The 2022 NCAA Tournament will begin for Purdue on Friday as the Boilermakers head to Milwaukee as the three seed in the East Region. They open with a matchup against 14th-seeded Yale, where the winner will play either Texas or Virginia Tech in the Round of 32 on Sunday.
YALE BULLDOGS - 19-11 (11-3 Ivy League)
Led by head coach James Jones, who is in his 22nd season at the school, Yale enters the NCAA Tournament after a mild upset of top-seeded Princeton in the Ivy League Tournament. This will be Jones' fourth NCAA Tournament appearance at Yale, highlighted by its 2016 upset of Baylor in the first round for what remains the only NCAA Tournament victory in program history.
The Bulldogs won just six of 14 games as 2021 came to a close but won 13 of 16 games down the stretch. They have no common opponents with the Boilermakers and its only high-major opponents were Seton Hall, Auburn and St. Mary's. They lost to each by an average of 28.3 points. Yale defeated UMass 91-71 in its second game of the season, while the Minutemen later defeated Rutgers when the Scarlet Knights were struggling early in the season.
This year's Yale team brings a dynamic scorer to the table in 6-1 senior guard Azar Swain, who averages 19 points per game and shoots 35 percent from three-point range on very high volume. He'll be the marked man for Purdue to look to contain throughout the game, as the ball will be in his hands quite a bit. Swain has attempted 460 field goals in 30 games, so he'll have the green light to shoot all afternoon long (for reference, Jaden Ivey has attempted 395 field goals in his 33 games played).
Guard Jalen Gabbidon, who stands 6-foot-5, joins Swain as a top performer in the Bulldogs' backcourt, adding 11.6 points a game. The 2019-20 Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year, Gabbidon records over a steal per contest and will possibly be matched up with Ivey. Gabbidon shoots 48 percent from the floor, though that number dips just below 31% from behind the arc. The Boilermakers will look to keep him out of the lane, though he can be turnover-prone, averaging more than two turnovers in each contest.
Yale gets other scoring from its backcourt players as 6-5 guards Matthue Cotton and Matt Knowling average around seven points per contest. Cotton knocks down threes at a 32 percent clip on decent volume, while Knowling has only attempted two three-pointers on the season. Freshman Bez Mbeng, who is 6-4, has started lately for the Bulldogs as a fourth guard. He scores just five points a game, hitting 43 percent from the field and 28 percent from three.
Size, or lack of it, is an issue for Yale. Isaiah Kelly has been Yale's starting "center" at 6-7 and 215 pounds. Kelly is a 33 percent three-point shooter, though that's on a mere 21 attempts. EJ Jarvis, who stands 6-8, will see plenty of action against Purdue. Jarvis shoots 48 percent from the field, though he enters the tournament 0-5 from three on the season.
As a team, Yale shoots a solid 74 percent from the free throw line, but no one on the Bulldogs' roster averages more than five rebounds per game, a troubling statistic against a solid offensive rebounding group.
Per KenPom, the Bulldogs play at the 86th-fastest tempo in the nation. Yale averages 20-fewer points per 100 possessions than the Boilermakers, while both teams allow an average of 99 points per 100 possessions.
TEXAS LONGHORNS - 21-11 (10-8 Big 12)
First-year Longhorns coach Chris Beard took over the program with high expectations in year one. Texas came into the season ranked fifth in the preseason AP Poll, though they have spent most of the new year hovering in the 20s.
As Purdue fans are painfully aware, Beard's Little Rock and Texas Tech teams have recently knocked Purdue out of the NCAA Tournament.
Texas brings an ultra-experienced backcourt to the floor, as seniors Marcus Carr, Courtney Ramey and Andrew Jones are all names that should be familiar to Purdue fans. Ramey and Jones were key contributors for Texas when they defeated Purdue in Mackey Arena back in November 2019, while Carr played for Richard Pitino at Minnesota for three seasons. Statistically, they're not a great shooting unit. Ramey leads that group at 36 percent from three, but they're all dangerous.
Timmy Allen and Christian Bishop are a pair of transfers that are regulars for the Longhorns. Allen, a three-year starter at Utah, leads Texas with 12.3 points per game. He's just 4 of 15 from deep on the season, but he enters the tournament at 50 percent from the field and presents a tough challenge for opposing fours.
Bishop spent his first three seasons at Creighton bringing a solid 59 percent field goal percentage to the floor. Another non-three-point shooter, Bishop, has only attempted six threes on the year, but he's good for more than two offensive rebounds per game, as is Allen.
The final player getting more than 15 minutes per game is UMass transfer Tre Mitchell. A 6-9 forward, Mitchell can step out and shoot a bit (33% from deep) but can chip in on the offensive end.
Texas' strength doesn't come on the offensive end, however. The Longhorns are ranked 13th in the nation regarding points allowed per 100 possessions and are more than happy to grind games out. They play at one of the slowest tempos in the country and thrive in half-court defense. Their scoring output is lower because of their slow pace, with just 68 points per game.
The Longhorns are the highest-rated six seed on KenPom. They have a plethora of experience, which tends to help teams in the Big Dance. Texas shoots nearly 75 percent at the foul line, which could help them in what tend to be close games in the tournament.
VIRGINIA TECH HOKIES - 23-12 (11-9 ACC)
After an unexpected run through the ACC Tournament, the Hokies earned the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament after ending the regular season as a long shot to make the field of 68. The Hokies were nearly an NIT lock before they survived an overtime affair vs. Clemson in their first game in the ACC Tournament. From there, Virginia Tech took down three consecutive tournament teams (Notre Dame, North Carolina, Duke) to cut down the nets and earn its bid.
Highly regarded to start the season, the Hokies were 10-10 after 20 games, and started out 0-4 and 2-7 in the ACC. But momentum is on the Hokies side now.
The one constant for Coach Mike Young; team is its starting lineup.He used the same starting five in all 35 of the Hokies' games this season, a rare statistic to see.
Fifth-year senior forward Keve Aluma paces the Hokies with 15.8 points per game on 53 percent shooting and 33 percent from long range. At 6-9, he can stretch opposing defenders and become a difficult matchup. Forward Justyn Mutts (6-7, 230 joins Aluma in the frontcourt. While Mutts only shoots 38% from the field, he's a 37% three-point shooter. This is a frontcourt that can provide tough matchups with their ability to shoot from outside. Between Aluma's 15.8 and Mutts' 10.1 points per game, the two leading scorers for the Hokies can be tough to cover.
Hunter Cattoor is the leading scorer out of the VT backcourt at 10 points per game. A 42 percent three-point shooter, and is streaky. Naheem Alleyne knocks down 37 percent from deep on his way to 9.8 points per game, while Storm Murphy comes in just shy of 36 percent from outside.
Guard Darius Maddox is the first man off the bench for the Hokies, another very strong three-point shooter at 51.9%, while Sean Pedulla comes off the bench as another sharp-shooting guard.
Virginia Tech rates well at KenPom, coming in 23rd nationally. It is not a deep team. That could be an issue for them should they advance past the first round. The Hokies can ill-afford foul trouble. They have the ability, however, to stay hot from their ACC Tournament title and make some noise in Milwaukee.
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