PHILADELPHIA — With a trip to the Elite Eight at stake, Purdue takes on this year's NCAA Tournament Cinderella, Saint Peter's.

Date: Friday, March 25, 2022

Time: 7:09 p.m. ET

TV: CBS

Radio: Purdue Radio Network (96.5 WAZY locally)

• The Boilermakers are looking to reach their second Elite Eight in the past three NCAA Tournaments.

• A win would give Purdue 30 this season, tying the program's single-season record.

• Purdue last met Saint Peter's during the 2011 NCAA Tournament, a 65-43 Boilermaker first-round win in Chicago. This is a very different Saint Peter's team from that one.

• The Boilermakers have drawn 50 fouls and shot 79 free throws though two NCAA Tournament games.

• Purdue's back to No. 1 nationally in offensive efficiency, per KenPom, and has moved up to 88th defensively after spending most of the season in the triple-digits.

• Purdue's never played an NCAA Tournament game in Philadelphia.

STARTERS

C — 15 Zach Edey (7-4, 295, So.)

14.5 PPG • 64.7% FG • 7.9 REB • 1.3 BLK

Edey's shot 22 free throws and grabbed 19 rebounds in just 34 minutes of NCAA Tournament playing time. He believes that he's been officiated more appropriately during the tournament than he was during the Big Ten season and those free throw numbers certainly corroborate his belief.

F — 0 Mason Gillis (6-6, 230, So.)

6.3 PPG • 4.8 REB • 50.4% FG • 42.9% 3-PT • 82.4% FT

Gillis is playing well defensively and, per usual, playing really hard. He stole back a pair of possessions against Texas that the Boilermakers wound up scoring off, four points he won't get credit for officially, but that really mattered.

G — 55 Sasha Stefanovic (6-5, 205, Sr.)

10.4 PPG • 37.8% 3-PT • 3.1 AST

The Boilermaker senior has been struggling to make shots, just 5-of-29 from three-point range on the postseason and 2-for-12 in the NCAA Tournament. He does need to shoot his way out of it, but he's also been playing slightly fewer minutes than he did the majority of the regular season.

G — 2 Eric Hunter (6-4, 175, Sr.)

6.4 PPG • 2.1 AST • 45.3% FG • 45.3% 3-PT

Hunter's been one of the leaders in Purdue's markedly improved defensive play the past six weeks or so, as the Boilermakers are playing their best defense of the season right now. He was just 1-of-5 against Texas, but his three-point shooting's been a game-changer, as well.

G —23 Jaden Ivey (6-4, 195, So.)

17.6 PPG • 46.4% FG • 36.4% 3-PT • 4.8 RPG • 3.1 AST

Purdue's All-American's penchant for big moments showed up against Texas with his clutch shooting, but he's been impacting games this postseason on defense, too. He's becoming that two-way player Purdue always hoped he'd be. Offensively, his decision-making has generally been solid and needs to stay that way for the Boilermakers to win this Regional.

ROTATION

C — 50 Trevion Williams (6-10, 255, Sr.)

11.9 PPG • 55% FG • 7.4 REB • 3.1 AST

Williams was dominant against Texas, scoring 22 on 10-of-13 shooting. He was extremely aggressive attacking single defenders and carried the Boilermakers at times. What a luxury Purdue has at center.

G/F — 25 Ethan Morton (6-6, 215, So.)

2.5 PPG • 1.5 AST • 48.4% FG • 45.5% 3-PT

Morton's become a critically valuable 3-and-D guy for Purdue off the bench, hitting his open threes — including two big ones against Texas — and acting as a versatile defender who can match up against all sorts of types of player. The Boilermakers may not have beaten Texas without him.

F — 3 Caleb Furst (6-10, 230, Fr.)

4.1 PPG • 3.1 RPG • 57.3% FG • 42.3% 3-PT

The moment's never been too big for the freshman forward, who's played really well through two NCAA Tournament games and made a pivotal shot against Texas, after the Longhorns had taken the lead.

G —11 Isaiah Thompson (6-1, 160, Jr.)

4.2 PPG • 41.7% 3-PT

Thompson played a season-low-tying four minutes against Texas, as Purdue turned to Morton to defend Marcus Carr during the second half. Things have been very different to end the season for Thompson than they were to start the season, when he was a key piece for the team that reached No. 1 nationally.

G — 5 Brandon Newman (6-5, 200, So.)

4.6 PPG • 32.1% 3-PT

Newman's back in the rotation and has been since the Penn State game in Indy, but Purdue's need for Morton on the floor so much has also probably cut into his minutes.

