Lee: Purdue won the regular season title in the Big 10. What are their strengths and how were they able win the league?
Travis: This year Purdue was an extremely versatile team. When playing at its best, the offense could be unstoppable. It helps a lot to have the Big Ten Player of the Year and National Player of the Year candidate Caleb Swanigan. Caleb averaged a double-double, set the school single-season record for rebounds, and generally was a force on both ends of the floor. While his defense and turnovers are weaknesses in his game, he is a rebounding machine and relentless worker. Four times this season he had a game of at least 20 points and 20 rebounds. With one more double-double I believe he ties a national record for most in a season.
Down low with him we have 7’2” Isaac Haas, who is simply a physically overpowering presence. He has started at times, but he has done his best work off the bench. He is virtually unstoppable on the low block in most one-on-one situations.
What really made Purdue dangerous was its three-point shooting prowess. Swanigan can step out and hit the three (43.1%). Vince Edwards, Dakota Mathias, and Ryan Cline are all over 40% from long for the season and P.J. Thompson is just under it. Lately the threes haven’t been falling, but Purdue is due to get hot again. Purdue is at its best when ball movement around the perimeter finds the open shooter or when Haas and Swanigan are passing well out of the double-team to find the open man.
Lee: I noticed that despite Purdue's size they are not a strong shot blocking team. Why are their shot blocking numbers so low? Are they able to protect the rim on a consistent basis?
Travis: Our best rim protector, A.J. Hammons, graduated last season as the Big Ten’s Defensive Player of the Year. Haas just does not have the natural shot blocking instincts as he did. Swanigan is getting better, but he is not quite as quick as he needs to be. Purdue more tends to play stingy man-to-man defense on the perimeter and influence shots more than block them.
Lee: Michigan is a team that has given Purdue difficulties this season. How has Michigan been able to beat them and what is it about the Wolverines that make them a difficult matchup?
Travis: Mo Wagner and D.J. Wilson were bigs that could draw Haas and Swanigan away from the basket. Haas is not a perimeter defender, and since Wilson and Wagner are good three-point shooters they took full advantage by pulling him away from the basket. That opened a lot of things up offensively. Wagner went off in the game in Ann Arbor, while it was Wilson that did most of the damage in the Big Ten Tournament. Even then, Purdue had adjusted well for Wagner and was leading by two with 18 seconds left in regulation. Had PJ Thompson just knocked down his free throws (he missed the front end of a 1 and 1 with 18 seconds left) Purdue likely wins the game.
Lee: When Purdue is playing well and up to their potential what do they do well? Conversely, when they struggle where do they typically go wrong?
Travis: As mentioned above, when Purdue is hitting threes it opens things up for Swanigan and Haas to go one-on-one, which are battles they are going to win. At that point you have to pick what is going to hurt you: a rain of threes or Haas and Swanigan pounding it inside.
When Purdue is not hitting well, it is turning it over in the post against the double-team, or guards can exploit our defense with quickness we are in trouble. Swanigan and Haas will turn the ball over against the double team, and sometimes it can make the offense go completely stagnant.
Lee: Now that you have seen the bracket, how far do you think this Purdue team can go in the tourney?
Travis: The goal has always been the Final Four and I think it can be done. I think Villanova is the best team in the country and we were a missed three-pointer at the buzzer from taking them to overtime in the second game of the season. This team has proven it can play with anyone in America and when it is on, the offense can be ruthlessly efficient. I would love a second chance at Louisville too, because overall, that might have been Purdue’s worst game of the year. We still made it competitive in the final minutes despite playing like absolute crap for 35 minutes.
That said, if the shots aren’t falling, turnovers become an issue, and we keep giving up offensive rebounds like we have in the last few games, we might not make it past Thursday night. There is also our history at stake. I have seen a lot of Purdue teams underachieve in March compared to what they showed the rest of the year. Our last three Tournament games (2016 Little Rock, 2015 Cincinnati, and 2012 Kansas) we have had the lead and the basketball inside the last minute with a chance to put it away. We lost all three. We have won some tight games this year. At Maryland was our best example of stealing one. We have also blown it late, and we get tight at the end of tournament games.
Lee: There has been a lot of talk about how this was a down year for the Big 10. Do you think that point of view is valid or is it a result of a marquee program like Michigan State having a down year?
Travis: I think it is a little of both. The league did not fare well outside of the conference with only Purdue (over Notre Dame), Michigan State (over Wichita State), and Indiana (over North Carolina and Kansas) beating teams that finished in the top 25. Indiana completely imploded in conference play and Wisconsin had an awful second half of the Big Ten season. I do think the bottom of the league got better though and it was more even than anything. Purdue dropped a game at Nebraska, who had the worst overall record. Rutgers was even feisty. In the end, there were 10 teams that had semi-legitimate at large chances a week ago at this time. There wasn’t a list of titans at the top like in 2013, but overall he league was very competitive.
I hope everyone enjoyed this little Q& A and I want to thank Travis for the opportunity. I will post my game preview sometime tomorrow.
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