The last time Purdue’s men’s basketball team played a meaningful game, it was being dealt an upset for the ages at last season’s NCAA Tournament.
The Boilermakers’ 63-58 first-round loss to Fairleigh Dickinson in Columbus, Ohio, seemed less a fluke and more a bad matchup as the game progressed. They couldn’t get enough help for National Player of the Year Zach Edey and had trouble keeping the Knights from getting the shots they wanted.
It added up to just the second 16-over-1 victory in NCAA tourney history, sending Purdue into a long offseason that will finally end on Nov. 6 when it starts the new season in West Lafayette, Ind., against Samford.
On paper, it’s hard to imagine the Boilermakers won’t make a March impact in 2024. They won 29 games last season and return nearly all of their starters, including Edey (22.3 points, 12.9 rebounds, 2.1 blocked shots).
Purdue added quick, defensive-minded guard Lance Jones in the transfer portal. He also scored 1,514 points in four years at Southern Illinois, where he never had a post player like Edey.
“Playing with Zach, he draws so much attention from every single body,” Jones said. “Having a person that creates that much attention, that makes my game easier.”
Coach Matt Painter appears to have enough depth to wear down most opponents. He played 11 men on Oct. 28 in an overtime loss at Arkansas in a charity exhibition that saw Edey play only 24 minutes because of foul trouble, yet still produce 15 points and nine rebounds.
Players such as Ethan Morton, Mason Gillis and Caleb Furst, who all started a majority of last season, might not get as much playing time this season.
“There’s going to be some people playing short minutes that are pretty good players,” Painter said. “There’s going to be a guy or two that might not play in games that are good players.”
As for Samford, it’s been picked second in the Southern Conference preseason media poll behind only defending champion Furman. The Bulldogs will pin their hopes for an upset on preseason All-SoCon second-teamer Jermaine Marshall, a 6-6 forward who led them to a 21-win campaign last season.
Marshall averaged 13.3 points and 6.5 boards, posting a shooting slash line of 47/38/80, and was second on the team in steals with 1.3.
Samford is scheduling aggressively under coach Bucky McMillan. It’s playing at VCU after facing Purdue and will also take on Belmont, SWAC champion Texas Southern and defending Sun Belt champion Louisiana.
“We’re excited about how the non-conference schedule came together,” McMillan said. “We will be tested early and often to say the least. Playing Purdue with Zach Edey is a marquee game, to say the least.”
The Boilermakers have won both previous meetings of the programs, including an 80-40 decision on Nov. 14, 2014.
–Field Level Media
