Marquette Scouting Report

For the third straight season, the Purdue Boilermakers match up with the Marquette Golden Eagles. The series has recently leaned towards Purdue and Zach Edey. With Edey and former All-American Tyler Kolek gone, Braden Smith and Kam Jones look to replicate their predecessor's success.

Both teams are riding high after big wins over the weekend. Marquette walked into Maryland and took down a much-improved Terrapins squad. Purdue's victory over then-number-two Alabama propelled them into the top six of the AP Poll.

For Purdue, this is another opportunity to prove themselves against the best teams in the country. Winning this game in a hostile road environment would have a massive impact come Selection Sunday.

Marquette Offense

Marquette's analytical strength is limiting their turnovers. They live off dribble drives but do a great job playing in space without a traditional big clogging of the paint. Marquette also generates a ton of threes. Expect the Golden Eagles to shoot 30-35 threes against Purdue.

Their offense operates with three guards capable of driving to score or pass and the two bigs hunting their shots on the perimeter. With their flexibility, all five of Marquette's players can collapse the defensive shell which makes them hard to contain once they gain an advantage.

To gain an advantage, Marquette will run many "ghost" screens to create defensive confusion while opening up driving lanes.

Because of their dribble-drive ability, Marquette doesn't run a lot of sets. They will run zoom sets with Ben Gold playing with the ball where he can pop to the three-point line or keep the ball if defenses overplay the handoff. I also expect Marquette to throw in some designed backdoors.

Marquette Defense

Shaka Smart plays one of the most unique defenses in the country. They want to force the offense to be defensive and do a great job of causing chaos. Let's dive into what makes the Golden Eagles so unusual.

It starts with their ball pressure and gap defense. Marquette wants to contest as many catches as possible, pressuring the ball with athletic wing perimeters. Because of their pressure, Marquette plays aggressively in the gaps.

Against Purdue's pick and roll offense, I expect Marquette to put two on the ball (hard hedge) with the low man on the weakside coming as far as needed to tag the roller. Marquette doesn't want to play fair against Braden Smith, they will throw a third defender into the action and force Smith to throw the cross court skip to the corner.

Marquette's post defense is an area that would concern me if I was a Marquette coach. Purdue's Trey Kauffman-Renn has been known as a scorer but I think his passing could be the difference in this game. Marquette will double from the closest man, opening up playmaking possibilities for TKR.

Last note, Marquette will mix in a 3-2 zone look that is indicated by the coaches holding up threes. Marquette sinks a guard to the free throw which makes high post catches difficult. Look for Purdue to "overload" the zone to create open shots.

Key Players

#1 - Kam Jones

As good as I believe Mark Sears to be, Kam Jones has been significantly better to start the season. The lefty controls his pace at an elite level and is comfortable driving to either hand. Add in his blistering shooting and Kam Jones gives you no good options when defending him.

I expect Gicarri Harris to start on Jones but look for CJ Cox and Myles Colvin to get turns as well. I would take away his shot as much as possible and commit to building a wall in the gaps. Closing off his drives but opening up opportunities for his teammates.

#2 - Chase Ross

One of the breakout stars for this season, Ross has been fantastic to start the year. He is a solid driver that plays with great physicality. He is willing but not eager to take perimeter shots. Preferring to attack closeouts to get into the paint where he is comfortable. He will be a tough matchup for either Braden Smith or Fletcher Loyer.

#12 - Ben Gold

The stretch center has had a poor shooting start but is still eager to bomb away from three. He is going to be involved in a lot of actions that utilize his ability to pop screens, especially against a Purdue defense that likes to play drop with their bigs.

Purdue Notes

I would love to see Purdue get creative and go small with Hiede entering the starting lineup over Will Berg. This allows Purdue to cross match a Marquette team that doesn't utilize the post. Purdue can put Hiede on Gold without giving up a physical disadvantage. This allows Purdue to switch Marquette's action with Gold.

Additionally, I would like to see Purdue's athletic wings to get after the offensive glass. Marquette's aggressive help defense puts them into rotations a ton and often, the rebounding is where the issues have popped up for Marquette.

The most important thing for Purdue, do not allow Marquette to over help without consequences. Purdue needs cut on the weakside to either generate layups or collapse Marquette's backside defense which could open up a lot of threes for the Boilermakers.