Gonzaga to face Purdue Boilermakers in PK85 semifinals

The Bulldogs will have to get past the bruising Boilermakers if they are to advance to Sunday's championship game

The No. 6 Gonzaga Bulldogs (4-1) take on the No. 24 Purdue Boilermakers (4-0) in the semifinal round of the Phil Knight Invitational in Portland, Oregon on Friday.

Gonzaga is riding high following its dominant performance over Portland State in the PK85's opening round on Thursday. Six Zags scored in double figures, led by Malachi Smith’s 23 points and five 3-pointers off the bench. Finding the bottom of the basket wasn’t a problem, as Gonzaga knocked down a season-best 12 3-pointers and shot 60.3% from the field against the Vikings, who trailed by as many as 27 points despite Jorell Saterfield’s 21 points.

For the Boilermakers, they advanced to the semifinal round following an impressive 80-68 victory over West Virginia on Thursday. Zach Edey recorded his fourth straight double-double with 24 points and 12 rebounds as his squad shot a season-best 51.1% from the field, including 47.1% from beyond the arc. Capitalizing on quality looks at the basket was imperative, as the Mountaineers’ defense forced 18 turnovers yet struggled to find any rhythm from deep, going just 5-for-22.

Purdue head coach Matt Painter, now in his 18th season at the helm, welcomed back two starters from last year’s 29-8 squad. They were consistently ranked in the top 10 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll.

Edey, the 7-foot-4 junior from Toronto, Canada, has lived up to being a unanimous selection to the preseason All-Big Ten first-team squad. Through four games, he averages a national-best 13.3 rebounds per game, along with 21.5 points and 2.8 blocks per outing while shooting 63.3% from the floor. Keeping him off the glass will be anything but easy, as he rips down 5.5 offensive rebounds per game.

The battle between Edey and Drew Timme will be an interesting one to observe, especially if the two are matched up for most of the ballgame. Against Kentucky, Mark Few wisely opted to put Anton Watson on Oscar Tshiebwe for the majority of the night, so it wouldn’t be a shock to see Edey get similar treatment. There will still be opportunities for the preseason All-Americans to go at each other on the other end of the court if Timme can establish himself in the post without swarms of double teams coming his way.

Fellow returner Mason Gillis regained his groove against the Mountaineers with 14 points after going scoreless in his previous two starts. The 6-foot-6 junior was just one of nine players in the country to shoot at least 48% from the field, 40% from 3-point range and 85% from the free throw line while averaging at least 6.0 points per game. Though he won’t light up the scoreboard, his hustle and intensity can’t be denied as he was named to Jon Rothstein’s "All-Glue Guy Team" last season.

The Boilermakers have enjoyed a strong start to Braden Smith’s young career at the point guard position. The former Indiana Mr. Basketball averages 10.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and two steals per game through his first four starts.

Coach Painter has adopted a slower style of play that could pose challenges for the fast-paced Bulldogs. Purdue is 309th in adjusted tempo, according to KenPom, while still having a top-15 offense overall. Just over a fifth of the Boilermakers’ shots come in transition, a noticeable difference from Gonzaga’s offensive mentality (27% of their shots come on the fastbreak).

If Painter’s 13th-ranked offense continues to find ways to score efficiently while controlling the tempo of the ballgame, it’ll be difficult for Timme and Co. to get out and run in transition. Forcing turnovers and rebounding will be imperative in that case. The Zags have outrebounded all of their opponents thus far, yet have struggled to take care of the ball. They’ve lost the turnover battle in three of their last four outings.

Tipoff is set for 8:30 p.m. PST at the Moda Center. The game will be televised on ESPN.

Prediction: Zags 80, Boilermakers 70