March Madness 2024: Scouting Purdue-Tennessee in the Elite Eight

Tony Paul of The Detroit News breaks down the Elite Eight matchup between No. 1 seed Purdue and No. 2 seed Tennessee in the NCAA Midwest Regional on Sunday in Detroit:

Midwest Regional

NO. 1 PURDUE VS. NO. 2 TENNESSEE

▶ Tipoff: 2:20 p.m. Sunday, Little Caesars Arena, Detroit

▶ TV/radio: CBS/1270

▶ Records: Purdue 32-4; Tennessee 27-8

▶ Series: Purdue leads, 4-2 (last meeting: Purdue, 71-67, Nov. 21, 2023)

▶ The road to the Elite Eight: Purdue def. Grambling State (78-50), Utah State (106-67) and Gonzaga (80-68); Tennessee def. Saint Peter's (83-49), Texas (62-58) and Creighton (82-75)

▶ Line: Purdue by 3½ points

KEY PLAYERS

▶ Zach Edey, C, Purdue: There's just not many teams that can stop the 7-foot-4 senior from Toronto, a two-time All-American and two-time Big Ten player of the year had another monster game in the Sweet 16 win over Gonzaga on Friday night at LCA, with 27 points and 14 rebounds. In three NCAA Tournament games this season, he has three double-doubles, averaging 27 points and 16 rebounds, as he is angling to be the Most Outstanding Player of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Tennessee plays some pretty tight defense, but it still could only hold Edey to 23 points and 10 rebounds in the teams' meeting in November back in Maui, where Purdue won, 71-67. Edey also shot 17 free throws back in that Maui game. He draws a lot of fouls, and doesn't get called for a lot of falls, which drives opponents absolutely mad, and also proves to be a huge advantage for the Boilermakers.

▶ Dalton Knecht, G, Tennessee: The fifth-year senior, who was the SEC player, stepped up in big moments in Friday's win over Creighton, helping spur an 18-0 run early in the second half, and then making plays again when Creighton clawed its way back into the game, helping Tennessee reach just its second Elite Eight. Now, he's trying to send the Volunteers to their first-ever Final Four, which just doesn't seem like a real stat. Knecht had 26 points, six rebounds and five assists in the win over Creighton. He has joined Purdue's Zach Edey among the four players who received All-American honors from four outlets this season. It's quite the story for Knecht, who became just the eighth from JUCO player in the NCAA Tournament era to earn consensus Division I honors, and first since Larry Johnson in 1991. Also on that list are Michigan's Rickey Green (1976-77) and Detroit's Spencer Haywood (1968-69).

MEET THE COACHES

➤ Matt Painter, Purdue: This is his 19th season as head coach at Purdue, taking over for the legendary Gene Keady, whom Purdue played under in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He's plenty decorated with the Boilermakers, with five regular-season Big Ten titles, including each of the last two years, and he's a five-time Big Ten coach of the year. But the NCAA Tournament has caused Painter, 53, plenty of strife over the years, with high expectations that mostly haven't been met. That was never more the case than last year, when Purdue, a No. 1 seed, lost to No. 16 seed FDU in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. Purdue joined the 2018 Virginia team as the only 1 seeds to lose to a 16, and Virginia responded by winning the national championship the very next season. Purdue is halfway to matching that feat, and has looked very dominant in three games, with an average win margin of 26.3 points.

➤ Rick Barnes, Tennessee: Here's another coach who often has been criticizing for coming up shorter than he should've in March, with 28 NCAA Tournament appearances between Providence, Clemson, Texas and Tennessee, and just won Final Four appearance, with Texas in 2003. Barnes, 69, with Friday's victory over Clemson, has advanced to his fourth Elite Eight appearance. At Texas, he led the team to the NCAA Tournament every year but one over his 17 seasons, and then at Tennessee, he took over a program in chaos and in trouble with the NCAA, becoming its third head coach in three years, and had it back in the NCAA Tournament within three years. Earlier this season, Barnes joined Kentucky's John Calipari as the only active head coaches in Division I with at least 800 wins. He's led the Volunteers to four 26-or-more win seasons in the last seven years; before he arrived, Tennessee had only three.

COACH'S KEYS TO THE GAME

Oakland head coach Greg Kampe provided his analysis heading into the Elite Eight matchup:

"Purdue's gotta make shots, because every shot is going to be contested. They've gotta get in a halfcourt game and get Edey involved, early and often. Tennessee played them a very tough game in the Maui (Invitational), and just missed a bunch of shots, and I know Rick (Barnes) feels he's gotta make shots to win the game. Tennessee is very physical. A lot is going to depend how the game is called, especially in the post. That's going to play a major role, if it's called (tight) or if it's not called (tight). One of the things Rick told me about Edey, and I hadn't thought about it but I think is really true, Edey has such a soft touch that he scores a lot by getting his own misses. It's so hard to block out a 7-foot4 guy. You can contest it all you want, but if it hangs on the rim, he's right there to jump a second time and get the ball and tip it in. They can't allow that to happen. Saying it and doing it are two different things."

FACTS AND FIGURES

➤ Either Tennessee is going to make its first-ever Final Four or Purdue is going to make its first Final Four since 1980. Neither program has won a national championship in the NCAA Tournament era.

➤ Keep an eye on Purdue sophomore guard Fletcher Loyer, the Clarkston native who scored 27 in the teams' first meeting this season, in November. That was by far his season-high.

➤ Tennessee is 8-3 in its last 11 games against teams ranked inside the AP top 10, and 5-2 in its last seven games against teams ranked inside the top five. Purdue is ranked No. 3.

➤ Only Michigan State (26), Gonzaga (25) and Purdue (nine) have longer active NCAA Tournament streaks than Tennessee (six). The six straight is a program record for the Vols.

➤ Purdue should again have the home-crowd edge. West Lafayette is 277 miles from Detroit, Knoxville is 512.

PREDICTION

This is the classic "what's gonna give" matchup between a Purdue offense that ranks 11th nationally, averaging 83.8 points, and a Tennessee defense that ranks 51st nationally, allowing an average of 67.3 points. The Volunteers play some suffocating defense, but it can backfire, especially against a Boilermakers team that gets inside, mostly with Zach Edey, and is excellent at drawing fouls. Purdue shot 48 free throws in a game against Tennessee in November. Until I see someone stop Edey — you probably need a ladder to do it — it's awfully hard to pick against the Boilermakers, who seem to have more than exorcised their March Madness demons. Pick: Purdue, 77-72

tpaul@detroitnews.com

@tonypaul1984