No. 1 seed Purdue vs. No. 11 seed NC State (Saturday, 6:09 PM ET, TBS)
PURDUE’S STARTING LINEUP
G Braden Smith: The sophomore has transformed into one of the top point guards in the sport. Always overlooked, Smith plays with an enormous chip on his shoulder. He’s averaging 12.2 points, 7.5 assists and 5.8 rebounds while shooting a sizzling 44% from downtown and 79.7% from the charity stripe. Smith hasn’t finished at the rim at a high level, but he’s turned into an excellent pull-up jump shooter. Last season, he made eight pull-up, two-point jumpers. This year, he’s made 49. Oh, and his shot fake is terrific.
G Lance Jones: The Southern Illinois transfer has been the shot in the arm Purdue’s rotation so desperately needed. Jones is fearless. He leads Purdue with 76 3-pointers this season, and he’s shooting over 35% from 3-point range. His decision-making can be iffy at times, but he doesn’t play scared at all. That makes him stand out in those nitty-gritty moments. Jones is one of Purdue’s best individual defenders. Expect him to get plenty of time on star NC State guard DJ Horne.
G Fletcher Loyer: When Loyer gets hot, he is scorching. He torched both Tennessee and Arizona for 27 points. Toward the back half of Big Ten play, Loyer was mired in a rough slump, but he turned the corner in March. He’s scored in double-figures in six of the last nine games. He shoots 44% from 3-point range, but Loyer is very capable of weaving in and around Purdue’s screening actions, getting to his right hand and finishing with a barrage of floaters, runners or layups. Loyer is a sneaky-good post-entry passer, so making him uncomfortable is paramount.
F Trey Kaufman-Renn: Matt Painter is convinced that Kaufman-Renn (aka TKR) is going to be a beast next year after star center Zach Edey goes to the NBA. Kaufman-Renn, a 6-foot-9, 230-pound 4-man, plays between 15 and 20 minutes per night and brings insane effort on the glass. Kaufman-Renn is an outstanding offensive rebounder and he’s a capable back-to-the-basket scorer. NC State has not doubled the post at all most of the year. Kaufman-Renn would go right at Mohamed Diarra if he gets solo coverage on the block.
C Zach Edey: He’s Mount Edey. The soon-to-be, consensus, two-time National Player of the Year is the most dominant player in the sport. He’s averaging a ridiculous 25 points, 12.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.2 blocks. His conditioning is fantastic, and Purdue only allows a shot at the rim on 28% of the possessions when Edey is on the floor. Edey is a two-way monster. If he gets to his right hand, it’s over. NC State has to try and make him finish with his left to have any shot of slowing the big fella down.
TOP BENCH OPTIONS
F Mason Gillis: One of Purdue’s best lineups is when Gillis checks in for Kaufman-Renn alongside the four other starters. Gillis is shooting over 47% from 3-point range and he’s a hard-nosed, high-energy guy on the glass. Gillis has hit multiple treys in nine of the last 11 games. When Painter inserted Gillis for Kaufman-Renn against Tennessee, Purdue outscored the Vols by 14 points in 15 minutes. It’s been Purdue’s closing lineup down the stretch, and Gillis is the connect-the-dots piece of it.
G Camden Heide: The 6-foot-7, redshirt freshman wing is another rock-solid role player who has earned Painter’s trust. You cannot leave Heide open in the corner. 11 of his 18 3-pointers come from the corner, and he’s shooting 50% on corner treys. Heide is also an excellent cutter who doesn’t make many mistakes. He could get a turn on Casey Morsell if the NC State guard is feeling it from the midrange.
G Myles Colvin: The ballyhooed freshman is going to be a big piece for Purdue down the road, but he plays sparingly right now. He’s capable of popping off from downtown, and he can give Purdue a jolt in transition. He’s one heck of an eighth-man. He wouldn’t be an eighth-man for a lot of teams in the country.
