Big Ten Banter: Should Purdue Consider Limiting Minutes for Starters in Big Ten Tournament?

Purdue won the Big Ten regular season title and has essentially locked up a No. 1 seed for March Madness. There's really nothing for the Boilermakers to gain in the Big Ten Tournament. Should Matt Painter limit minutes for the starters in Minneapolis?

Dustin Schutte | Mar 13, 2024

Big Ten Banter: Should Purdue Consider Limiting Minutes for Starters in Big Ten Tournament? /

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Purdue Boilermakers

Let me start by stating the obvious: Matt Painter knows far better than anyone what's in the best interest of Purdue's basketball team. Always has, always will. There's a reason he's the coach of one of the top programs in the sport and I'm pounding away at the keyboard with a cup of coffee sitting to my right.

When it comes to the Big Ten Tournament, though, I can't help but make one small suggestion. This week, Painter should seriously consider managing minutes for Zach Edey, Braden Smith, Lance Jones and Fletcher Loyer.

Purdue heads to Minneapolis as back-to-back Big Ten regular season champions. The Boilermakers polished off an impressive 2023-24 campaign with a 28-3 record, finishing 17-3 in conference play. There's been a lot to celebrate in West Lafayette this year.

But now, it's time to focus on winning where it matters most: March Madness. Purdue's best opportunity to do that might be by "resting" some of its star players.

The Big Ten Tournament means nothing to Purdue. The Boilermakers have already locked up their 26th conference championship and have done more than enough to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, regardless of the results in Minneapolis. That's the advantage of playing in the Maui Invitational and scheduling games against Alabama, Arizona and others in nonconference play.

Would the Boilermakers like to add another trophy to their collection? Sure. But, at this point, there really are no other benefits to winning in Minneapolis this week.

Last season, Purdue won the Big Ten Tournament title only to lose to No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

In fact, the winners of the Big Ten Tournament in each of the last three seasons have failed to reach the second weekend of March Madness:

Purdue, 2023: Lost to Fairleigh Dickinson in Round of 64.
Iowa, 2022: Lost to Richmond in Round of 64.
Illinois, 2021: Lost to Loyola-Chicago in Round of 32.

I'm not suggesting that Edey, Smith, Jones and Loyer sit on the sidelines in street clothes. You don't want your most skilled players to go a full two weeks without competing on the court.

But all four are logging more than 26 minutes per game this season, with Edey and Smith on the floor more than 30 minutes per contest. Perhaps it would be wise to cut that down closer to 20.

Let’s not forget, a crowd of 15,000 at Mackey Arena went silent on two separate occasions in Sunday’s game against Wisconsin. First, Edey fell to the ground and appeared to tweak his ankle. Later in the game, Smith had to be helped off the court and was taken back to the locker room for an ankle injury before returning to the game.

Both were fine, but the old “Here we go again” thoughts creeped into the minds of Boilermaker faithful. Why risk more of those instances for a meaningless conference tournament?

On Monday, during his weekly radio show, Painter was asked if anything would change in terms of rotation this week.

"It depends on what happens. If you have some foul trouble, you have some injuries, obviously that speaks for itself. You're gonna dip into it a little bit more," Painter said.

"Where's the game, how's the game unfolding? I've tried to play 10; it hasn't worked. But like (against Wisconsin) I did — Myles (Colvin) got in there, he deserves to play more. ... If it happens, I feel very comfortable diving into our bench because we have some good players."

And therein lies the advantage for the Boilermakers this week. Painter does have an incredibly deep bench that he can utilize this week to spread out the minutes. Players like Camden Heide, Ethan Morton, Caleb Furst and Colvin could see more time.

Would there be a drop-off in talent and production? Certainly. But all four players have shown the capability to contribute at different times this season — and in different ways.

Heide scored 18 points and made all seven shot attempts in a 96-68 win over Rutgers on Feb. 22. Morton has been a lockdown defender for the Boilermakers all season long. Furst hasn't seen as much floor time this year, but he did average 5.5 points and 4.6 rebounds a season ago. Colvin has only shot 44 times from behind the 3-point line in his limited action this year, but he's made 20 (45.5%).

Painter can easily rest Edey, Smith, Jones and Loyer and still have a competitive squad on the floor. It may not give Purdue the best chance to win the Big Ten Tournament, but it gives the Boilers a chance to manage minutes without completely waving the white flag.

I'm not suggesting Purdue completely ignore the conference tournament. I don't think sitting starters for a full two weeks is in the best interest of the team. But cutting down on minutes and extending the rotation this week in Minneapolis?

That seems like the best move for the Boilermakers, and one that could set them up for success in the NCAA Tournament.

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