Purdue Boilermakers vs. Arizona Wildcats: Someone Is About to Become Legendary

When the Purdue Boilermakers and Arizona Wildcats face off in the Sweet 16 Saturday night at the SAP Center at San Jose (CA), both teams will have the same goal in mind. I’m talking about winning and moving on to the Elite 8, of course. But where they differ in their respective journeys is the "why."

Why do they want to win this game? Because they have to in order to win a national championship, but it's more about what winning a national title can do for them. Winning a title will ensure they are remembered as more than just another player/team.

It will make them legendary.

Purdue: Big Man Can’t Win in March…. or Can They?

For Purdue, the journey is all about doing something no team in the history of the program has done - win a national championship. This game will be the Boilermakers' 17^th trip to the Sweet 16. A win will give them their eighth trip to the Elite Eight.

Win in the Elite 8, and they will earn the program’s fourth trip to the Final Four, where they will hopefully earn the right to play for the national championship.

Winning a program’s first national championship is enough to make a team legendary in the eyes of its fans. But Purdue is looking to do a little more than just win. The Boilermakers want to prove a narrative that has become increasingly common in recent years.

Teams built around a big man can’t win in March.

As higher-scoring games and up-tempo play have become more the norm than the exception to the rule, it has become more common for teams to build rosters around speedy, athletic players who can shoot from long range.

In such an offense, it becomes less important to have a big man at center because he doesn’t fit the style of offense the team wants to play. But if Purdue can go on to win the national championship, they will rewrite the narrative.

Yes, up-tempo play and perimeter shooting are exciting to watch and put fans in the stands. But teams can also win by putting an emphasis on size, efficiency, discipline, and spacing, which they will need to do in order to beat Arizona’s fast-paced offense with a roster of elite shooters.

Arizona Wildcats: Generational Excellence

Arizona has had some truly memorable, dare I say legendary, teams in the past that will not be forgotten anytime soon. There’s the 1993 squad that became the first No. 2 seed in NCAA Tournament history to lose to a No. 15 seed in the first round (because not all history is good).

There’s also the 1997 team that went on to win the school’s first and only national championship in basketball. But this team did more than just win Arizona’s first natty. No, they did so as a No. 4 seed and the only national champion to defeat three No. 1 seeds en route to the title.

The Wildcats almost did it again (beat three No. 1 seeds and won a national title) in 2001, but they lost the title game to Duke that year. Since then, Arizona has reached the Sweet 16 12 times and the Elite 8 5 times (the last in 2015).

So, with a win against Purdue, the Wildcats will keep their hopes of ending a 25-year Final Four drought alive. All the years of frustration for being “good” but never quite good enough can fade into history as this team becomes the best Arizona has had in a generation.

Arizona Favored But Don’t Overlook Purdue

The Wildcats were the No. 1 team in the polls for nine weeks. They are ranked as the most efficient overall team in the country by KenPom (offense - No. 4 and defense - No. 3). Purdue opened the season at No. 1 in the Polls and the betting favorite to win it all.

Arizona is the betting favorite in the game at -5.5 (FanDuel). According to the moneyline, the Wildcats have a 74.03% chance of winning against Purdue (-285 at Caesars). The Boilermakers, at +228 (Caesars), have a 30.49% chance.

But if Purdue can play its game, slow down the Arizona offense, and keep it close, they’ll have a chance to win.

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