The Three Pointer: 4 Purdue vs. 12 McNeese State

The Boilers will look to move to their sixth Sweet 16 in the last eight NCAA Tourneys and lay to rest the losses to double digit seeds from years past

The Purdue Boilermakers won their opening round game of the 2025 NCAA Tourney over High Point 75-63. High Point was a favorite of many in the media for an upset but the Boilers were able to string together one of their better defensive efforts of the season against one of the better offensive teams in the country. Purdue now turns their attention to another media darling in McNeese State led by one of the more controversial head coaches in the NCAA, Will Wade.

McNeese won their opening round game against a Clemson team who had gone 16-2 in the ACC, but that doesn’t seem as big of an accomplishment as it would typically with the ACC starting out 0-2 as higher seeds (Louisville lost to Creighton as well). McNeese held the Tigers to just 13 points in the first half and held a 99.8% chance of winning (according to ESPN) at the 8:07 mark of the second half leading 51-29. Clemson went on a 38-18 run but ran out of time after hitting a layup with no time remaining.

McNeese has three scorers who average in double figures in guards Jahvohn Garcia (12.6), Sincere Parker (12.1), and Christian Shumate (10.6) but have four others that average between 7.6 and 9.9 as well. That distribution of scoring is what makes McNeese a difficult defensive cover as they have had eight different players lead them in scoring this season. The Cowboys also shoot it well from behind the arc as a team with a 35.5% on the season with DJ Richards leading the Southland Conference at 43.4% (85/196).

Purdue played one of their better defensive games of the last two months as the Boilers limited a top 25 offense (Kenpom) to their second worst offensive output of the season. Led by Trey Kaufman-Renn’s 21 points and Braden Smith’s 20, the Boilers were able to put together enough offense to control most of the game. The Boilers struggled at the free throw line going just 14-22 (and missing three front ends) but dominated the glass going a +21 overall for the game. The bench also provided the best production it has given recently with a total of 22 points and 22 rebounds and was led by Cam Heide’s first double-double of his career with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Let’s get into our Round of 32 ‘Three Pointer.’

1 | Handle the Defensive Pressure that McNeese Brings

Will Wade is known to be a coach that wants to focus on defensive intensity and pressure. They often will provide full court pressure in a one on one sense to slow down an opponent’s ability to run effective and efficient offense. More than that, McNeese will bring traps and try to force mistakes, something that seemingly brings massive amounts of PTSD from Purdue fans. This team is very different, thanks in large part to Braden Smith.

Likely McNeese will look to simply make Smith work harder than he wants to over the course of a full game to wear him out. Purdue would be wise to have CJ Cox and even Gicarri Harris, at times, bring the ball up so it gives Smith a break from having that heavy of a responsibility. The biggest key is just not turning the ball over and allowing McNeese to get easy points off turnovers and allowing them to generate an advantage.

The number continues to be 12 or less turnovers for Purdue to be successful this year and Purdue has shown they have the ability to be below that. In their first round game against High Point, the Boilers turned it over just seven times which is a program low in the NCAA Tourney. If Purdue can stay below 10, they stand a good chance at moving on.

2 | Get on the Glass

Purdue had one of the most dominant rebounding performances in recent memory when they outrebounded Holy Cross by a +21 mark. It was likely the reason why Purdue was able to win by double digits and had they hit their free throws it would have likely been an even bigger victory. It’ll likely play an even bigger role in the game against McNeese on Saturday.

McNeese is a good rebounding team that averages 11.85 offensive rebounds per game (79th), 24.56 defensive rebounds per game (198th), and 36.41 (121st) rebounds total per game. They are led in that area of the game by Joe Charles’ 7.0 and Christian Shumate’s 6.4 rebounds per game but it is really a team wide effort as four other players average 3 or more as well.

Purdue has been susceptible to giving up second chances (and sometimes three and four) throughout the season but it really hurt them during their late season skid. In their loss to Michigan and their first round victory over High Point, the effort to be physical on the glass was easily seen. That kind of effort is going to be needed to help a defense that has been susceptible limit the chances McNeese has when they miss their first shot.

The Boilers can also help themselves immensely by grabbing offensive rebounds, something that they were elite at against High Point. The offensive glass is where Colvin, Heide, and Furst have got to make a major impact and when they score off of those chances, it helps Purdue’s efficient offense even more so.

