Phil Knight Legacy: Can Purdue basketball take down another blueblood in title game?

PORTLAND, Ore. – Braden Smith burst into the lane and found Zach Edey for dunks and Mason Gillis on the perimeter for 3-pointers.

Fletcher Loyer and his high-level basketball IQ distributed passes to Edey, Brandon Newman and Caleb Furst. Ethan Morton and his heady play-making ability made sure Loyer was involved, setting up the freshman for a 3-pointer and a layup.

Notice a theme here? Mark Few did.

“We got torched on defense in the second half,” Gonzaga’s veteran coach said following Friday night’s 18-point loss to Purdue in the Phil Knight Legacy. “Torched.”

Purdue beats GonzagaFletcher Loyer, Braden Smith give Purdue veteran presence

He was right. The offense was humming in the second half as the Boilermakers shot 56.7% to run the Bulldogs out of the Moda Center and out of the running for the championship in this event.

Instead, No. 24 Purdue plays in Sunday’s title game against No. 8 Duke.

Can the Boilermakers bring another high-level performance against arguably the most talented team they’ll face this season? That's one question coach Matt Painter's team has to answer. There are others.

Point guard battle

Through five games, the Boilermakers know what they have with Smith. Duke knows what it has with Jeremy Roach, a junior who was solid in the win over Xavier in the semifinals. He made big plays down the stretch and may hold the keys to what the Blue Devils accomplish.

Smith will play his sixth game in his college career but he's already featured the performances of a fifth-year senior.

“What separates decision makers is that the guys that can manipulate the defense with their eyes. He’s one of the few guys in college that can do that,” Painter said. “Just knows where people are on the court. It helps when you have a great center like Zach (Edey) and you have a lot of skill around him.”

Win over West VirginiaHustle plays define Purdue's early season success

On the boards

Duke outrebound its first six opponents by double digits but that streak ended when the Blue Devils held a 33-32 advantage against Xavier and added 12 second-chance points.

Purdue, though, killed Gonzaga on the glass, posting a 15-rebound margin. The Boilermakers finished defensive possession with rebounding, grabbing 33 and allowing only eight offensive rebounds. Brandon Newman had five of his six rebounds on the defensive end and Gillis pulled down six of his seven on the same end.

"I thought our frontline was good," Painter said. "Brandon Newman is a great defensive rebounding guard and he got in there and got some defensive rebounds for us. I just think collectively, we've worked on it. Marquette outrebounded us and we were fortunate to outrebound West Virginia and really emphasized that and I thought we responded."

Shooting bigs

One of the intriguing lineups Painter can trot out on the court is the combination of Edey, Gillis, Furst and Trey Kaufman-Renn. Edey and Gillis are starters but bringing in Furst offers a different dynamic and that was on display in the win over Gonzaga.

Edey’s presence will be a difficult matchup for every team Purdue plays, including the Blue Devils, who feature a pair of 7-footers - Kyle Filipowski and Dereck Lively.

When Painter paired Furst or Gillis with Edey, the Boilermakers’ 3-point shooting picked up since the combinations put the Bulldogs in a bind.

When Gillis and Furst are hitting from the perimeter, Purdue becomes a dangerous team to defend. Again, Few and the Bulldogs found out the hard way. Gillis, Furst and Kaufman-Renn have made a combined six 3-pointers in the two games in this event.

“That’s one thing they were able to do that our bigs weren’t necessarily going to do,” Few said. “That allows them to stretch the floor and if you play Edey one-on-one in there, that’s a very hard matchup for us. He’s just a hard matchup just how big he is.”

Mike Carmin covers Purdue sports for the Journal & Courier and USA Today Sports Network. Email mcarmin@gannett.com and follow on Twitter and Instagram @carmin_jc

No. 8 Duke (6-1) vs. No. 24 Purdue (5-0)

Sunday

Time: 3:30 p.m.

TV: ABC

Radio: WAZY (96.5)

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: What to watch for when Purdue basketball plays Duke Phil Knight Legacy