Tag: Purdue Men’s Basketball

Purdue and Houston’s historic upsets are more mind-boggling than you think

Purdue and Houston’s same-day losses were so unusual that this basketball stat doesn’t seem real.

Hold on to your seats, college basketball fans. The top two teams in the country just went down, and it happened in historic fashion.

In case you missed it, a lot happened on Tuesday. The Purdue Boilermaker’s seven-game win streak and No.1 ranking seemingly went up in smoke behind an absolutely gutsy effort from the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

Nebraska shot what felt like hundreds of 3-point shots (it was actually 14 shots on 61 percent shooting — WOW) and went on a gnarly 14-2 run in the second half that unraveled anything Purdue tried to do after.

What’s more, it was the second time this season that Purdue has lost when being the top team in the country and the first time that starting forward Trey-Kaufman-Renn was held scoreless. WOOF.

If that wasn’t enough, remember in December when we told you that some undefeated teams were still left? Not anymore.

The No.2 ranked Houston Cougars were also upset.

The Iowa State men’s basketball team came to play. They forced 12 turnovers in the first half and, by halftime, were up 10 points. Houston came roaring back in the second half and managed to trim away at the scoreboard, gaining its first lead with just under four minutes to play.

But, OH, BOY. A massive and silky fadeaway bucket and clutch free throws from Iowa State freshman Milan Momcilovic sealed the game. Amazingly, that was Iowa State’s seventh win against top-10 teams within the last two years.

Additionally, per ESPN Stats & Information, it was the first time since February 6, 2016, that the top-two teams in men’s college basketball lost to unranked opponents on the same day and only the third time that it happened within the last 40 years. WHEW.

Zach Edey is now a projected NBA draft lottery pick in ESPN’s latest big board update

The consensus collegiate player of the year is improving his draft stock.

After earning consensus men’s college basketball National Player of the Year honors last season, Zach Edey is now improving his draft stock.

The Purdue star big man, who played for Canada during the 2023 FIBA World Cup, is a fascinating basketball prospect. When the 7-foot-4 center initially decided to return to college for his senior season, he wasn’t initially seen as a first-round draft pick.

While our latest mock draft at For The Win doesn’t have Edey projected to hear his name with one of the first thirty picks in the 2024 NBA Draft, it is hard to ignore the productivity and efficiency we have seen from him.

RELATED: Projecting the first round with Ja’Kobe Walter leading the way

Based on his performance thus far, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo moved Edey into the No. 14 overall ranking on their latest big board update. Givony explained why:

“The runaway favorite to repeat as national player of the year, Edey has found another gear with his conditioning, mobility and productivity, looking noticeably more impactful on both ends of the floor. He has shown better versatility stepping outside the paint defensively, blocking shots prolifically while drawing fouls and dunking even more than usual, finding some real swagger to his game this season.

Edey has done it against many of the top teams in college basketball, with big performances against Arizona, Alabama, Marquette and Tennessee, even showing some new facets to his game as a passer when double-teams inevitably come. While there will surely be some skepticism around his age, lack of perimeter shooting and ability to hold his own as a pick-and-roll defender, Edey has some clear virtues NBA teams can tap into early in his career and is worthy of a fresh look, possibly as a lottery-level prospect in a class lacking sure-fire contributors.”

Edey leads all men’s college basketball players in BPR, per EvanMiya.com. He is also the current leader in Player of the Year rankings according to both BartTorvik.com and KenPom.com.

While there is still plenty of basketball remaining this season, he has shown particularly notable improvement at drawing fouls to increase his free-throw rate. Edey has drawn 9.8 floor fouls per 100 possessions, via CBB Analytics, which is the most among all Division I players.

His progress (and draft stock) is worth monitoring, especially considering this isn’t considered a particularly strong class of future pros.

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