For the second time in as many games, Purdue basketball will take on a team they have knocked off already this season as the Boilermakers take on Tennessee with a trip to the Final Four on the line today.
In November, Purdue basketball defeated the Volunteers 71-67 in Maui in a game that featured 52 fouls and 78 free throw attempts. To get to the Elite Eight, Purdue ran away from Gonzaga, 80-68, while the second seeded Volunteers defeated Creighton, 82-75.
Purdue basketball coach Matt Painter knows what awaits his Boilermakers this afternoon when they tip off against Tennessee.
“Obviously really excited about being able to compete against Tennessee. Thought they obviously had played a really good game against Creighton. Obviously Coach Barnes is one of the best coaches in the country, but they have all the pieces. They have quickness. They have athleticism. They have good guard play. They have an All-American in Knecht, who is very, very dangerous. They have good size on their front line. So we know this is going to be an absolute battle. With that being said, we’re looking forward to it,” Painter said.
Painter said the difference in Tennessee’s game against Creighton was the overall toughness and physicality the Vols played with.
“That was something, after we played them in Hawaii, that really stood out to us. They do a great job of pressuring the basketball. They do a great job of taking away passes and just being physical across the board,” Painter said.
As has been the case in every Purdue basketball game this season, Painter said his team must protect the basketball if it is going to have a chance.
“We’re 6-4 when we have over — anywhere from 14 to 17 turnovers. Seventeen turnovers is the most we’ve had this year in a game, from 14 to 17. They’re one of the teams we have to win against. We’re 6-4 when we’re above it. It’s not like we lose all those games. We still win 60 percent of those games. For us, it’s being able to get stops so we can push the basketball and kind of get the tempo. For them, it’s scoring the basketball and setting the defense. It’s the flip of it, right? So they do such a good job of setting their defense and then just getting into you,” Painter said.
The veteran coach said Purdue basketball has been prepared for this moment and the schedule has helped prepare them for whatever Tennessee may throw their way.
“t’s nothing that we haven’t seen all year, especially the schedule we’ve played. It’s not like they haven’t seen everything. They played a great schedule. We played a great schedule. We’re both from great leagues. So you’ve seen a lot of things throughout the year. It’s just you hope your defense is better than their offense and your offense is better than their defense. When it comes down to their pressure and what they’re able to do, you’ve also got to be able to pass and catch and but also have to be handle the basketball with confidence, but also execute. We run a lot of stuff. Whatever we’re doing, simply do your job, make the right reads, make the right plays and passes, but be aggressive. As long as you’re aggressive doing what we work on, things are going to work out for us,” Painter said.
