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What needs to happen for Purdue to beat Tennessee tomorrow?

Heide has the size but Knecht is really crafty and will find ways to get looks. I think you just try different combos and see if you can get him to try and do too much.
Or, do you let Knecht get his and not let someone else go off for 20+?
Yeah. I can see Knecht drawing some cheap fouls on Heide, but Heide fouls because he really competes on D and I think he makes Knecht work for his points. I don’t think that you can expect to stop him, but if you can make him take tough shots and affect his efficiency, I see that as a win.
 
Gillis also doesn't get enough praise. Thought he played good defense, especially in second half. Knocked down 2/3 threes, 3/0 a/to, all positive impacts. He played better than last outing with the zags. Huge Gillis fan. He will be missed.
True, but Cam has a bit more size and does pretty well on the ball D. I was glad to see Mason get untracked...THAT could be huge! Purdue has different people making impact, but teams that play Purdue focus most effort on Braden and Zach and from there get into specific things on other players, but their game plan will mostly be about Zach and Braden for the overall approach
 
Jones on Knecht to start. See how he does. Rotate in Heide and…gulp…Morton if Kenct gets hot.
Feed Edey. Get there bigs frustrated.

I think TKR will be really important. If they focus on ZE, TKR needs to crash the glass hard, play garbage man and get those 50/50 balls.
Pretty spot on. Based on how they beat up Zach in Maui, it will be curious to see how the refs call it. Remember the refs changed how they called stuff when Barnes went ballistic and got a T.
 
You play them like Kentucky played them in Knoxville. Let Knect get his (don’t double team) and shit down the other guys. UK limited offensive rebounds and didn’t turn it over until the last minutes They also hit 3s to avoiding 3pt disparity!
 
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You play them like Kentucky played them in Knoxville. Let Knect get his (don’t double team) and shit down the other guys. UK limited offensive rebounds and didn’t turn it over until the last minutes They also hit 3s to avoiding 3pt disparity!
Agree about not double-teaming. And like others, I'd definitely rotate coverage, both to give him different looks and to make sure guys like Jones don't get over-extended. I'd take a look at what Texas did when they almost upset the Vols last week.

Bears repeating that although TN is better now, so are we.
 
Pretty spot on. Based on how they beat up Zach in Maui, it will be curious to see how the refs call it. Remember the refs changed how they called stuff when Barnes went ballistic and got a T.
Painter will need to work the refs early and often and not let Barnes win that battle.
I don’t think the refs want to let it be a rock fight which is how Tenn will play.
 
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Agree about not double-teaming. And like others, I'd definitely rotate coverage, both to give him different looks and to make sure guys like Jones don't get over-extended. I'd take a look at what Texas did when they almost upset the Vols last week.

Bears repeating that although TN is better now, so are we.
Being ignorant of Tenn in some sense, the question always exists of whether you put lance if capable on a 1-3 scorer or find it better to put him on the ball if another player on opposition has a big hand in their offense. A lot can be said about Lance on the ball of their ONE...especially if Kneight has a lean to shoot rather than drive an Lance gives up a few inches. That said, their 1 may not be as important as Lance making it harder for Kneight to drive the ball since you are not going to foul the three point shooter.
 
So with two people capable of handling the ball there are a few things to counter that pressure. If one defender is particularly important on D and they put him on Braden you can always take him out by using Lance to bring the ball up and bringing Braden off a screen to get more in the offense since jamming the ball down the court has been removed. Course, they will also have a good defender on Lance...but is he good enough? Purdue does this a little at times every game and so it isn't something new. Then the obvious screen to remove pressure. Not sure who will have Fletch and who will have Trey, but leaning to Trey to provide a screen since he will bring a slower big and keep Zach already low so you can push it a bit if needed after the screen. Maybe do that with Fltech screening, but I don't have a great understanding of Tenn to know who might be best, but in my ignorance I'm guessing Trey. Don't want to set up Zach by waiting for him to go low after a screen. Course they could double Braden if Trey screens or in reality on any screen. doubling on ball screens was dropped out of favor when they started having a quick whistle, but can certainly be effective with a slow whistle.

They are going to take their vaulted D and focus on Braden I believe. I expect some turnovers, but hope their offense is not good enough. Kim reminding me I have some things to do... :)
Just more wisdom
 
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I just hope the refs CALL them.....as you say you know TN going to foul, and foul alot. Not just on Edey either, their perimeter guys foul a ton. Letting them do that would be a big problem, so hope they call the game as is.
the refs last night called very few fouls and that worries me for our game because they will mug edey every possession
 
I can see a world in which Knecht tries to do too much pushing and not making the best decisions. Wishful thinking maybe… but maybe not! Ball movement on offense putting them in rotations can be to our advantage
I "sense" the same. There were some great players with awful games that past few days.
 
