NC State figured to be playing an undefeated Purdue squad Sunday in Brooklyn, N.Y., but one heave changed that.
Rutgers shocked Purdue 70-68 on Thursday, thanks to a three-point heave from small forward Ron Harper Jr., who finished with 30 points, five three-pointers and 10 rebounds. Rutgers shot 7 of 14 from three-point land and defeated Purdue for the fourth straight time.
It remains to be seen if Purdue plays any different following the shocking loss, but the No. 1-ranked Boilermakers probably will lose their lofty ranking Monday.
NC State will play Purdue at 2 p.m. Sunday on the Big Ten Network.
Overview
Purdue topped both North Carolina and Villanova to win the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament on Nov. 20-21 in Uncasville, Conn., and then shredded Florida State 93-65 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Nov. 30.
Purdue opened the Big Ten slate with a 77-70 win over Iowa, but some weaknesses started to seep through Dec. 3. Iowa cut the lead to 72-70 with 2:33 left in the game, but the Hawkeyes then went scoreless the rest of the way.
The home challenge against Iowa, led to falling on the road at Rutgers on Thursday, courtesy of Ron Harper Jr.’s halfcourt buzzer-beater.
Rankings
Purdue is No. 6 in the NET rankings this season.
ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) has the Boilermakers currently ranked No. 4 overall, and NC State is No. 82.
KenPom.com has Purdue at No. 2, and NCSU checks in at No. 80.
RealtimeRPI.com has NC State ranked No. 111 in the country, and Purdue is No. 6.
Shooting
Purdue is shooting an impressive 51.7 percent from the field, 75.1 percent on free throws and 41.9 percent from three-point land this season. Four different players have made at least 14 three-pointers this season — Sasha Stefanovic, Brandon Newman, Jaden Ivey and Isaiah Thompson.
Senior wing Stefanovic is a long-time sniper from deep for the Boilermakers. He has made 164-of-410 three-pointers for 40 percent in his Purdue career, and he’s shooting a career-high 43.9 percent from beyond the arc this season.
Rebounding
Purdue rotates post players Zach Edey, Trevion Williams and Caleb Furst, and Mason Gillis can chip in if needed. The Boilermakers are plus-14.7 in rebounding margin.
Purdue is averaging 41.7 rebounds per game with Williams leading the way at 9.0 rebounds a contest. Edey is at 7.0 rebounds, Furst at 6.6 rebounds and Ivey chips in at 5.2 rebounds a contest.
Defense
Opponents are shooting 39.8 percent from the field, 30.8 percent on three-pointers and 72.6 percent from the free-throw line.
Edey leads the way with 12 blocks, and Ivey and Williams have a combined 26 steals for Purdue.
Depth
Having star center Williams coming off the bench is a game-changer, but he’s not alone off the bench. Sophomore wing Brandon Newman started 23 of 28 games last year. The 6-5, 200-pounder is averaging 8.6 points in 15.8 minutes off the bench this season, and is shooting 38.3 percent from three-point land. Newman has scored at least 13 points in four games.
Sophomore power forward Mason Gillis, senior wing Eric Hunter Jr. and sophomore small forward Ethan Morton round out the bench.
Star Watch
Jaden Ivey is the son of two former Notre Dame star athletes. His mother Niele Ivey is currently the women’s basketball coach for the Fighting Irish. His father, Javin Hunter, played wide receiver for Notre Dame, and then played in the NFL from 2002-06.
Rivals.com ranked Ivey the No. 79 overall player in the class of 2020, and he became a regional recruit. He picked Purdue over Notre Dame and Butler, and interest from Indiana.
Ivey started to hit his stride in Big Ten action last year, and by the NCAA Tournament, he was a force. He had 19 points and four three-pointers in a Big Ten tournament loss to Ohio State. He then added 26 points and another four three-pointes in a shocking 78-69 overtime loss against North Texas in the NCAA Tournament.
The 6-4, 195-pounder averaged 11.1 points and 3.3 rebounds in 24.2 minutes per game last year. He shot 39.9 percent from the field and 25.8 percent on three-pointers.
Ivey has improved across the board this season, and is an All-American candidate. He is averaging 15.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game this season. Ivey has improved to 52.6 percent from the field and 40.0 percent on three-pointers this season.
Ivey had 22 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in the 93-84 win over North Carolina on Nov. 20. He has scored in double figures in every game but one this one.
Likely Starters
NC State
PG — 3 Cam Hayes (6-3, 180, Soph., 11.6 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 2.3 apg)
SG — 0 Terquavion Smith (6-4, 160, Fr., 11.0 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.0 apg)
SF — 1 Dereon Seabron (6-7, 180, R-Soph., 19.9 ppg, 11.0 rpg, 2.7 apg, 2.3 spg)
PF — 4 Jericole Hellems (6-7, 200, Sr., 15.0 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1.3 spg)
C — 21 Ebenezer Dowuona (6-11, 225, Soph., 4.6 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 0.0 apg, 2.8 bpg)
Purdue
PG — 11 Isaiah Thompson (6-1, 160, Jr., 6.3 ppg, 1.1 rpg, 1.4 apg)
SG — 23 Jaden Ivey (6-4, 195, Soph., 15.8 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 3.6 apg, 1.7 spg)
G — 55 Sasha Stefanovic (6-5, 205, Sr., 11.9 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 4.2 apg)
PF — 3 Caleb Furst (6-10, 230, Fr., 7.3 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 0.7 apg)
C — 15 Zach Edey (7-4, 295, Soph., 15.2 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 0.9 apg, 1.3 bpg)
Numbers Of Note
1: Purdue center Trevion Williams is the only player since 2009-10 to average at least 12.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game in under 25 minutes per game. He is averaging 12.3 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 19.1 minutes per game.
157: Made free throws by Purdue this season, which contrasts opponents only attempting 113 free throws (making 82).
379: Previous The Associated Press polls where Purdue was ranked, but had never been No. 1 until this past week.
Game Within The Game: Purdue’s Trevion Williams vs. NCSU’s Ebenezer Dowuona
Purdue senior center Trevion Williams is an unlikely star big man.
Williams was overweight at a listed 6-8 and 290 pounds coming out of Detroit (Mich.) Henry Ford Academy in the class of 2018. Rivals.com ranked him No. 128 overall in the class, even at that weight.
Williams picked Purdue over offers from DePaul, Georgia Tech, Xavier, Illinois and Michigan State. He followed fellow wide-body big man Caleb “Biggie” Swanigan.
Williams, who is now listed at 6-10 and 255 pounds, blossomed his sophomore year at Purdue. He averaged 11.5 points and 7.6 rebounds in 21.5 minutes per game in 2019-20. He then improved to 15.5 points and 9.1 rebounds a contest last year.
Now, Williams is actually coming off the bench behind massive center Zach Edey. He still has found a way to have four double-doubles this season, and he has scored at least 20 points in three games.
Williams had 21 points and 11 rebounds in just 24 minutes against Rutgers, and he opened the Big Ten slate with 13 points and 18 boards vs. Iowa.
One of the players who backed up Williams in the past was Emmanuel Dowuona, who is the older brother of NC State’s Ebenezer Dowuona. Emmanuel has since transferred to Tennessee State, where he is playing this season.
Ebenezer Dowuona has 20 blocked shots over his last four games for NC State. The 6-11, 225-pounder had eight points, eight rebounds and four blocks in 31 minutes in the 65-48 win over Bethune-Cookman on Thursday. Dowuona has never faced a one-two punch of Williams and 7-4 Edey before.
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