#purduebasketball

Welcome to the Big Ten Jaden Ivey! You could see the improvement as the season has gone on, but if you weren't familiar how about the big finish at Ohio State? After going 0-4 from deep in the game, and some ugly misses at that, Ivey had eight of Purdue's final 13 points including the game winner.

Ivey is fearless and already has coach Painter's confidence as he put the ball in Ivey's hand on the take out for the last possession. Painter has also said he's the most talented guard on the team already, as a true freshman. It's because the coach has already developed a player very similar to Ivey, Carsen Edwards.

Boogie was an unheralded recruit out of Texas that turned in to an all-time Purdue great, and I'll die on that hill. In case you forgot, turn on the 2018-19 March Madness tournament and watch him carry Purdue to half a second from the Final 4. Edwards is in the NBA and if you squint while watching the Boilers this year,you see a young Edwards back in West Lafayette.

Watching Carsen as a freshman made you pull your hair out at times with his aggressiveness. Edwards was able to get to the cup but seemed out of control a fair amount of times. He would take drives and deep shots that would lead to empty possessions and frustrate when you had Caleb Swanigan and an upperclassmen dominated team. However, he wasn't afraid of the moment and showed fans the ability to do something a lot of Purdue players can't, drive to the hoop and finish.

I would describe Ivey the exact same way. I've had my fair share of 'That was an ugly shot Jaden.' already this season, but that doesn't stop him. 0-4 from deep against Ohio State and he still shot the last two with conviction and had no doubt. He also drove to the hoop to create offense and made a tough backboard shot late in the 2nd half.

Carsen's freshman year he was third on the team in turnovers and Ivey is currently third on the team in turnovers, but Painter was smart not to turn off their aggressiveness. For his freshman season Carsen Edwards finished with 10.3 points per game, 38.2% from the field, 34% from 3 and 74.3% from the line. On the season Jaden Ivey is 6.4 points per game, 37.5% from the field, 18.5% from 3 and 55% from the foul line, though he has been in double digits in two games of the four game winning streak with 15 against the Buckeyes.

Edwards' final season had him at 24.3 points per game, 39.4% from the field, 35.5% from deep and 83.7% from the charity stripe. That was Edwards as the number one assignment for defenses, but the year before he went for 18.5 points per game, 45.8% from the field, 40.6% from 3 and 82.4% from the free throw line. Carsen came to West Lafayette as a better shooter but Ivey is bigger than Boogie.

In an unprecedented era of no sports Purdue sports stayed the same with some annual bad news. This week Matt Painter's squad lost a senior for the 2020 season when West Lafayette was shocked with the announcement of Matt Haarms entering the transfer portal, leaving the Boilers without one of their most experienced players for next season.

Before Haarm's transfer the logjam was well noted with the full 13 scholarships set to be used in the 2020 season. I speculated we could see a transfer but I expected it to be rarely used center Emmanuel Dowuona or forward Aaron Wheeler who had a forgettable sophomore season. Instead Painter will be with out the one the best blockers in Boilermaker history and a key rotation piece.

While shocking the decision makes sense for the seven foot Dutchman. Haarms lost his starting spot to Trevion Williams and was likely to overtake him after Williams showed his ability to take over games offensively. Dowuona is on the roster and Zach Edey is another incoming 7'3” center for 2020. There was depth, not that Haarms wouldn't get minutes, but the will be senior wants to to be featured for scouts in his last season to try and make the jump to the NBA.

The loss of Haarms really encapsulates what the year was like for the Purdue Boilermakers. A transition year for the roster with a tough schedule was really up and down and it was hard to see who the new alphas would after Carsen Edwards and Ryan Cline left West Lafayette. Eric Hunter and Williams seemed to establish themselves as the two heads of the offensive task, but Sasha Stefanovic was inconsistent away from home, Nojel Eastern lost his offensive game and Wheeler was a non-threat. Now it'll be back to the drawing board for the ball coach with the five combined freshmen and redshirt freshmen to figure out who will contribute.