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True, but Cam has a bit more size and does pretty well on the ball D. I was glad to see Mason get untracked...THAT could be huge! Purdue has different people making impact, but teams that play Purdue focus most effort on Braden and Zach and from there get into specific things on other players, but their game plan will mostly be about Zach and Braden for the overall approach
I’ll go find the clip analysis but Cam did a great job on Knecht. One of the drives he even elevates behind him for the block.

 
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You play them like Kentucky played them in Knoxville. Let Knect get his (don’t double team) and shit down the other guys. UK limited offensive rebounds and didn’t turn it over until the last minutes They also hit 3s to avoiding 3pt disparity!
Shit down the other guys? Is that legal in the USA? :)
 
I am less worried about this game than I was about Gonzaga.

I wasn't worried at all about Gonzaga.

To beat us you need to have at least three of the four happen:

Your team Shoot > 50% at high volume from 3 - more than 12 makes
Turn Purdue over at least 13 times
Purdue shoot under 60% from the FT line
Purdue shoot under 30% from three.

TN doesn't have the team that can shoot high % volume three's so you are left with three out of three, all of which are massive reductions in percentages for Purdue. In other words, they have to hope Purdue misses free throws and this is our game to lose - which can and more than I care to think about, has happened.

Purdue is just so efficient offensively. Can beat you so many ways at all three levels. And has a generational glass cleaner in case they miss.

Defensively, we go over every screen and drop coverage. We give up long range two's and stretch 4 and 5 three's. Those are low percentage shots that will fail you late in games. Don't know about you all, but when I see a guy hit two three's and has only shot 7 all year, I get excited. It means their offense is not getting what it wants and they are finding any shot they can. Ike wasn't going to hit 8 three's yesterday which is what would need to happen for it to matter

By the under 12 minute TO, Zach has taken your front court's soul and their will to play. They start reaching and fouling out of sheer exhaustion and frustration. But Zach still comes with a motor that I've never seen in someone that big. He plays with the energy of a walk on for 30 minutes through all that abuse. I would be demoralized after a day of trying to stop him too.

The prophet Mike Tyson said: Everybody's got a plan until they get punched in the face. Zach is an overhand right you didn't see coming no matter how many times you've played him. You can't replicate him to practice against. Especially in 24 hours.

As long as we get the ball across half court consistently and our TO's are dead ball turnovers to avoid them getting in transition - shot clock violations and 10 second counts are better than a bad shot tomorrow- we win by double digits,
 
Before diving in, I want to extend my apologies to some of the folks here. Having been a part of this since 2006, I've grown accustomed to a certain result come March over the years. However, this tournament feels distinctly different from the past 15+ years, with the exception of perhaps 2019.

Moving on, what strategies do we need to employ to overcome Tennessee? Observing their aggressive ball pressure, I'm hopeful that Smith is fully recovered and prepared for the challenge. It's moments like these when I wish we still had Ivey, Kramer or Etwaun still on our team…
One simple chore.....find someone who can effectively guard Knecht the entire game. I stated before the tourney draw that I didn't want to see Purdue vs. Tennessee, but I'd love to see an all Big final.
 
Just more wisdom
Thank you. May or may not be wisdom, but it is a valid thought or possibility. Got an hour before shower and take off to see Tommy James and the Shondells. Kim bought the tickets a while back and thanked her and then told her I hope Purdue was on a Friday and Sunday. Naturally, I figured Purdue was in the Midwest and from what I could see that would be Friday and Sunday. Worked out for tonight.

Already productive for the last couple of hours...Put piston in truck rear drum...was leaking, but need someone to help me bleed it Sunday or Monday. Changed oil in Grasshopper, replaced top engine mount (dog bone) on Buick and reset 5 mole traps that needed moved a bit. I'll give that couple of days and then will have to hook up landscape rake and rakee up the many sticks that have fallen. Always something, but when it gets warm it feels good to work. If Purdue wins tomorrow...I won't be doing anything other than being on the forums some and watching the other games. ;)

I hope Gene gets to see a Final Four...possibly the first of a few depending of it they get the NIL under control and I have no doubt that if Purdue wins Gene will be pulled into the celebration...
 
I’ll go find the clip analysis but Cam did a great job on Knecht. One of the drives he even elevates behind him for the block.

Cam in my eyes is a key defensive player for Purdue at this time. He does a good job moving his feet and stays with people pretty well, has some length and as a last resort can jump out of the gym. I would prefer him shade Kneight's right hand a bit to buy that split second by forcing his drive on the right farther out and away from a more straight line...and if he goes left he is not going to be as good in his dribble or the height of the shot. Shade the right 1/2 body max, but get over on his right hand some.

