Purdue vs Marquette - Maui Invitational Championship Game Preview

#2 Purdue will take on #4 Marquette for the second straight year after both advanced to the Maui Invitational Championship game on Tuesday.

It wasn't the most anticipated match-up going into the most stacked tournament field in history, but after Marquette handled Kansas 73-59, the winner of these two top-four teams will likely decide who will be the new #1 team in the country next week.

The Boilermakers won its top-10 match-up, following up their win over #11 Gonzaga on Monday, Purdue outlasted a tough, defensive-minded Tennessee game that grinded to a slog throughout with both teams combining to take 78 free throws.

Marquette's precise upset against Kansas was much cleaner, with Marquette's pace and intensity getting the best of #1 Kansas after doing the same thing to UCLA the night before.

Last year, Shaka Smart brought his upstart Marquette Golden Eagles to Mackey Arena to take on an equally unranked Boilermaker team and lost a close one, 75-70. Turned out it was a marquee match up between two of the best teams in the nation.

Neither team is catching the nation by surprise this year.

It moved Matt Painter to 1-3 against Smart, who first got the best of Painter at VCU when Smart upset Purdue in the NCAA Tournament. Smart won both games played between his Texas squads against Purdue.

Marquette looked like it was going to beat Purdue last season. It had a 58-49 lead halfway through the second half, but Braden Smith came alive for Purdue and the true freshman had his first 20 point performance of his career to pull off the comeback and give Painter his first victory of his career against Shaka Smart.

Purdue's Zach Edey had 20 points and 13 rebound while two deep threats shined for Marquette.

Kam Jones got hot last year for Marquette and scored 19 points, most of that damage happening early. David Joplin picked up the scoring in the second half, putting together a showcase of shot making on his way to 16 second half-points and 21 for the game. Both players made 5 three-pointers.

Concerning, perhaps for Purdue, is that Marquette was able to dominate Kansas without shooting the ball well from the perimeter. Jones was just 2 of 9 and Joplin failed to connect on either of his three-point attempts. As a team, Marquette was 6 of 25 against Kansas.

Marquette has just been an okay three-point shooting team to start the season. It's connected on 33.6% of its attempts. What Marquette has been effective at is getting inside, into the paint, and making its two-pointers. It's shooting nearly 60% from inside the arc so far this season. That's the 21st best mark in the country.

Edey haas been one of the most impactful defenders in the nation at keeping teams away from the rim. Will Marquette be confident attacking the 7-4 shot blocker?

Part of what makes Marquette so dangerous is the pace they play on both ends. Shaka Smart's teams play frenetic, creating chaos at one end, while protecting the ball at the other. While Marquette forces teams into mayhem, it looks at ease and in control when the ball is pushed at the other end.

Part of that is its big, Oso Ighodaro. Ighodaro isn't a threat to stretch the floor, but he can handle the ball and moves incredibly well. He's added weight in the off-season and really added to his offensive game. He's improved finishing at the rim and is more of an offensive impact player.

He's a fascinating match up across from Zach Edey at both ends. Ighodaro won't be able to traditionally stretch the floor and force Edey out of the paint. He's never attempted a three in college, but he's fast and moves constantly on the floor. Besides being a dynamic roller in the pick and roll, he's active at all times, pressing and moving through open space and creating angles to attack.

He got the better of Hunter Dickinson at both ends. Dickinson had just 13 points and 8 rebounds and seemed to struggle with a game where he couldn't settle in. At the other end, Ighodaro had 21 points on 15 field goal attempts and grabbed 9 boards.

Edey isn't prone to the same lapses of settling on offense as Dickinson. Dickinson will let smaller defenders off or try and beat teams with cute floaters and jumpers. Edey is relentless. He's bigger. Ighodaro can't handle Edey inside.

But Ighodaro can make defending hard on Edey. He can disappear from Edey and find space to get to the rim away from Edey. He can really get into Purdue's guards on screen and give Jones and Tyler Kolek room to shoot off the dribble.

But Marquette isn't deep and if Edey and Purdue's size can wear them down, Purdue will have the advantage late the way it did against Tennessee and Xavier in its previous two games.

There's just not many better point guard match ups than what we'll see when Braden Smith and Tyler Kolek face off against one another.

Both guards are scoring in double-digits, grabbing 5 or more rebounds, and dishing 5 or more assists on the season. Both can shoot the three, create off the dribble, get to the hoop, and orchestrate offense at elite levels.

Kolek struggled to score in last year's match up, but still had 11 assists. Smith was able to get what he wanted, having his breakout performance as a true freshman against Marquette.

Smith had his worst game of the season against Tennessee who decided to put length on Smith and was physical from the jump. A play into the game and Smith was left on the ground, grabbing at his face which had been bounced off the floor. He had a season low in points with 4 and assists with just 1.

Kolek had similar struggles, missing both threes, scoring just 6 points and turning the ball over 4 times against Kansas.

It will be the third game in three days for both teams and both point guards. Fatigue, mental and physical, could be starting to set in. Which point guard will rise up and win the duel?

Shaka Smart has seven reliable rotation players. That's a solid number with rest, but on day three, the grind of a tournament can start to set in.

Matt Painter doesn't have enough minutes for all his players.

Will this be the game that depth really pays off?

Marquette plays four guards, a lot, and it forces teams into tricky predicaments. Will Matt Painter solve two issues with one solution?

Camden Heide, Myles Colvin, and Ethan Morton could all be answers at the four, playing against smaller Marquette lineups, and allow Purdue to match up and play fast. Purdue is able to go to these guys without sacrificing as much size as most teams and each bench player has already had moments this season where they've looked like players that need to see the court more.

Or will Painter like the edge his fours give him with size? Each had moments against Tennessee and continue to allow Purdue to play a variety of ways. Painter has done an admirable job not panicking to first half trends, trusting that his team's size and physicality will wear down teams. With Edey in foul trouble against Tennessee, not a single big man played thirty or more minutes.

You never feel better after playing a team like Tennessee, but Purdue's legs should be as fresh as you can hope for after playing back to back days.

In counter, Smart has two flame throwers. Kam Jones and David Joplin both went off against Purdue last season, and have the ability to put up points in a hurry, especially from deep. Joplin provides floor stretching at the four or three while Jones is a big guard with deep range. They will be the pressure points pressing into Purdue's defense. They'll need to be hitting to match Purdue's efficiency inside.