Opening games of the season are a cautious metaphor. These teams will go through evolutions, losses and wins, upsets and disappointments, and often the teams in November barely resemble those in March.

But there seemed something fitting as Zach Edey stepped up to tip-off against the generously labeled 5'8" Dallas Graziani. David and Goliath fighting in a contest favoring the tall.

Purdue has undergone a transformation in the last few seasons. Purdue has always been good at basketball. What it's lacked in athleticism, in top-10 talent, it's made up for with heart, caring, and disciplined man to man defense.

Lately, those deficiencies seemed to become less as Purdue kept getting taller. Purdue stopped looking like a team that surprised, and settled as a team with expectation.

Zach Edey's dominance last season raised those expectations even higher as Purdue moved all the way to #1 in the rankings for seven weeks and a #1 seed.

A year after Trevion Williams and Jaden Ivey led a Purdue team to #1 for one week.

But neither of those teams finished its best. Neither felt like true bluebloods. Instead, the teams existed between two worlds. Purdue was too good to fit into Cinderella's slippers, but they also weren't good enough to escape Cinderella's story in March.

With an injection of transfer talent, two true freshman that don't look like Purdue players, a pair of guards catching fire, and the returning best player in college basketball, is Purdue ready to be the best of both worlds?