NCAA Tournament
Midwest Regional Semifinals – Sprint Center, Kansas City, MO
Tip-off: Thursday, 9:35 pm ET
Line: Kansas -5.0, Total: 157.5

Purdue and Kansas square off Thursday night in Kansas City with a trip to the Elite Eight up for grabs.

The number four-seeded Boilermakers make their first regional semifinal appearance since 2010 on the heels of a nail-biting 80-76 win Saturday over Iowa State. The Boilermakers coughed up a 19-point second half lead, before steadying the ship late for the win and a cover too (they were one-point favorites). Purdue beat the spread in both NCAA Tournament wins but have a difficult task, facing the top-seeded Jayhawks in Kansas City. No, the Sprint Center won’t have the mystique or atmosphere of Phog Allen Fieldhouse but Kansas fans will make the trip in droves to the Jayhawks’ home-away-from-home, as it’s only 35 miles from campus. Purdue has been excellent in neutral sites, with a 6-1 record (6-1 ATS), while Kansas has also been solid, sporting a neutral sites record of 6-2 (5-3 ATS). One interesting aspect of this game is that each team is coming off a win against a conference rival of their opponent. As we said, Purdue hung on against Iowa State of the Big 12 on Saturday, while Kansas rolled over Purdue’s Big 10 rival Michigan State 90-70 on Sunday. Another interesting thing to look at: common opponents. Each team has faced Indiana, Iowa State, Michigan State and Nebraska. Purdue went 5-1 against those teams, losing at Nebraska. Kansas went 3-2, losing to Indiana in Hawaii and at home to Iowa State.

Speaking of the Cyclones, Saturday’s contest was the second game in a row that Purdue outrebounded their opponents 38-28. Purdue improved to 30-1 since the start of last year when outrebounding opponents by 10 or more boards (KU is 18-1 this year when outrebounding its opponents). The Boilermakers were second in the Big Ten in rebounding margin at 7.0 RPG. Stud 6’8”sophomore Big Ten Player of the Year Caleb Swanigan (18.5 PPG, 12.6 RPG, 3.0 APG) corralled the biggest board in the game. With Purdue hanging on to a 78-76 lead with 11 seconds left, “Biggie” ran down Dakota Mathias’ missed free throw and junior G P.J. Thompson (7.2 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 4.2 assist-to-turnover ratio) converted two from the foul line, securing the win. Thompson only scored five points on Saturday but they all came down the stretch, including a big three-pointer in crunch time. Coach Matt Painter needs a more complete game from Thompson, as he will square off with National Player of the Year candidate Frank Mason III (20.8 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 5.2 APG). Mason and Swanigan each made Sunday’s four-man cut for the Naismith Trophy. With Swanigan undoubtedly a big focus of the Jayhawks defensively, it could be another opportunity for 6’8” junior F Vince Edwards (12.7 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 3.2 APG) to be a key presence on the interior. Edwards was a beast inside against Iowa State with 21 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. It was the second game in a row in the tournament that Edwards dropped 21. Adding to the Boilermakers’ incredible size up front is 7’2” junior C Isaac Haas (12.6 PPG, 5.1 RPG), who has averaged 11.0 PPG in Purdue’s first two tourney games. On the flip side, despite possessing a roster loaded with five-star talent, the Jayhawks’ frontcourt is not their strength, with Landen Lucas being their biggest threat in the paint. It will be intriguing to see how Bill Self tries to contain Purdue’s bigs. In the backcourt, one player to keep an eye on Thursday will be freshman G Carsen Edwards (10.4 PPG, 1.8 APG). Edwards has been a spark plug for the Boilermakers of late, averaging 12.7 PPG in their last three games. He, along with the aforementioned Mathias (9.9 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 3.7 APG) will have the tall task of offsetting the Jayhawks’ loaded backcourt.

Mason obviously leads the way for the Jayhawks. He’s been a 47% shooter from behind the arc but only 33% in his past four games. Still, he is a 20-point machine and the Boilermakers will have their hands full. Josh Jackson (16.6 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 2.9 APG), Mason’s backcourt mate, is special as well. The 6’8” do-it-all freshman scores at all levels, like he did on Sunday against the Spartans, en route to a game-high 23 points. One element of his play that is starting to emerge is his post-up game. When Purdue’s twin towers of Swanigan and Haas are in the game, one of them will probably have to guard Jackson and vice-versa. Jackson only weighs 207 pounds, while Swanigan and Haas go about 250 pounds and 290, respectively. That should be intriguing to watch. Junior G Devonte’ Graham (13.3 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 4.3 APG) has been a huge catalyst for the Jayhawks as well. Graham ripped off his seventh straight game in double figures against Michigan State, nailing three three-pointers down the stretch to finish with 18 points, to go along with four assists. Junior G Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk (9.7 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 1.4 APG) is a tremendous deep threat at 39.5%. As a team, KU shoots threes at a 40.6% clip. The Jayhawks get 72% of their scoring from their four guards and that is likely to continue on Thursday. In a game whose focus will be on a ton of star power, expect someone else to emerge as an x-factor in this one. One candidate is junior F Dwight Coleby (1.8 PPG, 1.9 RPG), who gave Kansas a few effective minutes off the bench on Sunday to help them preserve their lead when Lucas was mired in foul trouble.