It’s not as if Purdue’s first-round victory in the NCAA tournament didn’t really count, or as if it came against a junior college. But for all intents and purposes, the tournament for the Boilermakers starts Saturday.
That’s when Purdue meets Xavier, the third seed in the East regional, and a much different challenge than Baylor, the Boilermakers’ first-round victim. Xavier is balanced; Baylor was heavily guard-oriented. Xavier is experienced, led by its starting backcourt of seniors Drew Lavender and Stanley Burrell; Baylor counted largely on a freshman and sophomore at guard.
Then there’s defense. Xavier plays it, extremely well. Baylor was torched during Thursday’s game and ridiculed afterward.
Sixth-seeded Purdue (25-8) has to deal with all of that in order to get out of the second round of the NCAAs for the first time in eight years. The Boilermakers have to play above their years, even more than they have already this season, and they have to be ready for more offensive and defensive versatility than most of their opponents have offered so far.
It will help that in many ways Xavier’s style will be recognizable to Purdue, thus all the talk from coach Matt Painter and players of this being not unlike another Big Ten game.
“They try to pressure the basketball, and they jump in the passing lanes when they see blood in the water,” guard Chris Kramer said Friday. “There’s definitely comparisons there.”
It wouldn’t hurt for Purdue to have its full contingent of youngsters available most of the game. Against Baylor, Robbie Hummel played four minutes in the first half because of fouls and 17 for the game, although the Boilermakers didn’t miss him. Hummel joked that he’d try to give the team another boost by getting into foul trouble again.
Painter agreed that he liked that the team picked up the slack but not Hummel’s plan: “My advice to Rob is to stop fouling; I don’t know what else to tell him.”
They’ll need all bodies on call. Lavender, the pint-sized transfer from Oklahoma, runs Xavier’s offense; Burrell does the same on defense as one of the best defenders at his position in the nation.
For what it’s worth, the Musketeers are in a similar position as the Boilermakers — their previous opponent did not prepare them much for the next.
“They have a different look than other teams we’ve played this year,” Xavier swingman C.J. Anderson said.
