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DJ v Edey

I wonder if Edey having practiced against some very similar (Tre is probs a bit more crafty and more in shape) will benefit us?

Maybe this is the game we try and leverage our depth and have Furst and Berg bang in there for a bit / try to wear DJ out?
Weight and size I'm guessing Sparks at IU is similar and Zach had no issue on offense. Course Burns is better than Sparks on O. Where does Danja (sp?) Ill compare?
 
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Diarra is the (much) better rebounder, but Burns is the go to offensive player in the post for them. It will be interesting to see how we handle it.
I'm guessing Diarra is their 4 man? Then does Purdue NOT double with Purdue's four, but digs with perimeter players to try to get the ball out of his hands. Sooooo much that can be viewed if I knew their team better. Course if Trey is active and puts Diarra on the bench you now have the ability to double with the 4 man perhaps?
 
I think you have Edey guard him and tell him to not go for fakes and spin moves just keep hands up and if he scores, he scores.

Make him work on the defensive end if he guards him. If not, Diarra will pick up fouls trying to guard Edey.

We're the ones with the mismatch, not them.
 
I think you have Edey guard him and tell him to not go for fakes and spin moves just keep hands up and if he scores, he scores.

Make him work on the defensive end if he guards him. If not, Diarra will pick up fouls trying to guard Edey.

We're the ones with the mismatch, not them.
AS I said and believe...if they start out with some doubling or digging it will go away as the game goes on and Zach is not in foul trouble.
 
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TC4three has the concern for fouls which is legit. I can see either way. The double decreases the odds of Zach picking up fouls, but enhances the potential for rotational problems with either shots at the rim or behind the arc. Playing straight up increases the odds for fouls, but all the other players are covered. Zach has 25 pounds on him and 7 inches at the head and possibly 9 inches in reach or more.

This is where the coaches go through video and make phone calls having several days to get a better feel on his supporting cast and that too will have a weight in how Zach plays D. Burns will want to use his 275 pounds to bump into Zach, but if Zach doesn't reach down and stays completely vertical he can contest Burn's shot like nobody Burns has faced.

If Purdue doubles early and is that with the 4 man or perimeter defender (which you need to know their team better) or certain perimeter defenders that the 3 ball is not a threat and does not cause turnovers as time goes on an Zach with no foul issues expect straight up play by Zach.

We know it being an ACC team it has talent, but we also know that it has not played well most the season or it's seed would have been better. Purdue will watch a lot of conference video I expect since the conference games have coaches that know the other team better and will probably review when, ,who and the effects of doubling him and or playing him straight up. When on O, Zach will probably feel like Sparks (IU) is on him, but on D Burns is a LOT better O than Sparks could imagine.

Purdue has a long time to prepare for both games and does Uconn have a slip and if not, Purdue is that unicorn they face and that matchup between 5s gets very interesting.
Ya good points. Hopefully we are only looking at tape starting from the ACC tournament and beyond.

Im not even sure which choice is best, I just hope we are open to adjusting should what we first choose doesnt work
 
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I think Edey is better conditioned, might make sense to run him a bit for some easy ones.

But definitely Burns and NC ST are going to be the darlings and likely will have the crowd on their side.
They are cindefellas.
 
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Ya good points. Hopefully we are only looking at tape starting from the ACC tournament and beyond.

Im not even sure which choice is best, I just hope we are open to adjusting should what we first choose doesnt work
The best choice except in rare circumstances is to not start out in rotation or dig off a shooter, but Purdue tries hard to play around Zach on D and O and so we will have to see what is agreed as the desire, but rest assure there will be an adjustment if Zach gets in foul trouble or an early foul...

Can't recall Purdue fronting a post for a long time...if Purdue used Caleb
 
The best choice except in rare circumstances is to not start out in rotation or dig off a shooter, but Purdue tries hard to play around Zach on D and O and so we will have to see what is agreed as the desire, but rest assure there will be an adjustment if Zach gets in foul trouble or an early foul...

