BoilerUpload – Recreation Preview – #1 Purdue vs Iowa

The Boilermakers held onto the #1 rating regardless of shedding at IU on Saturday, and can now attempt to avenge that loss with a win towards the #2 offense within the nation based on Kenpom, the Iowa Hawkeyes.

The Hawkeyes are surging, winners of three straight, and are enjoying one of the best basketball of their season. They’ve gained three straight video games at residence towards Rutgers, Northwestern, and Illinois. They are going to now must journey for again to again video games. First, a go to to Mackey Enviornment to tackle one of the best crew within the Large Ten, Purdue, after which as much as Minnesota the place they are going to tackle the Large Ten’s worst crew on Sunday.

Purdue is coming off a disappointing loss to their rivals in Bloomington. It was their second straight loss in Meeting Corridor after successful 9 straight towards the Hoosiers earlier than final yr’s loss at IU. It’s simply Purdue’s second lack of the season.

This would be the solely matchup between these two groups within the common season. Purdue gained each common season matchups final yr earlier than shedding to Iowa within the Large Ten Event Title Recreation.

Zach Edey stays the favourite to win Nationwide Participant of the Yr and Large Ten Participant of the Yr.

In a traditional yr, Kris Murray can be getting loads of buzz as a possible participant of the yr. The Iowa star and brother to Keegan Murray, had one thing of a popping out celebration final yr in Iowa’s first sport towards Purdue when he scored a then career-high 23 factors. Seems, that sport was foreshadowing of what Murray was able to.

Murray is averaging over 20 factors a sport in his Junior season.

Whereas Iowa and Purdue have the identical offensive ranking on the prime of Kenpom’s ranking system for offenses, they might not be extra totally different in fashion. Purdue desires to play within the half courtroom and has the 331rd quickest adjusted tempo within the nation. Iowa desires to run and get out into house, and averages the sixteenth lowest common possession size.

Offensive dichotomy will reign supreme when Iowa’s quick paced offense meets Zach Edey and Purdue’s methodical half courtroom units.

Fran McCaffery is not any stranger to Mackey Enviornment at this level.

Not too long ago, that familiarity has not been variety to McCaffery. Purdue has gained the final 4 video games towards Iowa at Mackey Enviornment by a mixed 81 factors. He is aware of it will not get a lot simpler this yr, taking up the #1 crew within the nation.

“They don’t seem to be a mistake crew. They defend,” he stated on Tuesday forward of touring to West Lafayette. “They seem to be a very related group. You may see it. You have received two freshman guards which might be enjoying very nicely and you have some veterans off the bench accepting their roles and excelling of their roles.”

This touches on what Tom Izzo says is essentially the most spectacular a part of Coach Painter’s job this season, getting his gamers to purchase into their roles.

In fact, all of it stops and ends with the massive man inside for Purdue.

“He is turn out to be a lot better at enjoying in visitors,” McCaffery stated about how Edey has advanced from the primary time that he confronted him.

Iowa has leaned on their lone huge man, Filip Rebraca to take an expanded function within the offense and anchor the protection. The senior is enjoying ten minutes extra this season than final, and his effectivity and play has improved at each degree after seeing his minutes lower his junior yr.

Rebraca is at one thing of a bodily drawback towards the 7-4 Zach Edey. Cease if you happen to’ve heard that earlier than.

The undersized middle has been essential to Iowa’s success, and performed all however one minute the Hawkeyes two-point win towards Illinois on Saturday.

He strikes will on the courtroom and will have the quickness benefit towards Edey, however a possible Freudian slip on digicam underlies what could be the Hawkeyes greatest drawback towards Purdue.

“Then additionally simply working him,” Rebraca stated about how he may use Edey’s measurement towards him. Then he moved onto saying this, “If we get a board – I imply, when, not if.”

Whereas that is clearly a slip of the tongue, Edey has out rebounded a Large Ten crew at residence all on his personal this season when he went for 22 rebounds towards Minnesota. Minnesota offers up 31% of defensive rebound probabilities to the offense. Iowa is at 29%.

Edey is grabbing almost 23% of the Purdue misses when he is on the ground. He is one of the best offensive rebounder within the nation and Purdue is one of the best offensive rebounding crew within the nation. They’re grabbing 38.7% of their misses and are the fifteenth greatest defensive rebounding crew.

“They actually put you in binds with the way in which they will assault you in transition with all that ability,” Matt Painter stated on Wednesday, a day earlier than #1 Purdue hosts an Iowa crew on a three-game win streak.

Each Purdue and Iowa are environment friendly offenses, essentially the most environment friendly offenses within the nation based on KenPom, however the groups go about it in several methods. Purdue likes to be methodical, probing defenses, and working intelligent units to get their star Zach Edey as many clear appears to be like within the publish as attainable. The distinction between the 2 groups this season has been Purdue has been capable of defend whereas Iowa has proven a scarcity of curiosity or execution on that facet of the ball at instances this season.

That stated, Purdue simply had their worst defensive efficiency of the season. Particularly, they gave up 50 first half factors to Indiana after not giving up greater than 70 factors in a complete sport previous to. Purdue must be higher at residence to decelerate a high-powered and fast-running Iowa offense.

“You have gotta be prepared to attain the basketball as a result of you understand they’re,” Matt Painter stated. “And that is our aim. Our aim is to sluggish them down. I do not know if you happen to can finally cease them. You have gotta have the ability to sluggish them down and never allow them to steal factors.”

That was one thing Purdue did too steadily in IU by turning the ball over 11 instances within the first half, igniting IU’s offense with quick break factors.

He is not his brother, however Kris Murray has taken the function of Iowa’s greatest participant vacated by Keegan Murray going to the NBA and been simply as spectacular as Iowa’s lead scorer. Earlier than Kris Murray was this good for a full season, he was this good towards Purdue. Kris had a season-high final yr towards Purdue, scoring 23 factors in 24 minutes.

“Locking in on not simply on them individually however the form of actions they run as a crew,” Caleb Furst informed me Wednesday on his crew’s focus to restrict Kris Murray and his impression on the sport on the heels of drawing the powerful project of making an attempt to cease Trayce Jackson-Davis.

“It is the form of pace they play at,” Furst continued about what makes Iowa’s protection as a complete troublesome to defend.

Kris’s versatility could be his most advantageous ability with Iowa having only one conventional huge, Murray is a attainable candidate to slip down and play on the 5. Whereas the drawback towards Edey is clear, it may additionally pressure Matt Painter into tough defensive assignments on the different finish.

“We usually simply put him on the man we really feel is much less more likely to damage us however there’s nonetheless a draw back to it. Identical to there’s an upside on the different finish of the courtroom,” Matt Painter stated about matching Edey towards smaller lineups. “It is like enjoying playing cards, you have to flip the deck [in your favor.]”

This sport could be a fast one.

Purdue and Iowa share nice offense, but in addition they’re too of the least foul-prone groups within the nation. Purdue offers up the fewest quantity of free throw makes an attempt in comparison with discipline aim photographs tried towards them. Iowa is the third greatest at holding gamers off the free throw line.

Each offenses have been good however not nice at attending to the road, however potential free throw edges are apparent. Zach Edey is one of the best publish participant within the nation who could have 7 inches on his major defender.

He is drawing 6.7 fouls per 40 minutes, the twenty third greatest price within the nation.

For Iowa, Filip Rebraca attracts 5.1 fouls per 40 minutes on his finish and Tony Perkins is coming off a 16 free throw try sport the place he hit 15 of them towards Illinois.