00:00And let's lead off with the Purdue Boilermakers.
00:03Purdue entered the 25-26 season with huge expectations being a top 10 fixture.
00:09But here we are in February, and the Boilermakers are hovering around the middle of the top 25,
00:14ranked number 12, instead of controlling the Big 10.
00:17The biggest reason?
00:19Offensive volatility paired with defensive slippage.
00:23If you look statistically at Purdue, they're still very strong.
00:26They're top 25 nationally in offensive efficiency, and they shoot about 37% from the three-point line,
00:31which is outstanding.
00:32But the consistency isn't there night-to-night.
00:36Off the Purdue relies too much on half-court execution without enough pace.
00:41Think about this.
00:41They rank outside the top 200 in tempo.
00:44So think about this as a coach.
00:46If you're not scoring the ball in half-court, and you're not generating plays in transition,
00:52that can lead to offensive slippage.
00:54But let's go to the other side of the ball.
00:57Defensively, this is where it really drops.
00:59Purdue, do you know, is allowing over 1.04 points per possession in conference play,
01:06a noticeable regression from early season form.
01:09I think about me as a coach, and I think about running, like to say, the pack line defense.
01:14The number that I used to try and say is 0.75 points per possession.
01:19So Purdue's giving up 0.25 points per possession more than what I deem to be high-effective defensive play.
01:28Ball screen possession in conference play.
01:30It's a noticeable regression on how they played.
01:32It's been shaky.
01:33Guards are getting downhill too easily against Brady Smith and Fletcher Lawyer,
01:37putting stress on the back line against elite Big Ten guards.
01:41Purdue has struggled to contain general penetration,
01:43what leads to foul trouble and kick-out threes, or what we call spraying.
01:49Here's the good news.
01:50Purdue still profile very dangerous in March.
01:52They protect the ball well.
01:53They rebound at a high level and can beat anyone when they're shooting clicks.
01:57The bad news is that unless defensive intensity improves,
02:01this field is more like a sweet 16 ceiling than a Final Four contender.
02:06Purdue isn't broken, but they're no longer intimidating.
02:09If the defense doesn't tighten up fast, this team is built for close losses, not deep March runs.
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