Upon Further Review- Michigan

Following each Purdue basketball game this season — or at least most — GoldandBlack.com will take a closer look back at some finer points in our long-standing Upon Further Review series. Today, the 11th-ranked Boilermakers’ 94-61 win over No. 21 Michigan.

PDF: Purdue-Michigan statistics

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(Video clips via FOX)

ATTACKING MICHIGAN’S SIZE

For years now, Purdue has had 7-footers on the floor, compelling opponents to try to use its size against it on defense. This season, the script has flipped, never more so than Friday night, as Purdue exploited Michigan’s 7-footer tandem of Vladislav Goldin and Danny Wolf.

Once Braden Smith got one of those guys in a switch or matching up in transition, he wasn’t letting go.

The other part of it is that Purdue has an interior scorer now ideally equipped to score over big men who have to back up to the rim and aren’t suited to close out to the high post. And maybe in some cases like this one, don’t try very hard.

Trey Kaufman-Renn can dribble around size size, too. Michigan just wasn’t ready for this inverted pick-and-roll Purdue runs all the time.

It’s no secret that when you’re big, the transition opportunities you allow off turnovers are even more dangerous. That was probably the story of the game as Purdue scored 29 points off turnovers, but it was also made concerted effort in halfcourt offense to attack Michigan’s big people.

This set here is absolutely ruthless, targeting Goldin away from the basket.

DEFENDING SIZE

How in the world is Purdue ever going to stop two 7-footers running pick-and-roll, they said. How? It’s impossible. We’ve never seen anything like this in the history of basketball!

Well, how about just switching?

What a letdown.

But serioiusly this is where Purdue playing two interchangeable forwards up front helps. This plays to Caleb Furst’s strengths.

Great job here by Raleigh Burgess, too.

Have to point out, too, the great job that Camden Heide did on defense against Danny Wolf, who handles the ball a ton for Michigan. Putting a smaller guy on Wolf really affects him and the book is now out.

The blockout here on this defensive possession is the chef’s kiss.

This is perfect team defense capped off by Heide’s last-line help that forces this miss.

Look what Heide does to Wolf here, forcing him into trying to burn CJ Cox‘s denial, which Cox has no part of.

Of course, bug guys can be stopped if you erase the guards around them. Purdue’s ball pressure Friday night was as impactful as it’s been since the mid-2000s.

Look how far out Purdue pushes them here.

CAMDEN HEIDE

This was another great energy game from Heide. You’ll recall against Ohio State the second half run Purdue made started with a Heide save.

This effort leads to three points for Purdue.

I didn’t clip it but there was another sequence in the second half where Goldin was posted up and Michigan ran Heide off it as a screen, but as he ran by Heide just threw some nuisance pressure at the ball and knocked it out for a turnover.

MISC

• Great job by TKR here reading the baseline pressure and exposing the lumbering zoned-off defender on the back side. What Michigan is doing defensively here is similar to what Purdue does.

But Purdue’s back side guy tends to be quicker and anticipate better than what Michigan had out there on that play.

• Kudos to Braden Smith for setting a tone for the whole game just seconds in but this really disappointing from Michigan. This is just god-awful offense. The whole point of this action is for the big guy to screen Smith to allow the guard to catch it, but the guard fans out way too wide here and begs Smith to jump the pass.

• Purdue’s effort on the glass summed up in one play.

Two plays …

(Again, Michigan, caught in a switch, doesn’t bother to even consider blocking TKR out here.)