The Three Pointer: Purdue (4-0) vs. Marquette (4-0)

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The Boilers and Golden Eagles meet for a third consecutive season with the Boilers winning the two previous meetings

The Purdue Boilermakers will face off against the #15 Marquette Golden Eagles in their first road game of the season (if you aren’t counting the exhibition at Creighton). Purdue, following their victory over then #2 Alabama, ascended to #6 in the AP and just nearly missed out on a top 5 ranking (12 votes behind Iowa State). The top 10 ranking marks the fourth consecutive year that Purdue has been ranked in the top 10 while also being ranked for the 10th consecutive year overall.

Marquette is led by Kam Jones, a big bodied guard who is averaging 24 points, 3.8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals per game. Overall, Marquette is built similarly to Purdue with three foundational pieces that play 30 or more minutes per game with a collection of six other pieces playing between 25 and 11 minutes per game. Notably, one of those three pieces is Chase Ross, a junior guard who is shooting 50% from behind the arc on 7-14 shooting. Marquette’s issue will be finding a player to defend TKR, Furst, and Berg consistently on the inside and keep them off the boards with the loss of Oso Ighodaro to the NBA.

Purdue will again lean heavily on their foundational three of Smith, Loyer, and TKR while also hoping to get a similar defensive effort from the trio of Harris, Cox, and Colvin that they got against Alabama’s Mark Sears. Like Sears, Jones isn’t a player who can likely be shut down but they can make him inefficient and limit his ability to get others involved. That will likely be the focus for Purdue while TKR will get plenty of opportunities to score in the low post.

Let’s get into ‘The Three Pointer.’

1 | Keep Working Hard on the Glass

The effort was the best we had seen from the Boilers on the glass against the Crimson Tide. That length they can put on the floor, the physicality they play with, and the aggressive nature they attack the glass posed a significant challenge for a team that had given up 15 offensive rebounds to two separate opponents. What the Boilers got instead was a slim margin of being just down two rebounds but only giving 11 offensive rebounds while grabbing 10 of their own.

Marquette comes in grabbing an average of 35.25 rebounds per game which ranks them 259th while the Boilers clock in at 275th with 34.5. Purdue’s chances have been somewhat limited because of their efficiency on offense and high shooting percentages. Generally, Marquette matches that same profile shooting 60.2% from inside the arc but have struggled to just 30% as a team behind the arc.

Purdue will need an effort on the glass like it got against Alabama on a nightly basis from the entire roster as it doesn’t have a singular dominant rebounder like it had in Edey, Trevion Williams, or Biggie in years past. If Purdue can outrebound Marquette and limit their offensive rebounds that lead to second chance points, it would be a boost to Purdue’s chances.

2 | Minimize the Turnovers

Just three turnovers for the Boilers in their victory set a new standard for the program under Matt Painter. What a time to show the players on the roster what they are capable of when they are taking advantage of each opportunity and what that can mean in the grand scheme of things. Purdue’s roster, the way that it is constructed, has the ability to be consistently around 8 turnovers a night. That would place them inside the top 8 in the country and that should really be the target area for as veteran as this team and what CJ Cox and Gicarri Harris have shown as freshman.

Currently, the Boilers are averaging 10.5 while Marquette is forcing an average of 18 per game. This is probably the reason why Purdue was able to get that important victory in 2022 with just 8 turnovers but struggled in the second half with 15 turnovers while losing a 12 point lead. Purdue should be around 8 for most opponents but against a team like Marquette the focus should be 10.

3 | Feed TKR

Head Coach Nate Oats’ failure to prepare for TKR’s inside post up ability probably put the target squarely on his back for the rest of the season. That’s what a 26 points night on 12-23 shooting will do for you as he could have easily gotten 34 had he made his typical run of shots. Marquette will be as familiar with Purdue as any opponent on their schedule so I doubt TKR will surprise Shaka Smart as his staff, but that doesn’t mean they’ll have much to stop him.

Iso Oghodaro is gone to the NBA and Marquette lacks a true dominate inside presence to block shots and defend the low post. The first to get a crack at TKR will be 6’11 220 pound forward Ben Gold, a junior out of New Zealand who is the least effective rebounder Marquette has in their starting five. Best guess is Purdue will look to really isolate Gold, Parham, and Hamilton against TKR with Loyer and Smith on the same side to force lots of help off PNR.

TKR will need another good night to grab a victory on the road in one of the toughest environments in the Big East. Does he need a 30 point night? Probably not, but he’ll need to be the guy Purdue can go to when the offense gets a bit stagnant and they need to grind out some minutes. TKR has shown he is more than capable of being a guy Purdue can ride.

And 1 | Continue the Defensive Intensity from Harris, Cox, and Colvin

All that Purdue did against one of the premier point guards in the country is force him to be inefficient on 5-15 shooting overall with 4 turnovers and that was enough to really slow Alabama overall. Yes, Sears had 6 assists but that is largely because of the weight he carries with the ball in his hand for so many possessions and how he is able to manipulate defenses. He is that darn good so he deserve credit but so does Purdue for what they were able to do.

Jones is a similar kind of guard to Sears and Smith but in a 6’4 frame that will likely be playing in the NBA next season. Jones is currently ranked 8th on Kenpom’s National Player of the Year standings and if it wasn’t for Ryan Kalkbrenner would be a no-brainer for Big East POTY. Jones may not be a first team All American with Sears and Smith taking the lime light but he is no joke. He has the ability to drop 30 any night and against Purdue is no different.

The Boilers have faced some big guards already this season and have a litany of bodies to through at Jones throughout the game to see who is most effective. If Purdue can force Jones to take as many shots as he scores points, that bodes well for the road team. Jones can score 20 or 22 but if he requires 15 to 20 shots to get there, that means others aren’t involved and he isn’t being efficient.

Players to Watch:

Kam Jones | #1 | Guard |6-4 185 | 24.0 Pts, 3.8 Reb, 5.0 Ast

David Joplin | #23 | Forward | 6-7 215 | 13.3 Pts, 7.0 Reb, 1.3 Ast

Ben Gold | #12 | Forward | 6-11 220 | 7.3 Pts, 3.3 Reb, 1.5 A

Prediction:

Another great test early in the season for Purdue and I liked what I saw from them in that exhibition at Creighton. It’ll be a similar environment and Marquette doesn’t have the dominant big that could cause Purdue some issues. Overall, I think Purdue is the better team with the better scorers and playmakers at the top of the roster. The issue is this is a road game against a program that has had this game circled two or three times in red given the games the last two seasons. It’ll take another near perfect game from the Boilers to get out with their non-conference streak still alive.

Smith seems to take these kinds of challenges personally when it is against another top flight point guard where national pundits don’t take him seriously. I think Smith really has a standout game alongside TKR while Harris breaks out a bit as a shooter alongside Loyer. Purdue squeaks by with the slimmest of margins on the road.

Purdue: 76
Marquette: 75