Losing a senior who has been a solid contributor is never a good thing but Matt Painter has 12 scholarship players and will return six other major contributors. There's depth at center but behind Williams, who has struggled with fouls in games, is now untested as opposed to unquestioned what will be done.

Forward Mason Gillis and guard Brandon Newman come off their redshirt years with Edey and guards Ethan Morton and Jaden Ivey joining the mix. Edey seemed like a forgone conclusion to sit out a year with potentially one of the guards, but now Edey will definitely have a chance to earn back up minutes.

With Stefanovic, Eastern, Hunter and Thompson in place the back court is quite crowded, granted it will likely be a three guard, forward and center starting lineup for Painter. Will there be minutes for the three freshmen to see time? I like Newman and Morton to be part of a five player rotation for 2020.

The real spot to watch is forward with Wheeler really needing a bounce back season and hopes the redshirt year will have Gillis ready to step it up should Wheeler be unable to shake his funk. With Evan Boudreaux and Haarms Painter had the flexibility to put them at forward with a center in 2020 the coach will have three true centers just putting more pressure on the two forwards to really step up.

It seemed pretty likely Purdue wasn't going to get in to March Madness but there were some highs to build on. Several new faces were asked to step up in should be in position to take the reigns for the 2020 and get back to the tournament. However, being a Purdue fan is being a cynic. For 2021 Painter got a big recruit in Caleb Furst, who should unquestionably walk in to the starting lineup, but you gotta worry a bit about the effect this next season could have on his recruitment.

As Purdue gets ready for the Big Ten tournament and a likely NIT berth it'll be a chance to evaluate the roster for 2020. Senior night at Mackey said thank you and goodbye to scholarship grad transfers Evan Boudreaux and Jahaad Proctor. Seven other players saw time with Emmanuel Dowuona not playing and freshman Brandon Newman and Mason Gillis redshirting; that's ten players with three freshmen in the 2020 class.

That's the full roster of 13 scholarships used and a potential roster coach for Matt Painter. The coach has been very active in the transfer market with fair success the last few seasons but now will have to juggle playing time and who to redshirt. Having that much of the roster come back will be big as the experience should lead to a bounce back season BUT it will be a test for Painter to juggle.

At this point I don't believe there will be any early departures to the NBA draft. Nojel Eastern and Matt Haarms have tested the waters but seem unlikely to leave before their senior seasons. They're locks for minutes along with Eric Hunter, Sasha Stefanovic and Trevion Williams. Isaiah Thompson has seen minutes as a true freshman this season, including some clutch minutes and seems like a replacement for Proctor.

That's six rotation spots taken without mentioning Aaron Wheeler. He was a preseason pick to step up in the absence of Carsen Edwards and Ryan Cline but has had a very forgetful season. Wheeler was taken out of the starting lineup and saw his minutes continually fall. Wheeler finished the regular season at 17.8 minutes per game, 3.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, shooting 25.7% from the field and 21.6% from 3. With Boudreaux graduating there's a starting spot open at power forward but can Wheeler shake off his rough sophomore season?

Could Aaron Wheeler seek out a change of scenery? His play cost him minutes but Painter still played him as he tried to shake off the rough season, so will he show in the preseason he can step up? Wheeler and, more likely, Dowuona are the big ones to watch to potentially transfer out of West Lafayette. With Haarms and Williams back the center minutes are taken and that will likely have incoming 7'3” center Zach Edey redshirt.

Wheeler will likely have plenty of chances to take over the starting spot with the back ups being Mason Gillis and possibly Brandon Newman with their height. The real logjam is at guard. Eastern, Hunter, Sasha and Thompson all saw minutes this season with Newman redshirting and 4* Ethan Morton and Jaden Ivey coming in. Will they take a redshirt like fellow 4* Newman and Gillis did, though Gillis was coming off an injury?

In the college sports landscape when it comes to post season births the argument of quality of schedule versus number of wins is at constant debate. The Purdue Boilermakers will find themselves embroiled in this debate as the Big Ten tournament gets started. Did they get enough wins in a very tough schedule?

