March Madness: 5 reasons Vols could lose to Purdue in Sweet 16
1. Three-point shooting could swing the game for Purdue.
The Purdue Boilermakers still pride themselves on defense in Matt Painter’s system. But they have a huge advantage this year because of a new level of efficiency that comes with offense. In fact, their offensive efficiency is ranked No. 5 nationally, and that helps with their March Madness issue.
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There’s a reason for that: three-point shooting is deadly. Purdue attempts about 28 three-pointers a game, and they make about 10 a game. Their three-point percentage is 36.8 on the season. But the danger is just how red-hot they can get.
Just ask Carsen Edwards. He’s the story right now for the Boilermakers because of his 42 points against the Villanova Wildcats, where he went 9-of-16 from three. The game before, he dropped 26 points, so he’s just scoring lights out and hitting everything from outside.
But Edwards is just the main leader of an overall team that can shoot lights out. Purdue hit 16-of-30 three-pointers overall against Villanova. So even outside of Edwards, they were 7-of-14. Grady Eifert and Ryan Cline both shoot over 40 percent from three. Cline and Edwards both hit over three treys a game.
Simply put, this team is insanely good from beyond the arc. And the scary part is we’ve seen just how badly the Vols can struggle against teams capable of getting hot from three. They blew both leads to the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Colgate Raiders because those teams got hot from three. The Auburn Tigers turned a close game into a blowout because of it. The Vols just don’t respond well.
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Now in comes Purdue. While Tennessee’s last three games have seen them struggle to put away red-hot shooting teams, the Boilermakers come in as the hottest shooting team in March Madness of all based on the last game. That’s a dangerous combination and one that could see the Vols collapse. In fact, this game will truly come down to just how on Purdue is outside.