Hoops Preview: Notre Dame Vs. Purdue
NOTRE DAME (9-1) VS. PURDUE (8-2)
Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis
Rankings: Notre Dame is ranked No. 21 in the Associated Press poll; Purdue is No. 15.
Time/TV: 2 p.m./ESPN2
Matchup History: This is the 43rd matchup between Notre Dame and Purdue and the first time that both teams are in the national rankings. The Irish lead the all-time series 22-20. Notre Dame is 10-4 at neutral sites.
Notre Dame Notes
Saturday marks the sixth time the Irish have played in the annual Crossroads Classic, a two-game event that features the top college programs in Indiana. Notre Dame is 3-2 in the Crossroads, losing to Indiana a year ago.
Notre Dame and Purdue play at 2 p.m., followed by Butler-Indiana in game two. Saturday marks the first time in the history of the event that all four teams are ranked.
“Our fans now over time put this on the calendar,” head coach Mike Brey said.
Notre Dame is coming off a 74-66 loss to No. 1 Villanova this past Saturday. The Irish led for most of the game, but were not able to hold off senior guard Josh Hart and the Wildcats.
The Irish are still off to the best start in Brey’s 17 seasons, and the loss doesn’t seem to be hurting the team moving forward.
“We still have a lot of confidence and we stayed together,” junior forward Bonzie Colson said. “That game is over with, there’s no need to dwell on that. Now it’s time to worry about Purdue and look at them as a matchup and do everything to win.”
Brey, in fact, said overcoming the Villanova loss was not a major talking point this week.
“I don’t think I have to talk a lot about it,” he said.
Saturday is just the fourth meeting between Notre Dame and Purdue since 1966.
Matt Farrell — Has made 28 straight free throws dating back to last season.
Steve Vasturia — Has nine games in double figures scoring this season. Only Colson has more.
V.J. Beachem — Scored a season-low four points against Villanova.
Bonzie Colson — Had his streak of six-straight double-doubles snapped against Villanova.
Martinas Geben — Has yet to score in double figures yet this season.
Purdue Overview
The Boilermakers enter Saturday’s game on a three-game winning streak and are ranked No. 15 in the country. Their only losses came to Villanova and Louisville, two of the top programs in college basketball.
Purdue is 0-5 in the Crossroads Classic and 0-2 against the Irish. The most recent game was in 2014, a 94-63 blowout win for Notre Dame.
The Boilermakers present a big front line, led by sophomore forward Caleb Swanigan and junior center Isaac Haas. Swanigan is 6-9, 250, while Haas is 7-2, 290.
“It’s going to be a fun game,” Colson said. “They have really talented bigs and it’s going to be a hard-fought game. We have to stick with our principles and keep attacking and keep rebounding.”
Brey is 2-0 against Purdue head coach Matt Painter.
“I have a lot of respect for Matt Painter and what he’s done with that program,” Brey said. “They’re always going to guard the heck out of you. They’ve really built the program on really solid half court man-to-man defense. Lately they’ve been huge with that front line. It kind of wears you down.”
Swanigan leads the team in scoring at 15.9 points per game. He’s also the leading rebounder, grabbing 11.2 per game. Haas adds 14.8 points and 5.3 rebounds per contest, while freshman guard Carsen Edwards (11.3) and junior guard Dakota Mathias (10.8) also average double-figure scoring.
Purdue is averaging 83.7 points per game and is shooting 44.1 percent on three-pointers.
“The thing that scares the heck out of you is they’ve got the guys that can score around the bucket in Haas and Swanigan, but then they’ve got guys shooting over 40 percent from the three-point line,” Brey said. “You can’t help too much or you get lit up from the three-point line.”
Brey said Haas and Swanigan play about half of their minutes together. The Irish head coach said it’ll be a matter of matching his smaller lineup — inserting sophomore wing Rex Pflueger in for junior forward Martinas Geben — at the right times.
“When are we downshifting, when are we not? When is it effective?” Brey said. “I don’t want to overanalyze how big they are, and then all of a sudden we just have to play big the whole game. I still want us to get a feel.”
Brey said he’s challenged his players to rebound against the Boilermakers, who are +8.5 in rebounding margin (Notre Dame is +4.2).
Colson, averaging 10.8 rebounds per game, will be a major key to Notre Dame’s success on the glass. Brey said he needs Colson to be a “junkyard dog” against Purdue.
“We have to really get on the glass,” Beachem said. “If we’re really on the glass we have a chance to run. If we can get on the glass and make those big guys run in transition, that’s going to be huge for us.”
Outlook
Purdue has the definite advantage inside with its two big men, and that matchup should be exploited plenty against the Irish. With ACC play just two weeks away, this is the last opportunity for a quality non-conference win.
Prediction: Purdue 80, Notre Dame 75
Vegas Spread: N/A
----
• Talk about it inside Rockne’s Roundtable
• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, Blue & Gold Illustrated.
• Follow us on Twitter: @BGINews, @BGI_LouSomogyi, @BGI_CoachD, @BGI_MattJones, @BGI_DMcKinney and @BGI_CoreyBodden.
• Like us on Facebook.