Preview: Gophers vs. Purdue

As a young child, I had a chance to sit just a few rows behind the visiting team’s bench for a couple of seasons at Williams Arena. It made for quite a few memories as well as several learning experiences (I definitely learned some new vocabulary). Bobby Knight, Jud Heathcote, and Lou Henson were just a few of the faces I became familiar with. While they were all great (and entertaining) coaches, one name stands out from the pack (and it’s also the only one still standing on the Big 10 sidelines).

That of course would be 24-year Purdue head coach Gene Keady. Coach Keady’s voice, stare, and facial contortions (and, of course, his hair), can bring grown men to their knees, so imagine the affect it had on this young kid sitting just a few feet away. I’m sure there were many sleepless nights and plenty of nightmares. Once I grew old enough to look past that rough exterior though, I began to appreciate one of the top coaches college basketball has ever seen. I know I’m not alone, and I also know I’m not the only one who will have a touch of sadness as Coach Keady makes his last visit to The Barn.

The other sad thing is that it looks like Coach Keady’s final season might be diminished by one of his poorest teams. While we’ve seen him turn slow starts and minimal talent into strong finishes in the past, I really don’t see that coming this year. Purdue’s numbers are not pretty. The Boilers are off to a 4-8 start, with their only victories coming against Detroit, Colorado State, Evansville, and Eastern Illinois. And, very relevant to this game, they have yet to win on the road. They’re 9th in the league in points scored and points allowed, 10th in field goal percentage, and dead-last in three-point percentage, opponent’s shooting percentage, and rebounding differential. Yikes.

Of course, there’s always an “of course”. The familiar one whenever Purdue comes to town is that Keady is going to have his guys fired up to play. He does not want to start out 0-3 in his final Big Ten season, and he certainly doesn’t like looking up at the entire conference in defensive and rebounding statistics. The second “of course”, one the Gopher players have certainly watched by now, came on Saturday, when the Boilermakers led #1 Illinois for the majority of the game before falling 68-59. Purdue actually outshot and outrebounded the Illini, and they also outhustled them. That Purdue team should have scared any overconfidence out of the Gophers’ heads.

Leading the way on Saturday, as they have all season long, was the quartet of Carl Landry, David Teague, Brandon McKnight, and Matt Kiefer. The four scored all but 7 of Purdue’s points against Illinois, and they’ve put up 87% of their points on the season. In other words, the entire Boiler team has ridden their shoulders to get those 4 wins.

Landry is the person who’s salvaged the season. The 6’7″, 235-lb junior college transfer, brought in to help replace the four front court players who graduated last year (Purdue’s four best frontcourt players), has instantly become the team’s go-to guy as well as a contender for Big Ten Player of the Year. He’s averaging 18 points and 7 rebounds per game and is shooting 62% from the field.

The 6’5″ junior Teague and 6’2″ senior McKnight have taken over for departed star Kenneth Lowe to continue to give Purdue one of the better backcourts in the conference. They average a combined 26 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists per game, but they’re also shooting just 27% from 3-point range.

The final member of the big four is the 6’10” junior Kiefer. He does have the size that Purdue so desperately needs this year, but he has a tendency to drift out to the perimeter rather than banging inside. The Boilers’ designated bangers (and not much else so far) are 6’7″, 270-lb Charles Davis (only 3 games removed from football season) and 6’9″ Gary Ware (1 foul every 6 minutes).

The other three players to watch (Purdue’s bench is plenty deep, just not productive) are 6’6″ junior Bryant Dillon (29 strong minutes against Illinois), 6’3″ freshman Xavier Price, and 6’2″ senior Andrew Ford.

Here are my Gopher Keys of the Game:

1. The Well Ain’t Dry. I’ve said this before, and since the Gophers are riding a 9-game winning streak, I’m going to say it again: they need to keep doing what they’ve been doing. That means keep outworking the other team, keep pushing the ball up the court, keep crashing the boards, keep being active defensively, and especially keep working the ball through Jeff Hagen and Spencer Tollackson in the post. Wearing down Purdue’s thin frontcourt should allow Minnesota to take control.

2. Take Care of the Ball. I looked through as many team statistics as I could find, and Purdue is better than Minnesota in just one: turnovers. The Gophers have turned the ball over 17 times per game (although they’ve been much better lately), while the Boilers average just over 13 turnovers. With the edge in every other category heading into the game, if the Gophers can come out of the game with the turnover advantage, I really like their chances.

3. Get Back, and Step Out. New dance step? No. Defensive philosophy against Purdue? Of course. With the exception of newcomer Carl Landry (granted, that is a pretty big exception), the Boilers have very little inside scoring. Kiefer is more of a spot-up shooter than a back-to-the-basket guy, and no other frontcourt player has even cracked double figures. So Purdue is going to have to ride its guards. That means the Gophers need to do a good job of limiting transition opportunities and open shots from the perimeter. Keep Purdue below 10 points in transition and 6 made three-pointers, and they’ll have a hard time getting out of the 60s (or even 50s?).

Despite their record, Purdue is still Purdue, and Keady is still Keady. So while many people could find a way to look past a win over Penn State (and the previous 8 teams, I guess), beating the Boilers should grab a little more attention. It should also be significantly more difficult. I don’t see Purdue duplicating Saturday’s performance on the road though (especially if Minnesota comes out strong), and I really love how the Gophers have been playing. My prediction: Minnesota 75 Purdue 65.

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