Purdue - Xavier Preview

West- Round Two
Purdue Boilermakers (6) Vs. (3) Xavier Musketeers
Saturday, March 22 @ 4:40 pm

Purdue won its 10th straight NCAA first-round game by beating Baylor 90- 79. At the half, the Boilermakers were up 46- 27. Although Purdue was out scored in the second-half , they still managed a relatively easy win.

Purdue, noted for playing a very deliberate and slow-paced game, turned the tempo up in this one. They beat the Bears in every scoring category, sinking 49% from the field, 45% from downtown and 83% from the foul line. Their largest lead stood at 25 points.

The top point producer for Purdue was guard Keaton Grant (17 PTS, 4 REB). The Boilermakers, who play with three guards, got 16 points from guards E’Twaun Moore and 10 from Chris Kramer. Grant sank 3 of 7 from downtown, while Moore hit 2 of 4 from beyond the long stripe. Guard Tarrance Crump notched 11 points off the bench. Purdue was helped by six blocked shots, although they lost the ball to 9 steals and 13 turnovers.

At the half, the Xavier Musketeers were down to the Georgia Bulldogs 35- 26. With 7:54 left in the second, Xavier tied it up at 49 each. Then foul shots took over and slowly the Musketeers started to pull away. With 1:21 left in the contest they led by four and never looked back.

Xavier totally outmatched Georgia at the penalty stripe hitting 82% compared to the Bulldogs’ 60%. Even more importantly, the Musketeers shot 33 frees, while Georgia put up only five. Additionally, Xavier turned the ball over just 7 times to the Dogs’ 13 and stole the ball 8 to Georgia’s 4. Those stats, which reflected disciplined play, were the game. The Xavier forwards were massive, with Josh Duncan scoring 20 and grabbing 8 rebounds and Derrick Brown hitting for 19 and taking down 11 rebbies.

If Xavier can play the same disciplined game against Purdue, they have the edge in Round Two. Purdue will slow down the tempo of this next one, which should result in fewer mistakes. Purdue will have to stop the Musketeers front men. It will be difficult for them to do so.