Purdue Basketball Game 1 Preview: Milwaukee

THE GAME: PURDUE VS. MILWAUKEE

Where: Mackey Arena (West Lafayette, Ind.)

When: 6:30 p.m. ET

TV: BTN

Radio: Purdue Sports Network (WAZY locally)

In-game updates: GoldandBlack.com | Twitter @brianneubert

ABOUT THE TEAMS

Purdue: Roster | Schedule | Stats

Milwaukee: Roster | Schedule | Stats

NUMBERS AND SUCH

Team	AP	Coaches	NET	KenPom	KenPom Win%
Purdue	ARV	ARV	—	25	99%
Milwaukee	—	—	—	330	1%

PROJECTED PURDUE LINEUPS

Starters

Center — 15 Zach Edey (Junior)

Purdue’s centerpiece player, Edey’s a preseason All-Big Ten pick and a safe bet to be one of the most productive and physically dominant players in college basketball.

Forward — 0 Mason Gillis (6-6, 230, Junior)

The veteran is one of Purdue’s most experienced players, a leader and an extremely productive player on low volume. He scored six points on one field goal attempt vs. Cincinnati and complements Edey almost ideally, while his tenacity and physical demeanor can be needed constants for this new-look team.

Guard — 3 Braden Smith (6-0, 180, Freshman)

No way around it: The freshman point guard will have much asked of him this season and will be one of the Boilermakers’ most important players because of it.

Guard — 2 Fletcher Loyer (6-4, 185, Freshman)

Like his classmate, Loyer has established himself as a starter to open his Purdue career and will bear a great deal of responsibility. He’s one of the most gifted offensive players Matt Painter’s recruited in the backcourt, extremely skilled and savvy.

Guard/Forward — 25 Ethan Morton (6-7, 215, Junior)

After serving as a plug-and-play utility man in a limited role last season, Morton’s minutes may nearly triple this season. He can give Purdue a little of everything.

Rotational Reserves

Forward/Center — 1 Caleb Furst (6-10, 230, Sophomore)

Furst will see more minutes at the center position this season and that could bring out more of his skill set than playing exclusively the 4 did last season. His matchups will often be more favorable and his strengths more pronounced. He’ll give Purdue some lineup and style malleability it didn’t have last season.

Forward/Center — 4 Trey Kaufman-Renn (6-9, 225, Redshirt Freshman)

Much of the same applies to Kaufman-Renn, though Purdue will want to get him touches in the post whereas Furst would thrive more out of the high post and beyond the arc. The high-low possibilities here are intriguing.

Guard — 5 Brandon Newman (6-5, 200, Junior)

Newman didn’t start against Cincinnati but he played more minutes than anyone. If he plays well and with the sort of poise and wisdom you’d want from an experienced player, he will be on the floor.

Guard — 14 David Jenkins Jr. (6-1, 200, Senior)

The veteran newcomer is more of a shot-maker than a playmaker but he’ll fit into Purdue’s point guard platoon when Smith’s on the bench. His charisma can be a plus for the Boilermakers, as might be his experience and his physical nature at guard.

Guard/Forward — 11 Brian Waddell (6-8, 195, Redshirt Freshman)

Waddell’s been set back more than once now by injury and will probably ease into this season for that reason.

Guard/Forward — 23 Camden Heide (6-7, 205, Freshman)

The rookie missed most of his senior season at prep school, then most of the summer, then a bunch of preseason practices. He could be a candidate to redshirt, mostly for that reason.

Note: Freshman center Will Berg will redshirt this season.

ON MILWAUKEE

• This season will be the Panthers debut for new coach Bart Lundy, who previously coached Queens University in Charlotte for nine seasons. He has a team now with 13 new players.

• Of note: Queens pressed on roughly 37 percent of its defensive possessions last season, per Synergy Sports.

• In a strange and rare occurrence, Milwaukee is playing a back-to-back, having opened the season at home on Monday night against the Milwaukee School of Engineering before traveling to Purdue for Tuesday night’s tip-off.

The Panthers beat MSOE 102-46.

• A few notable names on the Panthers’ roster:

• Jalen Johnson is an Indianapolis native who Purdue looked at for a while in recruiting before he wound up at Alabama A&M.
• Vin Baker Jr. is the son of the former long-time NBA standout of the same name. He started his career at Boston College.
• Forward Vincent Miszkiewicz is a transfer from Purdue … Northwest.
• Milwaukee has eight transfers and three junior college products on its roster

MILWAUKEE LINEUPS

Guard — 5 Angelo Stuart (6-1, 175, Junior)

Stuart scored 24 points and was 5-of-8 from three Monday night.

Forward — 23 Ahmad Rand (6-8, 195, Senior)

Guard — 1 Markeith Browning (6-4, 196, Sophomore)

Guard — 25 Justin Thomas (Sophomore)

Guard/Forward — 11 Vin Baker Jr. (6-9, 208, Senior)

Bench

Guard — 2 Elijah Jamison (6-3, 196, Freshman)

Guard — 12 Kentrell Pullian (6-0, 182, Sophomore)

Forward — 24 Jalen Johnson (6-7, 230, Junior)

Guard — 3 Zach Howell (6-5, 200, Freshman)

Center — 33 Moses Bol (7-1, 225, Senior)

The grad transfer from UCF and cousin of long-time NBA center Manute Bol (and his son, NBA player Bol Bol) could obviously come into play should Milwaukee want to try to match up with Zach Edey’s size.

Forward — 20 Vincent Miszkiewicz (6-7, 220, Sophomore)

THREE KEYS FOR PURDUE

Handling Press	Post Entry	Burn Pressure
Purdue’s prepared this whole preseason to face the press. It will get a look at it on Tuesday night. Milwaukee would love to gave to stay out of halfcourt defense against the Boilermakers’ size.	The first of many games against small non-conference teams who’ll try all sorts of different things against Zach Edey. Purdue has to be adaptable enough to not force things that aren’t there. This wasn’t an issue whatsoever against Truman State.	Teams that press are open to allowing quick scores. Purdue may have chances to attack in transition and get open threes off it.

LIGHTNING-ROUND TAKES

• These overmatched non-conference opponents (meaning in the frontcourt) will obviously want to do whatever they can to knock Purdue out of its comfort zone in halfcourt offense. This won’t just test Purdue’s ability to handle full-court pressure, but halfcourt pressure, too.

• Watch out for the offensive glass here, where Zach Edey and all three of Purdue’s power forward types may all be really effective players. Garbage points are so important, especially for a team like the Boilermakers who may not have all that much established firepower at this point in the season.

• One of the most interesting aspects of Milwaukee is the fact that it’s the only major American city to have ever elected three socialist mayors.

PREDICTION: PURDUE 92, MILWAUKEE 70

This non-conference season may not be a straight line for this very new Purdue team, but it’s off to a great start in competitions that don’t count. Now that the games do count, expect some ups and downs. That may not show up on Tuesday night as Milwaukee breaks in more than a dozen new players and a new coach while playing its second game in roughly 24 hours, though.