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Game 3 Preview: #3 Purdue vs Xavier

On3 imageby: Brian Neubert11/13/23brianneubert

Third-ranked Purdue hits a meaty portion of its non-conference schedule now after a pair of buy-game wins, as Xavier visits Monday night in what will be the final season of the Gavitt Games between the Big Ten and Big East.

DETAILS: Monday 13 | 8:30 p.m. ET | TV: FS1 (Jason Benetti, Jim Jackson) | Radio: Purdue Radio Network
PURDUE (2-0): ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATS
XAVIER (2-0): ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATS

TeamAPCoachesNETKenPomKenPom Win%
Purdue32—187%
Xavier———3913%

THREE THINGS ABOUT PURDUE

• It’s too early, with too little relevant basketball having been played, for any statistic to really matter, but Purdue’s 1.149 points per possession on offense is a very good number, especially taking into account how much garbage time there’s been.

• Didn’t matter all that much, but opponents have collected 26 offensive rebounds through two games. That’s largely a product of them shooting and missing a lot of threes then getting long rebounds, but it’s been an emphasis for Purdue to block out at all positions.

• Zach Edey is averaging 17 points per game on an average of just seven field goal attempts.

• This is probably the game where the rotation starts to tighten. Through two games, 10 players averaged 10 or more minutes (though Ethan Morton played in just one game). That’s not sustainable.

Morton missed the Morehead State game due to illness, but practiced Sunday and would seem good to go.

A FEW THINGS ABOUT THIS GAME

• Xavier is playing without several key pieces to its team. Big man Zach Freemantle is sidelined recovering from foot surgery and Jerome Hunter (formerly of Indiana) is out due to what is believed to be a heart condition. Also, big man Logan Duncomb (also an IU transfer) has stepped away from basketball due to a health matter.

The Musketeers have 10 new players — six freshmen and four transfers.

• Couple connections between these two programs: Purdue athletic director Mike Bobinski held the same position at Xavier from 1998-2004 and 2006-2013; Xavier A.D. Greg Christopher was at Purdue from 1997-2006 as an associate A.D. under Morgan Burke.

THREE KEYS FOR PURDUE

Pace and TransitionMake Early ShotsRebounding
Purdue is playing fast any time the opportunity presents itself. Xavier will want a faster game. The Boilermakers’ transition defense and ability to keep X out of transition will be the key to the game.Purdue has to shoot threes at a higher rate than last season, but it’s the early ones that can matter more because can set the terms of play from the jump.Purdue should have a huge advantage on the interior but also needs to do a better job securing long rebounds against a smaller, quicker team. Offensive rebounding should loom large for Purdue all season.

GOLDANDBLACK.COM PREDICTION: PURDUE 82, XAVIER 70

Purdue is just much more of a known commodity here and should have a handful of massive advantages, one of them being Mackey Arena.

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