By: Spencer McCraw

If you’re reading this, it may be too late to get on the bandwagon for the Purdue Boilermakers. At the end of Feast Week, Matt Painter’s squad stands at 6-0 after impressive victories over no. 6 Gonzaga and no. 8 Duke en route to a Phil Knight Legacy Championship. 

Let’s get the obvious out of the way: Zach Edey is an unstoppable force and an immovable object all wrapped into one. In their three games of the tournament, Edey averaged 22.7 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. While he may not be the most skilled player in the country, he is surely one of the most dominant. Standing at 7 ‘4 and weighing in at 290 pounds, there is basically no one in the country that can out muscle this man. This leads to coaches having to double Edey in the post, which, with his frame, allows him to pass out to the perimeter, allowing Matt Painter’s elite shooters to shine.

If coaches decide not to double Edey, then they might as well just chalk up two points for the Canadian. Aside from his scoring and passing ability, Edey is always able to keep offensive possessions alive, as he averaged four offensive rebounds in the PKL Tournament. Long story short: Zach Edey is one of the most dominant players in college basketball, but one player can’t do it all. 

Last year, the Boilermakers found elite guard play in the fourth overall pick of the 2022 NBA Draft, Jaden Ivey. And this year? Well, they still have elite guard play. Friday’s game against Gonzaga was freshman Braden Smith’s first real introduction to a national audience. The freshman looked like prime Steve Nash, running all over the court and finding the open teammate with ease. Smith finished with 14 points, seven assists and five rebounds in the win. Several of these assists went the way of the other freshman from Indiana. 

A pure shooting guard, Fletcher Loyer also showed out during the tournament. Throughout the PKL, Loyer ran the lanes and went a solid eight of 18 from beyond the arc. Above all, he was patient and waited for the ball to come to him. When Edey was doubled down low, Loyer found himself open from beyond the arc, and the same thing rang true when Smith pushed the tempo in transition. 

The game plan is simple for Matt Painter: get the ball down low to Zach Edey and hope for an easy basket; if he gets doubled, pass out to the perimeter so that their guards can knock down an open jumper. It’s hard to find holes in this plan, and, until anyone does, I don’t think many teams in the country can beat this Purdue team. With all the upsets around the country this week, I would be shocked if the Boilermakers didn’t find themselves inside the top-10  – if not the top five – as they will likely stay there for some time.