Bracketology has Purdue a high seed for the NIT Tournament after the loss at home to Rutgers. Predictions for them to get in to March Madness is to probably win the whole Big Ten tournament. Starting Thursday the Boilermakers take on #19 Ohio State with the winner getting #9 Michigan State on Friday. Winning both games would be a huge boost but still possibly not enough.

Looking at Painter's squad resume the Boilers are 5-9 in Quad 1, 3-5 in Quad 2, 3-0 in Quad 3 and 5-1 in Quad 4. Purdue swept Iowa, crushed Michigan State and Virginia and beat a ranked VCU team. The problem was the road games in the conference and missing a few opportunities in non-conference. Texas, at Marquette, Florida State, both Illinois games, Penn State, Rutgers and the big one was at Nebraska. Purdue is (16-15, 9-11) but just one more win in and out of conference would make them (18-13, 10-10) and probably still on the bubble but the Boilers were in the picture before the Rutgers game and would have more solid ground to stand on with just two more wins.

The argument for the Boilermakers has been a consistently tough schedule where the transitioning team was constantly challenged, but did they win enough? The argument of tougher schedule versus wins is in their own conference. Indiana is a projected 10 seed for March Madness as long as they don't blow it against a Nebraska team waving the white flag.

The Hoosiers are (19-12, 9-11) 2-9 in Quad 1, 6-2 Quad 2, 3-1 Quad 3 and 8-0 in Quad 4. Reviews of the IU season is they fell short in signature wins but have gotten help from other bubble teams stepping forward. In the non-conference they beat Florida State, not to be overlooked, Connecticut and Notre Dame but lost to Arkansas. Those are the only four games of note that stand out in a weak non-conference, as proven by their 11-1 Quad 3 and 4 wins. The Hoosiers took care of business and held serve in the Big Ten.

As a Purdue fan Painter's squad deserves credit for a tough schedule but the transitioning team couldn't hold up to the rigors of the season. It is even more frustrating when the Boilermakers swept IU that played a weak non-conference schedule but they took care of business. Credit to Archie Miller realizing his team needed the boosts of some easier wins in the non-conference, especially for a Big Ten Conference that looks like it'll get ten teams in to the dance.

It has been an up and down season for the Purdue Boilermakers, look no further then the absolute drubbing they handed to Iowa 104-68 against the #17 Hawkeyes. The Boilers were scorching from long range going 19-34 from deep. Matt Painter's squad scored 61 points in the first half, but Purdue has been an entirely different team away from Mackey.

The win moves Purdue to 13-10, 6-6 in the Big Ten and 8th in the conference. CBS bracketology doesn't have the Boilers in the field and ESPN has Purdue as an 11th seed in the West in the play-in game with Memphis. These latest projections were before the Iowa game, but it's likely Matt Painter's squad needs to do some more to solidify another March Madness appearance.

Coming in to the Iowa game Purdue was 3-7 In Quad 1 games (top 30 at home, top 50 on a neutral court and top 75 on the road), 2-2 in Quad 2 (31-75 at home, 51-100 neutral court and 76-135 away), 4-1 in Quad 3 (76-100, 101-200 and 136-240) and 3-0 in Quad 4. The Boilers put themselves behind the eight ball in the non conference with the losses to Texas, Marquette (receiving votes), Florida State (now 8) and Butler (now 19). Painter's squad did beat VCU and crush Virginia but neither is ranked this week.

Not fairing better in non-conference hurt the Boilermakers with how tough the Big Ten has been this season. It has been next to impossible to win on the road in conference this season, but it has also meant plenty of chances to improve the resume. However, Matt Painter's team has been up and down. Mackey has been kind to the black and gold, only losing to Illinois and crushing #8 Michigan State (now 16) 71-42, but they've lost to Nebraska, Rutgers, Michigan, Maryland and Illinois on the road. Purdue's only road Big Ten win at Northwestern. That won't cut it.

The Boilermakers absolutely needed the Iowa win and did so in resounding fashion, but have plenty of work to do if they want to see themselves in the brackets in March. The 20 win mark has always been a de facto check mark for the power conference teams and they have 13 wins with 8 regular season games left. Hopefully the hot shooting performance tonight against the Hawkeyes can carry over.

