Purdue returns three starters from last year’s NCAA Tournament runner-up squad, which went 34-5 overall and 17-3 in the Big Ten.

Purdue topped Grambling, Utah State, Gonzaga, Tennessee and NC State, in last year’s run to the title game. Star center Zach Edey scored 37 points, but still fell 75-60 to Connecticut to finish second.

Purdue and NC State will have a rematch Thursday in the Rady Children’s Invitational in San Diego, Calif. Edey had 20 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and two blocks to help defeat the Wolfpack 63-50 in the Final Four semifinals. Purdue shot 10 of 25 on three-pointers.

NCSU then senior guard D.J. Horne had 20 points and current senior shooting guard Jayden Taylor had 11 points in the loss.

Purdue is off to a 5-1 start with a win over Alabama, but a loss at Marquette. The Boilermakers will play NC State at 3 p.m. Thursday on FS1.

Purdue juniors Braden Smith, a point guard, shooting guard Fletcher Loyer and power forward Trey Kaufman-Renn return from last year’s starting lineup.

Purdue has lost freshman 7-4 center Daniel Jacobsen to injury, with 7-2 sophomore Will Berg of Sweden the next man up. Freshman wing Gicarri Harris, who is the son of former Purdue and NBA great Glenn Robinson, rounds out the starting lineup.

Rankings

Purdue finished No. 3 in the NET rankings last year, and NC State was No. 63.

ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) has the Boilermakers ranked No. 18 overall, and the Wolfpack are No. 45.

KenPom.com has Purdue at No. 14, and NCSU checks in at No. 55.

Shooting

Purdue is averaging 79.8 points per game, and shooting 50.5 percent from the field, 43.0 percent from three-point land and 70.5 percent from the free-throw line.

Purdue has four effective three-point shooters, but Loyer and key sophomore bench player Camden Heide, a stretch four, have been red-hot. Loyer is 13 of 21 from beyond the arc for 61.9 percent, and Heide is 8 of 13 for 61.5 percent. Sophomore Myles Colvin is shooting 42.9 percent from beyond the arc, and Smith is at 36.7 percent.

Rebounding

The Boilermakers are averaging 34.0 rebounds per game with a plus 1.7 rebounding margin, and have 47 offensive rebounds, led by Kaufman-Renn’s grabbing 14.

Kaufman-Renn is averaging 6.0 rebounds per game, and Smith is right behind at 5.3 boards a contest.

Defense

Purdue is allowing 67.7 points per game, with opponents shooting 41.4 percent from the field and 25.8 percent on three-pointers.

Purdue has 14 blocks and 31 steals, with Smith getting 13 steals in six games.

Depth

The aforementioned Heide and Colvin averaging at least 17 minutes a game, and senior center Caleb Furst, freshman center Raleigh Burgess and freshman wing C.J. Cox round out the rotation.

Colvin is the son of former Purdue and NFL pass-rusher Roosevelt Colvin, is averaging 6.8 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. Heide is averaging 6.2 points and 4.0 rebounds a contest.

Expectations were high when Purdue landed junior power forward Trey Kaufman-Renn in the class of 2021.

Kaufman-Renn was ranked No. 42 overall in the country by Rivals.com, he picked Purdue over Indiana, Virginia and North Carolina among others. Kaufman-Renn elected to redshirt during the 2021-22 season.

The 6-foot-9, 230-pounder from Sellersburg (Ind.) Silver Creek High got off to a slow start when he did take the court at Purdue. He averaged 4.5 points and 1.8 rebounds in 11.4 rebounds per game his redshirt freshman season. Last year, he joined the starting lineup, but averaged 6.4 points and 4.0 rebounds in 16.9 minutes per game. He split time with Mason Gillis, who is now at Duke.

Kaufman-Renn has been turned loose through the first six games, and is averaging 17.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game this season. He’s shooting 60.0 percent from the field and 62.5 percent at the free-throw line.

