*** Official #10 IOWA STATE vs #1 Purdue Game(Day) Thread ***

Key stat I’ll be watching is Purdue’s offensive rebounding. Purdue ranks 6th in the nation this year. I like our chances if we can control the boards
 
Thanks Rulzzz!

Game day. Whoo who!

We aren’t ranked 9th this week…. So this could be fun.

Go Cyclones!
 
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A couple stat things about Purdue:

They tend to play a slower pace than we have this year. They don't get out and run - even the game at Alabama was only 69 possessions, and Alabama plays at a crazy pace. With a PG like Smith, it'll probably be hard to get them uncomfortable, but if we can get them "sped up" it would definitely be to our advantage.

They don't force many turnovers and don't turn the ball over much.
They also don't get to the FT line much, but keep the other team off the line.

Both things work to our advantage, I think. It's probably not a game where we force 18 turnovers, but if we can get them into double digits it'd be good. And of course we need to limit the unforced turnovers.

Defending Smith in the pick and roll is always the key. I've very curious to see what we try. I think the inclination with our defense would be to try to ice the screen, or hedge really hard with the big - but that tends to get us into scramble situations where we are vulnerable to the corner or weak side 3.

Their bigs (Renn, Cluff and Jacobsen) don't shoot the 3, so that seems like you can play more drop coverage on the pick, and try to trap Smith in the lane.

So much of this game is going to come down to the Milan / Loyer matchup - and I think they will be defending each other. They are similar players too, and the stats are amazingly similar this year. Loyer has gotten to the line a bit more, but Milan has the height advantage and the mid-range/fade away. Lipsey/Smith and Renn/Jefferson are the bigger headline matchups, but Milan/Loyer is the one I'll be watching.
 
I think the game will hinge on Braden Smith today. Iowa State loves to blitz ball screens and Smith is the best PG in the country in reading screens and making reads. It's a great test for both teams.

Someone said today, "Iowa State hasn't faced a PG like Braden Smith and Braden Smith hasn't faced a defense like Iowa State."

I'm interested to see how much Braden plays off the ball today with Purdue now having a good backup PG in Mayer as well as Cox being a good secondary ball handler.

I'm also excited for the Jefferson/TKR matchup both two of the best forwards in CBB.
 
i thought about going but the tickets were high

I had my eye on this game for awhile. This past week I went to Seat Geek for the first time to check out their tickets and I purchased one for $140. I have been checking out Ticketmaster/Stub Hub where they were hovering between $200-$230 for a few months for the cheapest.
 
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