After grinding out a 53-49 win over No. 12-seeded Oregon in the Sweet 16 late on Thursday night, top-seeded UVa is back in action this evening when the Cavaliers faced No. 3-seeded Purdue with a Final Four berth on the line (approx. 8:49 p.m., TBS).
The Wahoos (32-3) are making their seventh appearance in the Elite Eight and, should they get a win over the Boilermakers, would return to the Final Four for the first time since 1984 and for the third time in school history.
Purdue, meanwhile, comes in at 26-9 after a 16-4 year in the Big 10. The Boilermakers limped into the NCAAs a bit, dropping two of their previous three games (both losses to Minnesota) before getting going once the Big Dance got underway. They also lost to three teams UVa has defeated a combined four times this year (Virginia Tech, Florida State, and Maryland).
While the Ducks do things very differently, Virginia fans will see a lot of similarities tonight between what the Boilermakers do and the way UVa plays. Purdue will rely on a lot of screening action to get looks on one end as well as physical man-to-man defense on the other to try and slow down the Hoos.
Three Things We Know
1. Purdue awaits Virginia after surviving an epic matchup with Tennessee.
UVa is back in the Elite Eight for the first time since 2016, looking to reach the Final Four for the first time in the Tony Bennett era. Awaiting the Wahoo is another program that has been quite successful in recent years but hasn’t broken through to the sport’s grandest stage. The Boilermakers have played some of their best basketball over the past three games. Purdue rolled past Old Dominion in the first round before obliterating defending national champion Villanova to reach the Sweet 16. And on Thursday night, the Boilermakers and Volunteers played an epic game that was arguably the best of the tournament thus far. Purdue blew an 18-point lead but made a pair of free throws at the end of regulation to force overtime before rolling to a 99-94 victory in the extra frame. Tonight's game will be Purdue’s first Elite Eight appearance since 2000 and the first under head coach Matt Painter. The Boilermakers, like UVa, are looking to make the Final Four for the first time since the early 1980s.
2. The Boilermakers are a talented and experienced team led by Carsen Edwards.
Oregon was an interesting test for the Hoos but Purdue will be the best team the Cavaliers have faced in this tournament. The Boilermakers are ninth in KenPom and rank fifth nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency. The team is led by Edwards who was picked by many as a preseason national player of the year candidate. The junior is a crafty, athletic guard who can knock down 3s or make plays penetrating the lane. The Texan is averaging 23.8 points per contest and shoots 10 3-pointers per game. His average has dropped a bit after hitting 40 percent from deep last year but his nine made 3s on 16 attempts against Villanova demonstrate how dangerous he can be. Edwards is averaging 32.3 points per game during the tournament and slowing him down will be priority No. 1 for the Cavaliers tonight. The Boilermakers have a balanced offense around Edwards and sharpshooter Ryan Cline is the team’s second-leading scorer. He had an unbelievable performance against Tennessee, scoring a season-high 27 points and making seven 3-pointers including several big shots late that helped Purdue hold off the Vols.
3. Purdue is a classic “live by the 3, die by the 3” team.
This game could be decided by how well Purdue shoots threes against UVa’s pack-line defense. The cliche phrase above is tossed around a lot but the Boilermakers are one of several teams that get a really large portion of their scoring from beyond the arc. On the season, Purdue is shooting 37.1 percent from long range, which is a solid percentage but not quite elite. But in their first three tournament games, the Boilermakers shot 91 3-pointers and made 44 percent of those attempts. They get 39 percent of their scoring from made 3s this season, which is 21st-most nationally, and second to only Auburn among teams in the Elite Eight. Purdue destroyed Nova in the second round matchup in large part because of its 16-of-30 night from deep as the Wildcats simply couldn’t keep up. The good news for Virginia is that the Cavaliers rank second nationally in 3-point defense, allowing opponents to make just 28.1 percent of their attempts. Oregon made 50 percent of their 3-pointers in their two NCAA Tournament wins over Wisconsin and UC Irvine (20 for 40) but UVa held the Ducks to nine makes on 25 attempts. UVa has allowed each of its three NCAA Tournament opponents to shoot better than 35 percent from 3, an average the Hoos may need to improve upon against Purdue.