Can't recall Purdue fronting a post for a long time...if Purdue used
I dont think we would ever front with Edey as that takes away his ability to help on a drive as well as rebound but it would make entry passes into Burns very hard as they would have to lob way over edey and burns is not very quick or nimble
 
I dont think we would ever front with Edey as that takes away his ability to help on a drive as well as rebound but it would make entry passes into Burns very hard as they would have to lob way over edey and burns is not very quick or nimble
The fronting was if Purdue used Caleb, not Zach
 
Purdue can match player for player with UConn. We are a problem for them. We have threats and matchups no one else can or does.

We will own the glass and the paint. Two areas they aren't used to losing.

We have the best player on the floor, which they aren't used to seeing on the other sideline.

We are better at the five and the one and we are the best shooting team in the country. That is freaking tough to beat I don't care who you are.

They are longer overall and more athletic and way better in transition. They won't be blown out but absolutely can blow us out.

UConn will have to beat us with the same metrics ans anyone else or they will get beat too.

They can do it with just two categories, where most teams must complete three or all four of them to beat us. UT checked all four boxes and STILL lost because they have no answer for a guy who plays 40 minutes like you killed his family,

UConn will have to shoot over 50% from three on semi- high volume (more than 8 makes)
Purdue shoots < 30% from 3
Purdue shoots < 60% from the stripe
Purdue has over 13 TO's or gives up 15pts + in transition off TO's

Their defense can absolutely make two or three of those happen.

They can blow us out by 20, but I think we win if it's close. That means Zach is dominating, shots are falling and they have to be in foul trouble. I love our chances if we can just get to the 5 minutes left mark within three possessions. Zach will take us home to the promise land.
 
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You guys are blowing my mind. I would have TKR on Burns. I pray Middlebrooks shoots a career high or 3's. Diarra may shoot three for the game, and if lucky hits 2, but probably 1.. Horne and Taylor don't shoot a lot of 3's but we can defend them well. Their teams like to shoot 2's in the paint, and Burns is second on the team with assists. Stop them in the paint, and we have the man who can do it.
 
You guys are blowing my mind. I would have TKR on Burns. I pray Middlebrooks shoots a career high or 3's. Diarra may shoot three for the game, and if lucky hits 2, but probably 1.. Horne and Taylor don't shoot a lot of 3's but we can defend them well. Their teams like to shoot 2's in the paint, and Burns is second on the team with assists. Stop them in the paint, and we have the man who can do it.
I don't know their team and so anything I would expect is a guess. We know we like to keep Zach near the rim. We know Matt doesn't like to give easy looks on the 3 ball. We know this year I think Matt has doubled with the 4 man maybe bit in two games? We know Matt had the perimeter dig down on Reneau at IU. If this is a team of mid range shooters and not a threat behind the arc I suspect Matt will sag a bit more than usual on those players not a threat behind the arc.

How does the team score? Is it off of boards and a push? Does their D turn you over? Of do they actually play in the half and just try to break down player individually and shoot over them in the lane...which shouldn't be as easy without shooters on the perimeter. Maybe I'll watch a game and have an informed opinion...but I really don't have any thoughts at this time...just questions
 
You guys are blowing my mind. I would have TKR on Burns. I pray Middlebrooks shoots a career high or 3's. Diarra may shoot three for the game, and if lucky hits 2, but probably 1.. Horne and Taylor don't shoot a lot of 3's but we can defend them well. Their teams like to shoot 2's in the paint, and Burns is second on the team with assists. Stop them in the paint, and we have the man who can do it.
Burns is 1-5 from 3 for the year.
Diarra is 21-66 from 3 for the year.

Give me Edey on Burns all day long.
 
Burns is 1-5 from 3 for the year.
Diarra is 21-66 from 3 for the year.

Give me Edey on Burns all day long.
Still, almost 1/4 of all the assists come from Burns. Curious how those happen?
 
They regularly run the offense through him, his passing and court awareness are really good. Not uncommon for him to get the ball away from the basket, not posted up necessarily
Also he draws double teams because most bigs can't handle his size. Edey can. You put Edey on him, and you don't have him backing Edey down. If he can get baskets one on one against Edey, fine, you shake his hand and move on.

But I want him having to expend energy on beating Edey, having him put his weight on him, make those 24 minutes a game as tiring as possible. Cover everyone else, limit his assists. Tell Edey not to reach or go for blocks unless it's straight up.

Let TKR chase any three point bigs.

Then let Edey foul out whichever big they put on him. I don't want Zach chasing stretch 5s all game.
 
