.9 points per game, while Purdue is a tick under that at 83.4, but the Boilermakers can’t let the game turn into a track meet either, particularly by letting Bulldogs’ point guard Ryan Nembhard get out on the break. He’s feasts there, a reason why the veteran has averaged more than 10 assists per game in the ‘Zags wins over McNeese and Kansas in the tourney.

In holding Gonzaga to only 63 points in November, when it made only 6-of-32 3-pointers and had 14 turnovers, it marked the Bulldogs’ 3rd-lowest scoring output of the season, tying with a loss to UConn and better only than 60- and 62-point games in losses to St. Mary’s.

Expectations are that Friday night’s game will be higher scoring, however Purdue must find ways to limit Gonzaga’s possessions.

Go for Myles

After having to bide his time for much of his freshman season, impressive rookie Myles Colvin is back in the rotation for the Boilermakers during the NCAA Tournament.

The 6-5 guard had 3 rebounds and 3 assists during Purdue’s opening-round win against Grambling, perhaps showing that he can be effective on the floor even without scoring, then scoring 9 points on 3 3-pointers against Utah State in Round 2. That’s after a Big Ten season in which Colvin saw his minutes bounce around, including a 3-game stretch from late February to early March in which he didn’t see the floor at all. But Colvin brings value, particularly when he’s honed in on his defensive assignments, as he appears to be now. His athleticism — particularly when combined with the same traits redshirt freshman Camden Heide contributes — gives the Boilermakers’ 2nd unit a different, and challenging, look for opponents.

Against Gonzaga on Nov. 20, Colvin hit 2 of Purdue’s 4 triples in 12 minutes off the bench. It might need a similar output in Round 2 against the Bulldogs.

Stay relaxed

It sounds simple enough, right?

If Purdue is to advance to the Elite Eight, then the Final Four — which would be its first since 1980 — then the Boilermakers must play loose, as they appeared to do in beating up Grambling and Utah State last weekend. There’s little reason to think Purdue will revert to the form of years past, when the pressure of the moment affected them mentally; against Fairleigh Dickinson last season, and Saint Peter’s in the Sweet 16 the year before, the Boilermakers were as tight as could be, with players more hesitant to shoot than to try to go make a play.

Will that anxiety strike again? If so, it’ll be a shorter-than-desired stay in Detroit.