Purdue vs. Northwestern Breakdown: 3 Ways the Boilers Can Beat the Wildcats
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CHICAGO — After getting a few days to kick their feet up and relax, Purdue returns to the hardwood on Thursday with a matchup against Northwestern in the third round of the Big Ten Tournament. It will be the second time the two teams have played in the span of eight days.
The seventh-seeded Boilermakers earned a double-bye while Northwestern will be playing its third game in three days, posting wins over No. 18 Penn State and No. 10 Indiana in the first two rounds.
Purdue won the first meeting against Northwestern 70-66 in Evanston. How can the Boilermakers get a second victory over the Wildcats and advance to the quarterfinal round of the Big Ten Tournament?
Punish Northwestern in the post
Purdue has a distinct advantage on the interior with Oscar Cluff and Trey Kaufman-Renn, and it needs to exploit those opportunities offensively. In the first meeting, the two bigs combined for 18 points and 17 rebounds. The Boilermakers could have probably had a little more success.
Northwestern's top big man, Arrinten Page, has not played in the Big Ten Tournament yet due to illness. If he's out for the game, the Wildcats will have very little resistance at the rim. It should result in a lot of post touches for both Cluff and Kaufman-Renn, as well as Daniel Jacobsen off the bench.
Rebounding was another area where Purdue thrived in the first matchup, outrebounding Northwestern 29-15. Once again, that should be a strength for the Boilermakers.
Get the ball out of Braden Smith's hands quicker
In the regular-season meeting between these two teams, Northwestern doubled Braden Smith near the half-court line, trying to force turnovers and prevent him from making plays. That strategy worked, as the Boilermakers ended the game with 14 turnovers, resulting in 15 points for the Wildcats.
However, when Smith made good decisions and got the ball out of his hands quickly, it opened up opportunities for his teammates. Purdue has so many quality passers on the floor that it left Northwestern scrambling defensively and presented the Boilers with several open looks.
C.J. Cox was the biggest beneficiary of that evening, ending the game with 27 points.
If Purdue can handle Northwestern's pressure — assuming that's still the defensive strategy Chris Collins implements — it will lead to plenty of open shot attempts.
Don't let other Wildcats get into a rhythm
Northwestern's success has been largely thanks to the play of Nick Martinelli, a second-team All-Big Ten selection. He scored 28 points against the Boilermakers in the first meeting and is averaging 26 points per game in the first two Big Ten Tournament games.
Martinelli is going to put a lot of points on the board for the Wildcats on Thursday night. But he's already carried a heavy load through the first two nights and could be susceptible to wearing down, playing his third game in three days.
It's important for Purdue not to allow some of Northwestern's other guys — Tre Singleton, Jayden Reid, Jordan Clayton or Angelo Ciaravino — to get too involved offensively. The Wildcats' best path to pulling off the upset on tired legs is to distribute the wealth. If the Boilermakers force Martinelli to do a majority of the work, it should bode well for Purdue.
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Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.
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