Burns is a crafty dude around the basket. Reminds me a lot of Zach Randolph. Like you said above, Zach will need to be disciplined to stay playing straight up and not fall for any of his quick dipsy doodle, changes of direction moves, in preventing any quick fouls. Not sure he has played a 5 like Burns this season. Should be another fun chess match, but one Purdue should win.

One other thing, more than half the stadium will be cheering early for the underdog, NC State. It’s been a few weeks since our guys have been in unfriendly surroundings. Hopefully they get out to a good, stress free lead early, and squelch those cheering for an upset.

Can. Not. Wait.
 
Also he draws double teams because most bigs can't handle his size. Edey can. You put Edey on him, and you don't have him backing Edey down. If he can get baskets one on one against Edey, fine, you shake his hand and move on.

But I want him having to expend energy on beating Edey, having him put his weight on him, make those 24 minutes a game as tiring as possible. Cover everyone else, limit his assists. Tell Edey not to reach or go for blocks unless it's straight up.

Let TKR chase any three point bigs.

Then let Edey foul out whichever big they put on him. I don't want Zach chasing stretch 5s all game.
So when you read that he and O'Connell have almost half the assists for the year you immediately think it is coming out of a double and so you have concerns doubling, but not sure what kind of doubling he normally sees. Worried about the 6'9" forward Diarra (sp?) getting points he can't get elsewhere due to Trey and Zach in any double at the rim. @mediaexpert says they take a lot of shots in the lane. Do those shots in the lane happen due to cutting through the lane when Burns is doubled from perimeter players rather than shooting 3 balls? Ideally, it sounds as though there are a lot of reasons for Zach to defend Burns, but Zach has to be mentally sharp to not take a chance on a foul because Burns is going to play less than half a game and ideally just being smart on Burns for the half probably provides Purdue enough scoring the whole game to win it. However, the absolute scenario that is worst, is Zach picking up fouls and so there are reasons to be cautious with Zach on D.

not sure if the tourney games are somewhat a replication of the season or not, but that seems pretty important in understanding when looking at data
 
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So when you read that he and O'Connell have almost half the assists for the year you immediately think it is coming out of a double and so you have concerns doubling, but not sure what kind of doubling he normally sees. Worried about the 6'9" forward Diarra (sp?) getting points he can't get elsewhere due to Trey and Zach in any double at the rim. @mediaexpert says they take a lot of shots in the lane. Do those shots in the lane happen due to cutting through the lane when Burns is doubled from perimeter players rather than shooting 3 balls? Ideally, it sounds as though there are a lot of reasons for Zach to defend Burns, but Zach has to be mentally sharp to not take a chance on a foul because Burns is going to play less than half a game and ideally just being smart on Burns for the half probably provides Purdue enough scoring the whole game to win it. However, the absolute scenario that is worst, is Zach picking up fouls and so there are reasons to be cautious with Zach on D.

not sure if the tourney games are somewhat a replication of the season or not, but that seems pretty important in understanding when looking at data
As others have said, Burns gets some assists outside of the post, not just off of double teams. He will get the ball away from the basket and pass to others for scores from there. I agree completely with qazplm, let Zach guard Burns one on one and let TKR or Gillis chase the other big. Zach just needs to stay out of foul trouble and we will be fine. He is the one thing they have no answer for and as long as we keep him on the floor, I think our efficient offense will take control.

Zach on the floor and 10 or fewer TO's and I love our chances.
 
Burns is 1-5 from 3 for the year.
Diarra is 21-66 from 3 for the year.

Give me Edey on Burns all day long.
This is exactly my point. I have seen some highlights, and have not seen any games. Middleton takes half of a 3 per game and shoots worse than Burns. Diarra takes just 1.5 3's per game, and makes less than a third. I seriously doubt NCS game plan is to have him take more than 5. Ilke made 2 wide open 3's and then was terrible when Zach got within 10 feet. It looks like Middletonis bean pole, who look fat next to Dirra, and they split time at center.

Burns looks like a point forward. TKR also likes the dipsy do moves and, thus, can hang with him and concentrate on wearing Burns down. If Zach is in the paint, Burns will not be backing TKR down.

What if, Burns does a dipsy do move early on and gets a foul on Zach? Zach will not pick up a foul guarding the other two centers. And, I would gamble that NCS does not change up what has worked so well for them. They will play right into our strength.
 