3 | Two Man Game…Rinse, Repeat?

Purdue is going to need the very best from its’ two best players in Braden Smith and Trey Kaufman-Renn. In the first round the two combined for 41 points but Smith wasn’t particular efficient as he went just 6-19 overall, not typical for the B1G’s Player of the Year. However, the nineteen shot attempts are likely where Purdue needs Smith to be if they want to continue to have success in the NCAA Tourney.

Purdue’s two man game of the pick and roll between the two talented juniors may be the best in college basketball this season and that is something McNeese State is going to have to prove they can deal with. McNeese did flash a 2-3 zone for the first time this season in their win against Clemson, but Purdue has shown an ability to continue their scoring effectiveness against any number of looks. In fact, McNeese may not have the lateral quickness to hard hedge against Smith and drop coverage is going to lead to Smith being able to generate his own jumpers from the midrange or spray out to shooters at the arc.

Smith and TKR will need to be at their best and there haven’t been many in Purdue’s history to come up big in big moments like these two have. The Boilers will need another big game from their best players.

4 | Play with Incredible Energy & Intensity

The most important aspect for this Purdue team comes down to playing with an incredibly amount of energy and intensity. When they have done that, it has led to a level of play that makes up for the deficiencies it does have. Purdue has seemingly struggled with that at times, something Matt Painter has frequently mentioned this season. He has said that none of what he writes on the board means anything if the team doesn’t play with energy and intensity.

There is a chance at a Sweet 16 on the line for the Boilers and motivation shouldn’t be an issue. This team is full of veterans that know exactly what is necessary to be successful in this tourney and they are surrounded by freshman who are capable of playing above their experience.

Players to Watch

Javohn Garcia | #6 | Senior | Guard | 6-2 183 | 12.6 Pts, 3.4 Reb, 1.9 Ast

With the injury of Alvyn Breed, Garcia has taken over as the go to guy for this McNeese State squad. Garcia shoots it just ok behind the arc at 33.3% on the season with 3.3 taken per game. Look for CJ Cox take on the responsibility of Garcia to start the game.

Sincere Parker | #21 | Junior | Guard | 6-3 195 | 12.1 Pts, 2.5 Reb, 0.5 Ast

Parker comes off the bench but is still the Cowboys’ second leading scorer and plays 28.9 minutes per game. He is a 29.4% 3pt shooter but like Garcia does damage getting to the free throw line and connecting there 81.9% of the time. Braden Smith likely draws this assignment first.

Christian Shumate | #24 | Senior | Guard | 6-6 185 | 10.6 Pts, 6.4 Reb, 0.9 Ast

One of the taller players for McNeese State, Shumate is one of their best rebounders and scores inside the arc at a 71.7% rate. That’s something Purdue has struggled with leading into the NCAA Tourney although they looked much better against High Point. This may be an odd matchup to start but look for Furst to defend Shumate to start the game.

Prediction

This is a difficult one to predict but McNeese’s non-conference slate did have some really good matchups to get a good read on. They played tough in losses to Alabama, Liberty, and Mississippi State before getting into their conference slate in the Southland. The Southland, as a conference, is rated below the Big South Conference where High Point plays. We also know how poor the ACC was as a conference this season and their performance so far this tourney doesn’t make Clemson’s showing any better for the Cowboys.

This McNeese State team is ranked around a few different Purdue opponents this season, notably Penn State and Nebraska. Those are the best comps for what this Purdue team will face as both of those programs play a similar defensive style. So what should we see from the Boilers?

McNeese hasn’t faced a post player of the caliber of TKR and it is likely they are either going to have to be ok with him having a huge game while trying to limit three point shots from others or they will have to double and hope Purdue doesn’t make them pay. They certainly don’t have the experience against a guard like Braden Smith either and when you put those two together, Purdue is going to employ a lot of different looks to generate the shots they need. What it will come down to is simple. Can Purdue hit the shots they need to?

Smith has been a bit inefficient the last few games but Purdue wants him to remain aggressive. That aggressiveness, even when he isn’t scoring at a high rate, opens up the offense for everyone else on the floor. Against McNeese, I fully expect Smith and TKR to play up to their level and for everyone around them to support them as needed.

Purdue: 82
McNeese: 73