Kaufman-Renn has scored at least 14 points in every game, with 26 points, eight rebounds and four assists in the big 87-78 win over Alabama on Nov. 15. He also had 16 points, eight rebounds and three assists in the 76-58 loss at Marquette on Nov. 19.

Kaufman-Renn had seven points and four rebounds in 16 minutes in the win over NC State last year. He reached double digits in points in eight games, and he had 23 points and four rebounds in a 83-78 win vs. Illinois on Jan. 5, 2024.

NC State

PG — 12 Michael O’Connell (6-2, 195, Sr., 6.8 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 4.6 apg, 1.6 spg)

SG — 8 Jayden Taylor (6-4, 195, Sr., 13.8 pppg, 2.2 rpg, 1.4 apg, 2.4 spg)

G — 10 Marcus Hill (6-4, 185, Sr., 13.2 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.2 apg)

F — 3 Dontrez Styles (6-6, 210, Sr., 9.4 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 0.6 apg, 1.6 bpg)

C — 1 Brandon Huntley-Hatfield (6-10, 240, Sr., 11.6 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 1.0 apg)

Purdue

3 Braden Smith (6-0, 175, Jr., 12.2 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 9.3 apg, 2.2 spg)

2 Fletcher Loyer (6-5, 180, Jr., 14.5 ppg, 0.8 rpg, 2.2 apg)

24 Gicarri Harris (6-3, 200, Fr., 3.5 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 1.5 apg)

4 Trey Kaufman-Renn (6-9, 230, Jr., 17.7 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 2.7 apg)

44 Will Berg (7-2, 260, Soph., 4.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 0.8 apg)

4 Former NBA All-Star selections — Terry Dischinger (1963-65), Joe Barry Carroll (1987), Glenn Robinson (2000-01) and Brad Miller (2003-04).

35 NCAA Tournament appearances, including three Final Fours and six trips to the Elite Eight.

452 Career wins for Purdue coach Matt Painter, who has gone to 16 NCAA Tournaments between coaching the Boilermakers and Southern Illinois since 2003-04.

Purdue junior point guard Braden Smith has been the engine for the offense, but now he doesn’t have the ultimate player to pass the ball in 7-3 Zach Edey.

The 6-0, 175-pound Smith is averaging 12.2 points, 9.3 assists, 5.3 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game this season. He is shooting just 38.1 percent from the field, 36.7 percent on three-point shooting and 87.5 percent at the free-throw line.

Smith had 17 points, six rebounds and 10 assists in the 87-78 win over Alabama on Nov. 15. He had a season-high 22 points, nine rebounds, six assists and five steals in the 92-84 win over Yale.

In last year’s game against NC State, he struggled with three points, eight rebounds, six assists and five turnovers. Smith averaged 12.0 points, 5.8 rebounds and 7.5 assists per game last year. He shot 44.1 percent from the field and 43.1 percent on three-pointers.

The Rivals.com three-star prospect was an early commitment to Purdue coming out of Westfield (Ind.) High in the class of 2022.

Smith will battle NC State senior point guard Michael O’Connell, who was limited to 12 minutes in the Final Four. The 6-2, 195-pound O’Connell is averaging 6.8 points, 2.6 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game this season.

Follow on Twitter:

@NCStateRivals or @JaceyZembal

Subscribe for free on YouTube:

For Jacey Zembal or The Wolfpack Central

Like on Facebook:

www.facebook.com/TheWolfpackCentral

Follow on Instagram/Threads/Blue Sky:

www.instagram.com/thewolfpackcentral

threads.net/thewolfpackcentral

bsky.app/profile/ncstaterivals.bsky.social

ATTENTION SUBSCRIBERS: Our NETWORK-WIDE, all-access pass allows you to read every premium message board in the Rivals.com network as part of a bundled add-on to your subscription!

Subscribers can add the All-Access Pass or a 3-Site Bundle in your account profile, under the Subscriptions tab: HERE