Purdue Boilermakers
Big Ten (23-9, 16-4)
At one point Purdue was 6-5 on the year. In retrospect losses to Virginia Tech, Florida State, Michigan, Texas and Notre Dame were not too bad for the most part. But after that the Boilermakers turned a corner under the tutelage of Coach Matt Painter. With a share of the Big Ten regular season title under their belt, this is a team that has the tools to reach the Final Four.
Big Wins: 12/6 Maryland (62-60), 1/11 at Wisconsin (84-80), 1/27 Michigan State (73-63)
Bad Losses: 11/18 vs Virginia Tech (83-89), 12/15 vs Notre Dame (80-88), 3/5 at Minnesota (69-73)
Coach: Matt Painter
Why They Can Surprise:
Carsen Edwards is the clear leader of this team. The 6-1 junior averages 23.0 points per game and is one of the best pure scorers in the country. He is not the most consistent outside shooter around, but he is certainly prolific. Edwards can score 40 points in a game, like he did against Texas. He also scored 38 against Penn State and 36 against the stingy Wisconsin defense.
Why They Can Disappoint:
When Edwards scored 40 points against the Longhorns, Purdue lost that game 72-68. Early in the year the Boilermakers relied very, very heavily on Edwards. They had nobody else who was a consistent secondary scoring threat. Consistency can still be an issue, but Purdue has found a large variety of role-players who are capable of having big games. Ryan Cline is a very good outside shooter and Nojel Eastern now does more than just score some points. In the frontcourt, Matt Haarms, Trevion Williams, Evan Boudreaux, Grady Eifert and Aaron Wheeler have all stepped up at different times. When Purdue gets production from two or three players other than Edwards, they are a very good team. That has been the case more often than not over the last two months, but the NCAA Tournament is a whole new ballgame and it remains to be seen if Purdue can get that production from their role-players.
Probable Starters:
Carsen Edwards, Junior, Guard, 23.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.0 apg
Ryan Cline, Senior, Guard, 11.9 ppg, 3.3 apg
Nojel Eastern, Sophomore, Guard, 7.7 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 2.5 apg
Grady Eifert, Senior, Forward, 5.6 ppg, 5.1 rpg
Matt Haarms, Sophomore, Center, 9.0 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 2.0 bpg
Key Role Players:
Aaron Wheeler, Freshman, Forward, 4.6 ppg, 3.0 rpg
Evan Boudreaux, Junior, Forward, 5.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg
Sasha Stefanovic, Freshman, Guard, 2.7 ppg
Eric Hunter, Freshman, Guard, 2.2 ppg
Trevion Williams, Freshman, Forward, 5.5 ppg, 3.9 rpg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 76.3 (85th in nation, 3rd in conference)
Scoring Defense: 66.5 (53, 7)
Field-Goal Percentage: 44.7 (164, 7)
Field-Goal Defense: 41.8 (70, 7)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 9.8 (21, 1)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 36.7 (70, 3)
Free-Throw Percentage: 72.9 (93, 5)
Rebound Margin: 5.3 (28, 3)
Assists Per Game: 14.3 (106, 4)
Turnovers Per Game: 10.7 (22, 4)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
| 2018 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over Cal State Fullerton |
| 2018 | NCAA | Round of 32 win over Butler |
| 2018 | NCAA | Regional Semifinal loss to Texas Tech |
| 2017 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over Vermont |
| 2017 | NCAA | Round of 32 win over Iowa State |
| 2017 | NCAA | Regional Semifinal loss to Kansas |
| 2016 | NCAA | Round of 64 loss to Arkansas Little Rock |
| 2015 | NCAA | Round of 64 loss to Cincinnati |
| 2013 | CBI | First Round win over Western Illinois |
| 2013 | CBI | Quarterfinal loss to Santa Clara |
| 2012 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over St. Mary's |
| 2012 | NCAA | Round of 32 loss to Kansas |
| 2011 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over St. Peters |
| 2011 | NCAA | Round of 32 loss to VCU |
| 2010 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over Siena |
| 2010 | NCAA | Round of 32 win over Texas A&M |
| 2010 | NCAA | Regional Semifinal loss to Duke |
| 2009 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over Northern Iowa |
| 2009 | NCAA | Round of 32 win over Washington |
| 2009 | NCAA | Regional Semifinal loss to Connecticut |
| 2008 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over Baylor |
| 2008 | NCAA | Round of 32 loss to Xavier |
| 2007 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over Arizona |
| 2007 | NCAA | Round of 32 loss to Florida |
*all team stats through 3/10
