Game 5 Preview: #2 Purdue vs #7 Tennessee at the Maui Invitational
HONOLULU — Second-ranked Purdue scored a major win Monday afternoon over Gonzaga, advancing in the résumé-boosting winner’s bracket at the Maui Invitational.
Its reward: A matchup with No. 7 Tennessee, as these two programs continue something of a serendipidous relationship, a string of games full of thrillers. Most recently, the Vols bested Purdue in overtime at the Battle 4 Atlantis in 2017, then the Boilermakers won an all-time-great OT game in the 2019 NCAA Tournament in Louisville, the Ryan Cline Game. Way back, Purdue won a one-point game vs. Tennessee in 2009.
DETAILS: Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023 | 8 p.m. ET | TV: ESPN (Dan Shuman, Jay Bilas, Angel Gray) | Radio: Purdue Radio Network
PURDUE (4-0): ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATS
TENNESSEE (4-0): ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATS
THREE THINGS ABOUT PURDUE
• Purdue hasn’t lost a game in November since the COVID year, a 2020 loss to Clemson in Florida as part of what was supposed to be the Cancun Challenge. The win streak stands at 18.
• It’s too early for this stuff to be predictive over the whole season, but Purdue’s currently third nationally in offensive efficiency per KenPom, and fifth on defense.
• Zach Edey is averaging three-and-a-half blocked shots per game through four contests and shooting 83 percent at the foul line on an average of 10 attempts per game.
• Myles Colvin is 9-of-14 from three to open his college career.
• Purdue opponents have grabbed 12 or more offensive rebounds in three of four games this season. The Boilermakers have to do a better job on the defensive glass, the glass, period.
• Gonzaga got 19 points off Purdue’s 14 turnovers, the majority of which were of the dreaded live-ball variety. That was Purdue’s defensive issue more than anything vs. the Bulldogs.
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• Braden Smith‘s efficiency and competitive impact have been off the charts this season. He’s shooting 56 percent, 46 percent from three, forcing very little, and carrying a 3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio on high-volume usage. He’s rebounding, being disruptive on D — nine steals, five against Gonzaga — and everything else you could want in a point guard.
A FEW THINGS ABOUT THIS GAME
• Known for its toughness and defense, Tennessee will be physical and disruptive and athletic. This is a game where Purdue will be happy to have played that Arkansas exhibition.
• Dalton Knecht is Tennessee’s star, a 6-foot-6 multi-level scorer who’s averaging 19 points per game and will be Purdue’s trickiest matchup of the season to date. Who guards him?
He combines with Jordan-Josiah James to give the Vols two big, versatile guards who can leverage their size against smaller backups and really hit the glass.
• Jonas Aidoo, who’s 6-foot-11, 240 pounds, may be the best big Zach Edey has seen on the young season. He went for 14 and 11 vs. Syracuse.
| REBOUNDING | TURNOVERS | EARLY THREES |
| This category should be a strength for Purdue against just about everyone, but the Boilermakers have been vulnerable. It was fortunate Gonzaga didn’t make any shots off second and third chances in the second half. But thisshould be a classic play-hard sort of mission for Purdue. | Tennessee is going to be really, really disruptive, physical and aggressive. Purdue was too loose with the ball against Gonzaga, struggling to make clean catches at times. The live-ball giveaways are land mines for Purdue. They are the path to defeat. | We might just write this every game this season. But it’s just so important for Purdue to not only make threes to keep defenses honest but to do it early on to to do it early on to send opponents warning shots. |
GOLDANDBLACK.COM PREDICTION: PURDUE 74, TENNESSEE 68
Purdue hasn’t really had to play in a slugfest yet. This might be it. The little things loom really large in this game. Most notably, the rebounding and turnover columns, because the next time it’s easy to execute offensively vs. Tennessee will be the first time.