What's left on the Purdue schedule is @IU, #22 Penn State, @OSU, @Wisky, Michigan, IU, @Iowa and Rutgers. Indiana, Ohio State and Michigan are behind Purdue in the current Big Ten standings but we've seen how tough it has been for teams to win on the road. Painter can't afford to lose a home game which would be four more wins for 17, including another top 25 win, but the Boilers are going to have to steal some road games.

Indiana is a big rivalry game this Saturday. The Hoosiers have lost their last three, two against ranked teams, but have beaten OSU and MSU at home. The Badgers really struggled to start the season but have bounced back in conference play, beating Maryland, OSU and PSU. The Buckeyes had a stretch where they lost 6 of 7 but have since won three in a row, including the big one at Michigan.

None of the road games will be a gimmie, and you can be sure the Hawkeyes will want revenge after getting shot out of the gym tonight. However, IU, OSU and Wisky have all had bad stretches. They're as desperate as Purdue are to try and lock up their own post season position. The fan in me wants to say Purdue can run the table but that seems unlikely. Going 6-2 would really go a long way to solidify their chances and would vault them in to the top half of the Big Ten final standings.

The game Saturday at IU will be a big tell for what will happen in the last eight games. If Purdue wins they should be able to pull out 6 of their last 8, but they've only beaten Northwestern on the road in conference to this point. I'd pencil in at Iowa for a loss and I think the Buckeyes defend home court, so can Painter defend Mackey, sweep IU and beat the Badgers in Madison.

In the ESPN brackets Wisconsin is an 8 seed, Penn State a 6 and Illinois a 7 in the South bracket; Ohio State an 8 and Maryland a 3 in the East; Iowa a 5, Michigan State a 3 and IU a 10 in Midwest; Michigan an 8, Rutgers a 7 and Purdue an 11 in the West. 11 teams projected in is a tough conference but means plenty of chances to improve the resume.

College basketball is underway and there have already been some upsets, see Kentucky losing at home to Evansville. While you don't want to see your team lose any of those games but in college basketball it's important to remember there are bad loses. Ever since quadrants were introduced it became a new way to judge wins and loses.

Purdue is one of those young teams and that was on display late in the Texas game. There was a bad call late that could have changed the outcome but the Boilers struggled down the stretch and let the game get away to an unranked, albeit a likely solid, Longhorns team. This team will need to grow up with some tough non conference games.

It's not a surprise the Boilermakers have to figure something out after losing a ton of their offense in Carsen Edwards and Ryan Cline. There were solid contributors on the Elite 8 team from last year but it's a new year and that means a new lead scorer needs to step up, though this team will likely do it together, but when push comes to shove who's going to take the shot in crunch time?

Jahaad Proctor was a great get for Painter as the grad transfer brings experience and it has shown early. Proctor is leading the team with 19 points a game and shooting 57% from the field. He has been solid from long range but that isn't his game. T hat's why his free throw percentage is a bit of a head scratcher. As a player that cuts to the rim it's important to make teams pay when you get sent to the charity stripe.

Behind him an early favorite has to be Aaron Wheeler. He had flashes in the NCAA run and has the looks of a future NBA player. He's averaging 7 points and 8 boards a game and will need to step up as a mismatch at the power forward spot. Next to him is Matt Haarms whose energy is just as big a factor as his production on the court. Purdue has put together quite the history of producing big men and Haarms is up next. Haarms is averaging 12.5 points and 4 blocks a game, but only 4.5 rebounds a game. The Boilers need Haarms and Wheeler to produce down low to find shots for shooters.

Sasha Stefanovic missed the first game but introduced himself in a big way against Texas. Another thing Painter's squads have had is a productive guard that is a sniper. Stefanovic poured in 14 points and shot over 50% from three. That's going to be key to balance out the post and provide space for the point guards. You could see it last year, and it's big shoes to fill, but Sasha looks like he'll step right in for Cline.

