Purdue has been on a mission to reach the Final Four after losing 63-58 to No. 16-seed Fairleigh Dickinson in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last year.
Star center Zach Edey was able to get his numbers, but the rest of the team went 12 of 42 from the field and 5 of 26 on three-pointers.
Purdue rolled through the regular season in going 29-4 overall and 17-3 in the Big Ten this season. The losses came at Northwestern, at Nebraska, at Ohio State and vs. Wisconsin in the Big Ten Tournament.
The NCAA Tournament has brought victories over Grambling State, Utah State, Graham Ike and Tennessee. Purdue will play NC State at 6:09 p.m. Saturday on CBS in Glendale, Ariz.
Overview
Everything revolves around Edey, but sophomore point guard Branden Smith makes sure that is the case.
Smith and sophomores Fletcher Loyer, a wing, and power forward Trey Kaufman-Renn were part of the youth movement last year. Southern Illinois transfer Lance Jones was brought in to bring some experience on the wing. All five starters have started all 37 games together.
Rankings
Purdue is No. 3 in the NET rankings, and NC State is No. 63.
ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) has the Boilermakers ranked No. 3 overall, and the Wolfpack are No. 41.
KenPom.com has Purdue at No. 3, and NCSU checks in at No. 43.
Shooting
Purdue is averaging 83.5 points per game, and shooting 49.1 percent from the field, 40.6 percent on three-pointers and 71.7 percent from the free-throw line.
Purdue surrounds Edey with three-point shooters, with sixth-man Mason Gillis making 47.5 percent, Loyer is at 44.1 percent and Smith at 43.9 percent from beyond the arc.
Rebounding
The Boilermakers are averaging 40.8 rebounds per game, with 401 on the offensive boards and a plus-11.6 rebounding margin.
Edey averages 12.2 rebounds per game, with Smith the point guard second on the team with 5.8 a contest. Edey has 174 offensive rebounds.
Defense
Purdue is allowing 69.4 points per game, with opponents shooting 41.7 percent from the field and 31.7 percent on three-pointers.
Edey has 80 blocks and Smith has 57 steals, with Jones chipping in 49 steals this season.
Depth
Senior power forward Mason Gillis has started in the past and plays a key role for the Boilermakers. Gillis is averaging 6.6 points and 3.9 rebounds in 21.0 minutes per game. He is a career 40.8 percent three-point shooter (148 of 363) and has started 63 of 130 games he has played in.
Freshman forward Camden Heide, freshman wing Myles Colvin, senior wing Ethan Morton and junior center Caleb Furst have been in the rotation this season. Of that group, Colvin was able to score nine points and hit three three-pointers in the tourney win over Utah State. He’s the son of former Purdue and NFL defensive end Roosevelt Colvin.
Star Watch
NC State has played some good centers this season, but nothing like Purdue senior center Zach Edey.
The Wolfpack played a young Edey, who had nine points, seven rebounds and two blocks in a 82-72 overtime win Dec. 12, 2021, in New York City. Four players for Purdue and two from NC State remain from that contest.
Edey will have a much larger role, and he’s likely to sweep all the national player of the year awards. He’s averaging 25.0 points, 12.2 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game this season. He’s made 62.4 percent of his attempts and 71.0 percent at the free-throw line. Edey has shot 10-plus free-throw attempts in 23 games this season.
Edey is coming off having 40 points, 16 rebounds and played 39 of 40 minutes in a 72-66 win over Tennessee last Sunday. He went a staggering 14 of 22 at the free-throw line.
The Canadian played at prep powerhouse IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., in the class of 2020. He picked Purdue over offers from Baylor, Minnesota, Santa Clara, Tulane and Western Kentucky.
Likely Starters
NC State
PG — 12 Michael O'Connell (6-2, 195, Sr., 5.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.2 apg)
SG — 0 DJ Horne (6-1, 175, R-Sr., 16.8 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.3 spg)
G — 14 Casey Morsell (6-3, 200, R-Sr., 11.4 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1.1 spg)
PF — 23 Mohamed Diarra (6-10, 215, Jr., 6.4 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 0.6 apg, 1.0 bpg)
C — 30 D.J. Burns (6-9, 275, R-Sr., 13.0 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.8 apg)
Purdue
PG — 3 Braden Smith (6-0, 175, Soph., 12.2 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 7.5 apg, 1.5 spg)
SG — 2 Fletcher Loyer (6-4, 180, Sr., 10.6 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 2.0 apg)
G — 55 Lance Jones (6-1, 200, Sr., 11.8 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.3 spg)
PF — 4 Trey Kaufman-Renn (6-9, 230, R-Soph., 6.4 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.0 apg)
C — 15 Zach Edey (7-4, 300, Sr., 25.0 ppg, 12.2 rpg, 2.0 apg, 2.2 bpg)
Numbers Of Note
2 Players in NCAA history — Purdue’s Zach Edey and Navy’s David Robinson — with 2,400 career points, 1,200 career rebounds, 200 career blocks and are shooting over 60 percent from the field.
15 NCAA Tournament appearances for Purdue coach Matt Painter since he was hired in 2005-06. His previous best finish was reaching the Elite Eight in 2018-19, and he went to the Sweet 16 five times.
44 Years since Purdue last played in the Final Four, falling 67-62 to UCLA and then coach Larry Brown and star player Kiki Vandeweghe, who had 24 points. Keith Edmonson had 23 points and Joe Barry Carroll had 17 in the loss.
Game Within The Game: Purdue's Fletcher Loyer vs. NC State's Casey Morsell
Purdue sophomore wing Fletcher Loyer brings added juice when he’s shooting the ball well.
Loyer has had some big games this season, where he has gone 5 of 9 from three-point land for 27 points in a 92-84 win vs. Arizona on Dec. 16. He also went for 27 points, six rebounds and three three-pointers in a 71-67 victory against Tennessee in the regular season Nov. 21.
Loyer has also had games where he struggled, such as scoring two points on 0 of 6 shooting against Gonzaga in a 73-62 win Nov. 20, or missing both shot in a 96-68 win over Rutgers on Feb. 22. Loyer has been held to single digits in 17 games this season.
Loyer has gone a combined 16 of 32 from the field and 6 of 13 on three-pointers for 47 points in four NCAA Tournament games.
The 6-4, 180-pounder was ranked No. 133 overall in the class of 2022 by Rivals.com. He picked Purdue over Notre Dame, Michigan, Utah, Missouri and Nebraska. He is the younger brother of former Michigan State and Davidson point guard Foster Loyer, who had 1,197 career points in 146 games played.
NC State could play different guys on Fletcher Loyer, and it will show the pecking order of importance in the game plan. If NCSU senior wing Casey Morsell is on Loyer, it will show the importance. Morsell could also end up on sophomore point guard Braden Smith.
Morsell is averaging 11.4 points per game this season. He’s gone 15 of 38 from the field for 42 points in four NCAA Tournament games.
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