GOLDANDBLACK.COM PREVIEW: #2 SEED PURDUE vs. #3 SEED TEXAS TECH

More ($): Fearful Predictions — Purdue's 2017-18 season | Stuff That Matters

Friday, March 23, 2018 • 10 p.m. ET | TD Garden (Boston) | TV: TBS | Radio: Purdue Radio Network

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ABOUT THIS GAME

• Purdue, the East Regional's No. 2 seed, looks for its first Elite Eight trip since '99 when it faces third-seeded Texas Tech in Boston, in a consummate matchup of strength-on-strength, Purdue being one of the better offensive teams in college basketball — though it misses Isaac Haas — and Texas Tech being one of the better defensive teams.

The Red Raiders have allowed an average of less than 65 points per game this season, opponents shooting barely 40 percent. Tech ranks fourth nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency by KenPom.com.

Purdue is No. 2 offensively by KenPom, but is down a 15-a-game scorer without Haas.

The Boilermakers beat Butler 76-73 in Detroit last week in their first game without Haas, thanks largely to Vincent Edwards' 20 points.

• Haas continues to hold out faint hope he may be able to play in a limited capacity after fracturing his right elbow in Purdue's NCAA opener vs. Cal State Fullerton, but it's considered overwhelmingly unlikely he can play in any meaningful way.

Roster | Schedule | Statistics

Projected Starters

C — Matt Haarms (7-3, 250, R-Fr.)

The redshirt freshman moves into the injured Isaac Haas' role as Purdue's starting/primary center and gives Purdue a far more mobile look at the 5,which brought with it some offensive benefit vs. Butler and in theory makes the Boilermakers better suited to contain the dribble defensively. Haarms is not the post scoring threat that Haas is, but Purdue would like to get him — or someone — some post touches for the sake of balance.

F - Vincent Edwards (6-8, 225, Sr.)

The senior's been outstanding in the NCAA Tournament thus far, 12-of-20 from the floor and averaging 17-and-a-half points through two games. He provided Purdue some needed offensive balance against Butler by posting up the guards who switched onto him and may have that opportunity again against a Texas Tech D that that'll switch every position but center and play some really guard- and wing-heavy lineups.

G - Carsen Edwards (6-1, 200, So.)

Purdue's All-American is an uncharacteristic 8-of-29 through two NCAA games and may loom especially large against Texas Tech, which will apply pressure on the Boilermaker guards, maybe opening up driving opportunities.

G- P.J. Thompson (5-10, 185, Sr.)

Thompson's come up big for Purdue in the NCAA Tournament thus far, making five threes on 10 tries and totaling 25 points. This after he'd gone 13 straight games without making more than two field goals in a game. Against Texas Tech, he'll draw the game's signature head-to-head matchup against Keenan Evans and be tasked with handling the Raiders' defensive pressure.

G - Dakota Mathias (6-4, 200, Sr.)

Texas Tech will build its game plan around the three and that'll mean building its game plan around taking away good looks from Mathias, who's shooting just under 50 percent from three over Purdue's past eight games, since the loss at Wisconsin.

KEY PLAYERS

G —Ryan Cline (6-5, 190, Jr.)

Texas Tech's going to run a lot of athleticism out there on the perimeter and it's going to be imperative Purdue make the right decisions to get open shots. That goes for everybody, but they'd love to get Cline some good looks.

G — Nojel Eastern (6-6, 220, Fr.)

Eastern will have to guard Keenan Evans at times, setting up another game where he could factor considerably into the game defensively. He's been pretty good at that end of the floor later in his freshman season, and he won't back down from Texas Tech's physicality in the backcourt.

F — Grady Eifert (6-6, 220, Jr.)

Eifert's playing a prominent role later in the season and delivering on the back of his effort as much as anything. After Vincent Edwards' late-season injury opened opportunities for him, now so has Haas'.

F — Jacquil Taylor (6-10, 240, Jr.)

Playing in his home city of Boston —he's from Cambridge, actually — Taylor is playing now, moved up to being Purdue's No. 2 center with Haas out. He gave the Boilermakers solid minutes against Butler.

Roster | Schedule | Stats

G- 12 Keenan Evans (6-3, 190, Sr.)

A big scoring point guard who averages just under 18 a game, Evans is a creator with a big frame that makes him a particularly tough cover, somewhat comparable to Penn State's Tony Carr.

Texas Tech's best player and the Big 12's second-leading scorer (behind Trae Young) has been playing through toe problems for some time, but it hasn't stopped him from finishing off a great senior season in fine form, including 23 against Florida last time out.

Evans is just a 33-percent three-point shooter, but a 48-percent shooter overall who can get to the rim, make mid-range jumpers and get to the line, where he's shot 224 attempts this season and made 81 percent.

G - 2 Zhaire Smith (6-5, 195, Fr.)

An extremely athletic rookie, Smith's averaged 11.3 points on 57-percent shooting and made 44.4 percent of his threes on low volume. But he's an energetic playmaker all over the floor. The All-Big 12 Defense team selection leads Texas Tech with 79 offensive rebounds and 39 blocked shots and nearly leads Texas Tech with 40 steals. Seems like he's going to be pretty good moving forward.

G/F - 5 Justin Gray (6-6, 210, Sr.)

Gray's got a ton of experience and has broken loose a couple times this season for big scoring games.

G - 23 Jarrett Culver (6-5, 190, Fr.)

Another tall, athletic wing who's made an immediate impact for Tech as a rookie, Culver's averaging 11.5 points, second to just Evans, and making 40 percent of his threes on high volume, but has to be respected as a baseline driver and obviously as a cutter in the Raiders' motion.

C- 32 Norense Odiase (6-9, 245, Jr.)

Texas Tech's starting post player averages 3.9 points and 4.5 rebounds in just 15 minutes per game.

KEY PLAYERS

G - 10 Niem Stevenson (6-5, 205, Sr.)

The senior's also a 40-percent three-point shooter who averages 7.4 points. Seems like these guys are clones of each other as players.

F - 11 Zach Smith (6-8, 220, Sr.)

One of Texas Tech's traditional forward body types, Smith is big and long and an effective shot-blocker. Offensively, he's not much of a scorer, but can be effective in transition and as a cutter and make the occasional jump shot.

C - 00 Tommy Hamilton (6-11, 250, Sr.)

The massive center and former Chicago star and DePaul transfer is a 39-percent three-point shooter, which would be more of a concern with Isaac Haas playing than it would be now that Purdue is more mobile at the 5.

G - 1 Brandone Francis (6-5, 205, Sr.)

Francis is another big guard who makes 39 percent of his threes and averages 5.2 points.

G - 25 Davide Moretti (6-3, 165, Fr.)

The backup point guard averages 12.2 minutes per game.

Look, Purdue is not the same team without Isaac Haas, and this could be a game where it shows up more than it did against Butler, because Texas Tech is a much better defensive team. But Purdue has enough offensive pieces left to win games at this level, and the Boilermakers have played some pretty decent defense, too. And Purdue's the more experienced team here, and that may count for something.

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