There's no way any Purdue fan can't like Nojel Eastern. He's tough, grimy and makes all those plays that Chris Kramer did that can defensively change the game and momentum. Eastern is dealing with injuries and not at 100% but his work on his shot has shown already. Kramer had an ability to do just enough on offense and make teams pay at the line and that's what Eastern needs to while leading this offense. He's a Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year candidate and it'll be on him to provide a steady hand for this offense.

Eric Hunter is the other youngin that is stepping up and has delivered thus far, averaging 13.5 PPG game and is tied for the team lead in Assists per game but only at 3.5. He has the speed that you saw with Carsen Edwards when he first put on the black and old gold, albeit reckless at times, but the ball in his hands can move quick. On the fast break he ought to be devastating for the season and has already shown he can score.

Isaiah Thompson is the only freshmen and new face seeing minutes, minus Proctor as the grad transfer, so while this team is still young all of them were part of the Elite 8 run last year. Painter has set the standard, and continued on the Purdue tradition, of being a top team no matter what. Last year the teams wasn't expected to win but they still hung up their 24th Big Ten Championship banner. Even with a young team there's no reason not to expect another solid team and NCAA Tournament birth.

While the Boilermakers lost at home to Texas, and believe me it stunk to watch it slip away, last year's team started out 6-5 before figuring it out in conference. Purdue has plenty of very winnable games in the non conference to work on things but also has some tough teams to grow up against. Tonight is at Marquette in the Gavitt Tipoff, VCU and either Tennessee or Florida State for the Emerald Coast Classic, Virginia for the Big Ten/ACC Challenge and Butler in the Crossroads Classic. Right there is another two or three potentially ranked teams before another Big Ten conference slate.

It's a familiar season as Purdue fan, riding high only to fall short and have that pit in your stomach. It felt like that when the Boilermakers lost at Minnesota and then again to the Golden Gophers in the Big Ten Tournament. Heck, because of that and the tough potential draw against Villanova in round two I picked Purdue for only one win in the brackets. Tonight felt like that, the Boilers were up 5 with 3 seconds left but the game went to overtime and Painter's squad couldn't close it out.

It's an all too familiar feeling for the black and gold faithful before you remember what the predictions were for this season. Behind Carsen Edwards this team was supposed to be competitive and get to March, but maybe just the Sweet 16. Instead they won a share of the Big Ten title and made it to the Elite 8 for the first time in Painter's tenure, breaking through for the first time since 2000. They were right on the door step for their first Final 4 in over 30 years, something Gene Keady couldn't even do.

Four starting seniors left the program, one of the most distinguished classes in Purdue history and yet Painter still put together a team that almost made it to the final weekend. He earned Big Ten coach of the year and then some. Matt Painter built a complimentary roster to get that far and showed how he has evolved. At the beginning of the decade Purdue found itself at the bottom of the Big Ten because of failed ability to put a team together. That has changed as the Boilers have gone on a stretch of historical success inside the conference.

Now let's not kid ourselves, C Boogie just went on a historical fun in the tournament to seal his place of one of the greatest to wear the black and gold. Just as last year Painter must replace a lot of muscle from the lineup with Cline and Eifert graduating and Edwards likely leaving (though faithful can hold out hope he comes back for one more run). Now, it's easier to replace Haarms, Mathias, Thompson and Vince when you have Carsen coming back, but Purdue still did it.

Matt Haarms had a big end of the season and March and both Aaron Wheeler and Eric Hunter played like juniors instead of freshman on the run to the Elite 8. Nojel Eastern is a defensive player of the year candidate as long as he suits up in West Lafayette. Sasha Stefanovic looks like the next in the mold of Cline, Mathias, Smith as another reliable shooter than does everything fairly well. Fresh off a red shirt year sitting out a year for injury Trevion Williams was key in that run after the new year before seemingly hitting a wall. Williams played better in March and has to give Purdue faithful hope for a big improvement in year two.

Four star center Emmanuel Dowuona also red shirted this year and will join four start guard Brandon Newsman  and three star forward Mason Gillis and three star guard Isaiah Thompson. This team will be incredibly young but just gained a bunch of experience in the conference regular season and run to the Elite 8. Who will step up for all the missing points next season?