Purdue basketball trimester report: Depth a strength, defending athletic guards is not

WEST LAFAYETTE — When Purdue basketball tips off with Jacksonville on Thursday, live on Big Ten Network, it will be the Boilermakers' 12th game and probably a relief from the high-profile gauntlet recently.

Purdue had 31 regular season games and is guaranteed one Big Ten tournament contest. We'll go ahead and assume the Boilermakers are an NCAA tournament lock, giving Purdue at least 33 games this season.

That means we're one-third through the season (though obviously lengthy conference and NCAA tournament runs could add to the number of games). It's time to evaluate Purdue's season to date.

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Team MVP: Zach Edey

Because, duh. He's the runaway choice right now to repeat as National Player of the Year. Somehow, after dominating college basketball last season, Edey came back much improved. He has a legitimate chance to break what was once thought to be Purdue's unbreakable scoring record held by Rick Mount. The sheer space Edey absorbs makes opponents have to adapt. You can't play against Edey like anyone else in the country because, well, he's not just tall despite what some muttonheads believe. The footwork, the rim protection, the rebounding, the ability to draw fouls and cash in at the line. Edey does so many things well that it's comical anymore that his abilities are questioned.

Team strength: Depth

Matt Painter doesn't want to go 10 players deep, but he has to. He has too much talent to not put it to use. What it does is creates the ability to mix and match based on circumstance and opposing personnel. Ethan Morton, Caleb Furst and Mason Gillis have started a lot of games for Purdue and none of them are currently starting. Myles Colvin and Camden Heide would start or play a lot of minutes for most programs. And their time to do that will come, but right now they're role players. That's a luxury.

Team weakness: Defending athletic guards

Purdue has mostly survived its ridiculous schedule so far, but is has been susceptible to slowing down star guards. Credit some of that to ridiculous shot making, but also, when it continues to happen, it's a theme. Caleb Love scored 29 for Arizona on Saturday and a week before that, Alabama's Mark Sears put up 35 on the Boilers. Add to that Boo Buie's 31 for Northwestern in Purdue's only loss and it's apparent the Boilers' downfall might be a perimeter player having an other worldly performance. Love is a streaky shooter who got hot against the Boilermakers with their focus on shutting down two others. But one players hot streak can be a team's demise in the NCAA tournament. Purdue knows it from both sides. See Carsen Edwards and Ryan Cline, but also Josh Hagins for Arkansas-Little Rock in 2016.

Best offensive player: Braden Smith

How do we not go Zach Edey, right? The two-man game between Smith and Edey is a thing of beauty, but this offense is effective because Smith is pulling the strings. Last year, the former Indiana Mr. Basketball was pretty good for a freshman. Now he's pretty good — dare we say great — as a collegiate point guard.

Best defensive player: Edey

Remember when Alabama took 46 3-pointers against Purdue? That's the effect Edey has on a game. If you drive to the basket, you'll likely get blocked or end up having to take a high degree of difficulty shot to avoid the boat oars attached to Edey's shoulders. Arizona was able to exploit Purdue with some easy back side lobs, but the Wildcats are among college basketball's elite this season. Edey is averaging 2.5 blocks per game. Because of his mass, it forces teams to settle for jump shots.

Best 3-point shooter: Braden Smith

If we're going by percentage, it's Heide, then Gillis. But the sample size for those two is much smaller than Smith's, who has attempted 40 3s and made 19. Last season, Smith picked his spots. Painter wanted a more aggressive Smith as a sophomore, actually as a freshman, too, but we're past that. He's taken advantage of having a 7-foot-4 dominator underneath. As has everyone else for that matter. Purdue is shooting better than 40 percent from beyond the arc.

Best playmaker: Braden Smith

Smith is not only averaging 14.4 points, he's averaging 6.7 assists. Colvin said after the game versus Alabama in Toronto about Smith that even when you're not open, you're open with Smith handling the ball. He's got great court vision. Sometimes a risky pass will get picked off, but when it's not, boy is it pretty.

Best off the bench: Varies

Going back to the depth above, different players have stepped up in different situations based on need. Caleb Furst was a boost against Alabama. Ethan Morton has been pivotal with his defense at times. Mason Gillis is steady Eddie doing the grit work and hitting the occasional open 3. Heide is a highlight reel waiting to happen and also can shoot from the perimeter. Colvin is instant offense with his quick trigger 3s. You can't pick one here because it truly has been someone different every game.

Best freshman: Myles Colvin

The youngster has great genes and ability, but he has a long way to go. Don't expect it to take long for Colvin to get there though. Painter showed tremendous trust playing him in crunch time against Alabama. Colvin has already shown he's not shy. He's a gunner and has hit some big time 3s in just 11 games. Overall, Colvin is 12 of 26 from beyond the arc.

Final thoughts

Fans were up in arms with yet another shocking loss at Northwestern after achieving a No. 1 ranking. But if anyone realistically looked at the schedule and was told Purdue would be 10-1 and would've spent two weeks atop the rankings already, nobody would've said no. Granted, the postseason will be the defining moment for this time, but what the Boilermakers have done has been beyond impressive. Purdue won the most loaded Maui Invitational in history and currently has scored at least 87 points in five straight games.

Yeah, I get it. We saw this a year ago and we all know how that ended. Something just feels different with this year's squad, though. For example, we're this deep into the analysis and haven't even mentioned Fletcher Loyer, the reigning Big Ten Player of the Week who dumped 27 points on both Tennessee and Arizona. Or Lance Jones. Or Trey Kaufman-Renn. Purdue has two non-conference games before the new year. Then, buckle up. Big Ten play resumes Jan. 2 at Maryland, which stormed the court after beating Purdue in College Park last season.

Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @samueltking.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Analyzing where Purdue basketball stands 1/3 through season