UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Sixth-ranked Purdue announced itself as a forced to be reckoned with this college basketball season, beating No. 5 Villanova 80-74 in the championship game of the Hall of Fame Tip-Off.
Here's our three-point post-game analysis and Wrap Video.
SO MANY PLAYERS
Until depth is proven, perceived depth is just numbers.
Teams talk every year about how deep they are because they have this guy, this guy and that guy, but very few of them have the sort of luxury Purdue has right now.
Depth is defined by productivity and readiness, how prepared someone is to be productive when their time comes.
That in mind, look what happened in this game today: Isaiah Thompson and Caleb Furst are both starters, but they're also Purdue's fourth and fifth options offensively, in whatever order you want to arrange them.
They closed this game for Purdue, with a lot of help from Jaden Ivey's excellence as a facilitator. A day before, Trevion Williams carried the Boilermakers over North Carolina after coming off the bench.
Purdue was ranked sixth nationally prior to this event because of everything it brought back from last season. But on Sunday, three returning starters from last season came off the bench.
Purdue either fouled out or wore down each of its last two opponents. It won battles of attrition both with its size and its sheer numbers.
And every time someone — virtually anyone — had a chance to make a play or cover a gap, they did so.
That's depth.
