Even with lineup change, defense can be Purdue's constant
More from NCAAs: A day later, Haas still out
DETROIT — Khalil Ahmad thought he’d have an opening.
In the first half Friday, Cal State Fullerton trotted its center up to set a screen on Dakota Mathias, hoping to free Ahmad at the top of the key, but Mathias shimmied and angled his body so a screen couldn’t be set.
Ahmad had to change plans.
Later, Ahmad was shaking his head after a passing lane quickly closed when he was looking to feed the paint.
Later, Fullerton was swinging the ball around, figuring it’d get Purdue’s defense in a rotation after a switch and get an open look. Except Ryan Cline not only helped where he needed but recovered, too, to reach a shooter who all of a sudden didn’t have an open look.
Though the Titans may not have been blessed with the most talented offensive skill set the Boilermakers have guarded this season, Purdue made sure they didn’t even resemble an efficient offensive team in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Boilermakers were quick to communicate on ball screens, were quick to respond to rotations, were quick to get hands in passing lanes and quick to convert on Fullerton’s many mistakes.
And the intensity with which Purdue plays in that first-round matchup is more pivotal now without Isaac Haas, whose high-percentage shooting and propensity for piling up points in a short period of time will be missed to an extent on offense Sunday against Butler.
But this savvy Purdue team knows where the constant must lie: On the defensive end.
“Especially in games like this when some weird things can happen, people make shots, if you can have a defensive identity, it’s going to help you a lot,” senior Dakota Mathias said. “Especially the first half, we didn’t shoot it very well (against Fullerton), and we still came in the locker room up nine because of our defense. It’s something we really focus on and we have to continue to do.
“(I like) just how active we’ve been with our hands. Making it tough on guys, that’s always what we want to do. But sometimes that can slip. So it was good to see that for a full 40 minutes.”
Purdue has shown that kind of activity before this season.
Maybe no other better example being in the first matchup against Butler, Purdue’s second-round opponent Sunday.
The Boilermakers may have played their best defensive half of the season against the Bulldogs, limiting Butler to 21 percent shooting — and only one-of-nine three-pointers — and forced nine turnovers. (And 17 total.)
“Some teams can't pressure without giving up great looks, and they're really well-coached where they can apply a ton of ball pressure on the perimeter and still keep you from getting wide-open, drive-kick threes,” Butler coach LaVall Jordan said Saturday. “A lot of that is due to they've got rim protectors at the basket. … And then I think they're really smart. I think they've got high IQ guys with Dakota and P.J. Thompson and Vince Edwards. And those guys, they're veterans. They cover for each other. When some guy is over on the rotation, they kind of pick it up on the backside, and next thing you know you're taking difficult shot-clock shots.”
Purdue is No. 22 in the country in scoring defense, allowing only 65.1 points per game, and is 30th in field goal percentage defense (40.9).
Without Haas, Matt Haarms give Purdue a more consistent shot-blocking presence but also offers mobility to cover on ball screens or, even, switch, if necessary. That adds to Purdue’s ability to man-up on the perimeter, whether it be two-time all-league defensive team pick Mathias or the point guard combination of Thompson and freshman Nojel Eastern, whose length has consistently frustrated opposing guards this season.
Purdue thinks it has been a good mix.
And one it thinks must continue to keep its NCAA Tournament run going.
“Just with the speed that we have on the perimeter, guys have the ability to move their feet, guys have quick hands on the team and got a rim protector with Matt Haarms, so it makes us a good defensive team,” Vincent Edwards said. “We want to stay to the course, stay with it, keep communicating, keep talking on defense and I think we’ll be OK.”
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