Purdue Basketball: 15 More Bold Predictions

Our last installment of predictions is here. Small reminder, this isn’t so much about hitting these predictions on the nose but finding the possible trends of the upcoming season.

In case you missed part 1: Here it is.

16. Purdue will score over a 100 points two times this year.

Last year the Boilers broke the century mark once, against Vermont, and they did it by hitting 18 of their 36 three point attempts and 18 of their other 29 shots. Those are ridiculous numbers. This year Purdue will be an even better shooting team with enough scrub games in the non-con to allow them to get to triple digits twice as much.

17. Isaac Haas will attempt a 3-pointer.

Why? Pure jealousy. I expect this Purdue team to chuck and chuck and chuck, and the big man will get tired of running all the way to the basket. He will giant-grab the ball and just chuck it himself. It will not go in, but we’ll all laugh and smile because we’ll be up fifty in one of the easier games of the off-season. Haas has never attempted a three in his career.

18. Isaac Haas will fall back below 70% free throw shooting.

He’s struggled most the off-season, and especially in the exhibition game with his free throw shot. As we all know, free throw shooting is all mental. My fear is he’ll lose confidence and fall closer to the fifty percent mark he hoisted as a freshman. I’m guessing he’ll settle around the 65% after a few shaky performances and an attempt to right the ship in conference play.

19. Carsen Edwards will have a stretch of 4 straight double-digit scoring games.

He’s going to be a streak shooter from deep, but his ability to get to the rim is consistent. Purdue is going to need his punch game in and game out. He’ll get his run. Look for the youngster to get into a rhythm late non-con and really come on. The conversation might become, ‘when does the kid start?’

20. Carsen Edwards, barring injury, won’t start a game this season.

Thompson-Mathias-Edwards-Swanigan-Haas

That’s the starting 5, and it’s gonna be pretty locked in. Those are all guys who have played a ton, that get the system, and who Painter trusts. They’re not going anywhere barring an injury. If I had to pick one to be removed, it’d be Haas, simply to open the floor more, but he’s the only center Purdue has on the roster. Painter just doesn’t have the flexibility to get that creative with the big man minutes.

21. Four Purdue players will have at least 5 made 3’s in one game this season.

This is co-sponsored by T-mill, kinda. He thinks P. J. will have a game of 6 threes. I think Purdue has a ton of shooters just waiting to get hot and capable of going off for a half. I think it’s becoming pretty clear my one major theme is we’re gonna light up from beyond the arc.

22. Caleb will average a double-double.

There. You see? I’m not a hater. Biggie nearly did it last year averaging 10 points and 8 rebounds in 25 minutes a game. He’s going to play more than 30 minutes a game this year and he had the 20th highest defensive rebound percentage in the nation last year. He’s going to be in the middle of everything, playing without another big man more this year, and he’s going to get more shots this year. He might not be more efficient with any part of his game, but the raw counting stats will all be improved.

23. Purdue will have three all-conference players and one all-freshman.

To go further, we’ll have a first team player, and two second team players. Carsen will make the all-freshman team - even if he’s inconsistent, he’s going to make the kind of splash that gets you noticed. Everyone seems to be bullish on Caleb in the national media, he’s probably a lock for first team at this point. I’m not sure there were three big men better than Haas on the court last year when he played. Vincent will finally get his due.

24. Purdue will play a Spike - Carsen - Dakota - Basil - Vincent lineup this year.

And it will be awesome, for minutes. Look for Purdue to try and steal a few minutes here and there by just going ultra small. That’s a lineup full of threats from deep, who play smart, who know how to pass, and know how to move. You can’t guard that lineup. Also feel free to change out Spike or Carsen for Cline, but the idea of Spike having that many options around him as he orchestrates should be frightening to other teams. Granted, that lineup couldn’t guard anyone with any size, but against the right match up could be a quick swing in points for the Boilers. Embrace the small.

25. Spike will have a 10 assist game.

It’s pretty clear Spike was brought in for intangibles and his ability to see the floor. He creates angles, holds the ball a half-second long, gets the defense uncomfortable, and then slips a pass to a cutter for a lay-up. In the first scrimmage, he was playing from a different playbook. A couple turnovers were simply because his teammates didn’t know those passes were possible. Now they do, and the more he plays with them, the more the synergy will grow.

26. Dakota’s Percentage of Possessions Used will climb to 19%

Last year, his mark was 14%, behind just Cline and P. J. Thompson. I expect him to have the ball in his hands more this year in the pick and roll with Biggie, and I expect him to shoot more. Defensively, he’s better than Cline and Carsen, and he’s the one who has been there and is capable of playing both ways. He’s still the guy that Painter called the best passer he’s ever recruited. Painter will look to leverage that more this year with a court that’s more open.

27. 7 players will average 7 points or more.

There was just five players last year to average at least 7 points, but this year, I expect Purdue to be whipping the ball around. It won’t spend as much time establishing one man in the post, and with Basil’s return and Carsen’s first season, the Boilers will have the bodies to run in transition more. Purdue will have the ability to find mismatches, but with everyone’s ability to shoot and the motion offense in place, the ball will naturally find everyone’s hand.

From Andrew Holmes:

28. Isaac Haas will have a 30 point game this year and Biggie will have a 15 rebound game.

The second seems more likely to me, but Haas will have his chances against some of these non-con teams that just don’t have the size to even reach his shoulders.

From jumboheroes:

29. Purdue finally wins a game at the CrossRoads Classic.

I endorse this 100. And if not, we need to annex ourselves from the proceedings because this shit is getting embarrassing.

From T-mill:

30. Purdue will go 13-5 in conference and 9-4 out of conference.

As I mentioned in the podcast, it’s okay for T-mill to not give this team his heart yet. He’s still suffering from the Little Rock loss, but this is just a man in fear speaking. We have at most, five games against solid competition in the non-con. If we lose four of them, then we were all wrong and the possible holes in our roster turned into sinkholes like they played at Ross-Ade instead of Mackey.

That’s it. 30 predictions, in print, saved to the interweb to haunt us all year. Hope you enjoyed.