Purdue Boilermakers: 25-7, 14-5 in the Big Ten
Head coach: Matt Painter (12th season)
Players to watch: Caleb Swanigan (18.5 PPG, 12.6 RPG, 43.1 3PT%); Isaac Haas (12.8 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 58.9 FG%); Vince Edwards (12.2 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 3.2 APG)
Season recap: In a conference that was expected to be front-loaded this season with perennial powers Maryland and Wisconsin returning key starters, Purdue emerged from the pack in what was a down year for the Big Ten. Led by a monstrous front line of Big Ten Player of the Year Caleb Swanigan and Isaac Haas, the Boilermakers pounded the ball inside to run through nonconference play 11-2 with only close losses to Villanova and Louisville.
Despite suffering close losses to Minnesota, Iowa and Nebraska in league action and losing by 12 at Michigan, Purdue still got enough contributions from swingman Vince Edwards and sharpshooters Dakota Mathias and Ryan Cline to win the regular-season conference title by two games. The Boilermakers shoot 40.6 percent from long range, and despite another loss to Michigan in the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals, they have the talent and defense to be a Final Four sleeper in the Big Dance.
How they make a run: The Boilermakers overwhelm smaller opponents with Haas finally playing with the motor that has been lacking at times and Swanigan cementing his status as a first-team All-American. Some hot perimeter shooting around them gets head coach Matt Painter's team to the Final Four for the first time since 1980.
How they falter: Swanigan gets into foul trouble—as he did in the Boilermakers’ overtime loss against Michigan in the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals—and Purdue's role players falter in another disappointing early-round exit.
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