Freshmen Trey Kaufman-Renn and Brian Waddell will redshirt this season. Waddell will miss most of the season after tearing his ACL and Kaufman-Renn is now sidelined up to six weeks after undergoing foot surgery.

Schedule | Roster | Stats

• Saint Peter's is trying to become the first No. 15 seed to ever make the Elite Eight.

• These metrics may not be apples-to-apples given level of competition disparities during the regular season but Saint Peter's is 224th nationally in offensive efficiency, shooting just ovr 46 percent on two-point shots.

Their defensive numbers sparkle, as SPC is 29th in defensive efficiency and fifth nationally in effective field goal percentage defense and top 50 nationally In turnover percentage defense.

• Kentucky was the third high-major game of the season for Saint Peter's, the first two being way back in November, when the Peacocks lost buy games at St. John's 91-70 — Aaron Wheeler went for 11 and seven rebounds — and Providence 85-71.

• Coach Shaheen Holloway is obviously lined up nicely for the new vacancy at his alma mater, Seton Hall, though he predictably sidestepped questions on Thursday about the likely inevitable move.

STARTERS

F - 11 KC Ndefo (6-7, 195, Sr.)

10.3 PPG • 6.2 REB • 2.8 BLK

One of the college basketball's most prolific shot-blockers, the three-time MAAC Defensive Player-of-the-Year has recorded more than 300 of them in his career. Purdue's probably gonna want to know where he is when it tries to score around the basket.

F - 14 Hassan Drame (6-7, 200, Jr.)

6.0 PPG • 5.3 REB

Drame's a strong rebounder and an efficient scorer on low-volume and high-percentage looks. Purdue's going to prioritize keeping him off the offensive glass, where he's been especially productive lately.

F - 12 Clarence Rupert (6-8, 245, Fr.)

4.3 PPG • 2.4 RPG

Rupert didn't move into the starting five 'til late in the season, just in time for the postseason. The freshman's the biggest body the Peacocks have to throw at Zach Edey and Trevion Williams.

G - 15 Matthew Lee (6-0, 160, Jr.)

6.6 PPG • 3.1 AST • 36.1% 3-PT

The Peacocks' point guard can shoot the three and distribute the basketball, with 10 assists and just three turnovers the past three games.

G - 5 Daryl Banks (6-3, 165, Jr.)

11.7 PPG • 2.7 RPG • 1.4 AST • 36.7% 3-PT

Banks was 5-of-8 from three and scored 27 points against Kentucky. That probably tells you what you need to know about him.

KEY RESERVES

G - 25 Doug Edert (6-2, 185, Jr.)

8.9 PPG • 42.0% 3-PT

The guard has been the mustached face of this Saint Peter's run, as he scored 20 against Kentucky and 13 against Murray State, riding the heater that started for him during the MAAC Tournament, where he also scored 20 against Monmouth. He's an excellent shooter, and Saint Peter's will look for him on back cuts and run him silly off screens to try to get him open.

F - 24 Oumar Diahame (6-10, 225, So.)

2.2 PPG • 2.3 RPG • 59.5% FG

Diahame started most of the season, but has played sparingly in the NCAA Tournament. Here's guessing Saint Peter's will need his size and fouls against Purdue.

F - 10 Fousseyni Drame (6-7, 200, Jr.)

7.2 PPG • 6.9 RPG

Drame is the Peacocks' leading rebounder for the season.

G - 13 Isiah Dasher (6-4, 170, Sr.)

5.3 PPG

Dasher hasn't been scoring much lately, but he has 15- and 17-point games to his credit earlier in the season, so the Portland transfer's capable of providing a bit of offense off the bench, one would think.

G - 32 Jaylen Murray (5-11, 175, Fr.)

6.0 PPG

Stay dialed in to GoldandBlack.com during the game for our pre-game First Thoughts analysis. During the game, follow along with our game thread and follow @brianneubert on Twitter for additional insight.

Following the game, we'll have post-game press conference video, game coverage, analysis, our Wrap Video and Final Thoughts, plus a Gold and Black Radio podcast within a few hours of the end of the game.

Stay tuned.

The Saint Peter's offense Is really going to challenge Purdue's attention to detail on D and the Peacocks' apparent energy and toughness will have to be matched, but Purdue's trending very well during this NCAA Tournament — three-point shooting aside, except for all the big ones — and will have matchup advantages galore.

Anything's possible and Saint Peter's is here for a reason — and if it can happen to Kentucky, it can happen to anyone — but as long as the Boilermakers take care of the ball, defend as it has been and so on, it's hard to foresee Purdue falling flat here.

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