I can’t give any more definitive “fact” about Purdue having a higher ceiling than the head to head match-up. Seems like that is the clearest indicator we’ve got at this point. If that is 5he case, then the rest of this post doesn’t matter, but I thought I would provide a few thoughts just for discussion.
My criticism of IU basketball falls into two categories:
(1) The players are not complimentary nor skilled enough. They didn’t shoot very well the entire season, nor did they assist very well, nor rebound well. That adds up to an early exit in the tourney. The team roster as a whole Is poorly balanced. Once past TJD, the front line is weak for a BIG team.
(2) The coaching staff struggled with making in-game adjustments, which will also get you bounced out of a single elimination tourney quickly. Now my sample size is small here, so perhaps I misread this situation. When IU and Purdue played, IU expected to go inside. TJD and Brunk were not able to handle Williams and Haarms. Once the go-inside strategy failed, the IU team looked lost, and so did Archie. No effective adjustments, and no guidance to the players on the court in that game. The guys looked lost.