As others have said, Burns gets some assists outside of the post, not just off of double teams. He will get the ball away from the basket and pass to others for scores from there. I agree completely with qazplm, let Zach guard Burns one on one and let TKR or Gillis chase the other big. Zach just needs to stay out of foul trouble and we will be fine. He is the one thing they have no answer for and as long as we keep him on the floor, I think our efficient offense will take control.

Zach on the floor and 10 or fewer TO's and I love our chances.
That pretty much is how Purdue plays all the time, other than I'm unsure Zach can play drop as a result due to Diarra and/Middlebrook possibly feasting inside should their perimeter players get in the lane
 
Just beating the dead horse but if you aren’t following Joe Jackson on Twitter/X - do it. Great analysis on us and opposing teams. Just started a thread on how NC State defends the post and usually goes 1 on 1. I do wonder if we see Zach do a lot of drop step action against DJ because he isn’t as quick on his feet.

 
Did anyone watch the Marquette game? I may need to go back and watch it. Looking at the box score, it looks like Marquette just missed a bunch of shots. They only had 9 turnovers but shot 4-31 from three and 14-23 from the free throw line. I wonder if it was NC State's D or just an off game. Sounds more like the latter from the game recap.

A couple of snippets:

The finish of the first half said it all as the Golden Eagles finished with a season low in points. After Oso Ighodaro missed a dunk, Marquette got the rebound, only for David Joplin to miss a 3 to drop to 0 of 5 from deep before the break. Joplin was fouled on a 3-pointer with 2.2 seconds remaining in the first half, and missed all three free throws.

“Our mentality is even if we have a tough shooting night, find a way to win anyway,” coach Shaka Smart said. “And we weren’t quite good enough on the defensive end to get that done with the shooting night that we had.”
 
Just beating the dead horse but if you aren’t following Joe Jackson on Twitter/X - do it. Great analysis on us and opposing teams. Just started a thread on how NC State defends the post and usually goes 1 on 1. I do wonder if we see Zach do a lot of drop step action against DJ because he isn’t as quick on his feet.

Surprised Burns gave ground so easy back then. Where everybody would continue to shove Zach, Burns put his hands up not on and gave a little ground. If Zach gets the ball deep and shoots normally Zach should be in good shape. That said...they were right there with Tenn a little more than a 1/4th a season in
 
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Did anyone watch the Marquette game? I may need to go back and watch it. Looking at the box score, it looks like Marquette just missed a bunch of shots. They only had 9 turnovers but shot 4-31 from three and 14-23 from the free throw line. I wonder if it was NC State's D or just an off game. Sounds more like the latter from the game recap.

A couple of snippets:

The finish of the first half said it all as the Golden Eagles finished with a season low in points. After Oso Ighodaro missed a dunk, Marquette got the rebound, only for David Joplin to miss a 3 to drop to 0 of 5 from deep before the break. Joplin was fouled on a 3-pointer with 2.2 seconds remaining in the first half, and missed all three free throws.

“Our mentality is even if we have a tough shooting night, find a way to win anyway,” coach Shaka Smart said. “And we weren’t quite good enough on the defensive end to get that done with the shooting night that we had.”
regardless, Marquette is good even with a bad shooting game
 
Did anyone watch the Marquette game? I may need to go back and watch it. Looking at the box score, it looks like Marquette just missed a bunch of shots. They only had 9 turnovers but shot 4-31 from three and 14-23 from the free throw line. I wonder if it was NC State's D or just an off game. Sounds more like the latter from the game recap.

A couple of snippets:

The finish of the first half said it all as the Golden Eagles finished with a season low in points. After Oso Ighodaro missed a dunk, Marquette got the rebound, only for David Joplin to miss a 3 to drop to 0 of 5 from deep before the break. Joplin was fouled on a 3-pointer with 2.2 seconds remaining in the first half, and missed all three free throws.

“Our mentality is even if we have a tough shooting night, find a way to win anyway,” coach Shaka Smart said. “And we weren’t quite good enough on the defensive end to get that done with the shooting night that we had.”
I doubt anyone did because it was the same time as our game. I had it on a laptop, but only glanced at the score occasionally.
 
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