What I don't know that could be important is whether he gives it up when he starts to make a move and D contains it or continues to try to score. If he tries to score without giving it up, then we know you can help on him. I don't know whether he does or doesn't?
 
I am less worried about this game than I was about Gonzaga.

I wasn't worried at all about Gonzaga.

To beat us you need to have at least three of the four happen:

Your team Shoot > 50% at high volume from 3 - more than 12 makes
Turn Purdue over at least 13 times
Purdue shoot under 60% from the FT line
Purdue shoot under 30% from three.

TN doesn't have the team that can shoot high % volume three's so you are left with three out of three, all of which are massive reductions in percentages for Purdue. In other words, they have to hope Purdue misses free throws and this is our game to lose - which can and more than I care to think about, has happened.

Purdue is just so efficient offensively. Can beat you so many ways at all three levels. And has a generational glass cleaner in case they miss.

Defensively, we go over every screen and drop coverage. We give up long range two's and stretch 4 and 5 three's. Those are low percentage shots that will fail you late in games. Don't know about you all, but when I see a guy hit two three's and has only shot 7 all year, I get excited. It means their offense is not getting what it wants and they are finding any shot they can. Ike wasn't going to hit 8 three's yesterday which is what would need to happen for it to matter

By the under 12 minute TO, Zach has taken your front court's soul and their will to play. They start reaching and fouling out of sheer exhaustion and frustration. But Zach still comes with a motor that I've never seen in someone that big. He plays with the energy of a walk on for 30 minutes through all that abuse. I would be demoralized after a day of trying to stop him too.

The prophet Mike Tyson said: Everybody's got a plan until they get punched in the face. Zach is an overhand right you didn't see coming no matter how many times you've played him. You can't replicate him to practice against. Especially in 24 hours.

As long as we get the ball across half court consistently and our TO's are dead ball turnovers to avoid them getting in transition - shot clock violations and 10 second counts are better than a bad shot tomorrow- we win by double digits,
Purdue never started out it drop against Gonzaga, but yes that is the typical D. I'm not as confident because I've seen too many unusual games in my life, but "IF" Purdue plays a good game....does what it usually does, Tennessee will probably not have enough to score with Purdue.
 
Thank you. May or may not be wisdom, but it is a valid thought or possibility. Got an hour before shower and take off to see Tommy James and the Shondells. Kim bought the tickets a while back and thanked her and then told her I hope Purdue was on a Friday and Sunday. Naturally, I figured Purdue was in the Midwest and from what I could see that would be Friday and Sunday. Worked out for tonight.

Already productive for the last couple of hours...Put piston in truck rear drum...was leaking, but need someone to help me bleed it Sunday or Monday. Changed oil in Grasshopper, replaced top engine mount (dog bone) on Buick and reset 5 mole traps that needed moved a bit. I'll give that couple of days and then will have to hook up landscape rake and rakee up the many sticks that have fallen. Always something, but when it gets warm it feels good to work. If Purdue wins tomorrow...I won't be doing anything other than being on the forums some and watching the other games. ;)

I hope Gene gets to see a Final Four...possibly the first of a few depending of it they get the NIL under control and I have no doubt that if Purdue wins Gene will be pulled into the celebration...
we got two outdoor/barn cats ... no more moles other than the dead ones lying on the ground. I was amazed.
 
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we got two outdoor/barn cats ... no more moles other than the dead ones lying on the ground. I was amazed.
I had a protection trained Doberman that killed every mole with such a short path out of the woods. Died probably 20 years ago…phenomenal dog
 
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"They can't match up and will foul us all game."
True, but will the same refs from the TN/Creighton game (where they mysteriously swallowed their whistles) be the refs for our game vs TN?

Announcer in the ILL vs UConn game:

"I can't believe how much contact they allow in the college game".

The ref pool in NCAA is piss poor. Talking incessantly about all the fouls they are letting go in this game. He's right. They do that in our Illinois game....huge advantage to TN.
 
Announcer in the ILL vs UConn game:

"I can't believe how much contact they allow in the college game".

The ref pool in NCAA is piss poor. Talking incessantly about all the fouls they are letting go in this game. He's right. They do that in our Illinois game....huge advantage to TN.
Lazy refs in the Illini game. But Illinois lost that game with bad shot selection, inability at the line, and rebounds.
 
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I realize this is after the fact. But I would say Purdue needs to control the tempo much like I said before our Illinois game. Purdue is not going to win a run and gun shootout. They need to keep the score in the 70’s. And force Tennessee to play Purdue’s style of game.

The Same thoughts apply to nc state, Alabama and UConn
 
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