Purdue's win is another chorus for the unsung

Purdue's fours stand out again High Point

It's one of those things that fans yell about in their living rooms at halftime without really understanding. An adjustment, of the coaching variety, that's as simple as taking one player out of the starting lineup and inserting another.

In this case, it's Matt Painter going with redshirt sophomore Camden Heide at the four in place of lone senior Caleb Furst in the second half and the corresponding space it provided Purdue.

But before we go there, let's stay with Furst. The first of an entire choir of unsung heroes for Purdue this afternoon, and this season, continuing a trend that goes deep into the last few years at Purdue and, in particular, that helped set Purdue up for beating High Point on Thursday.

Caleb Furst found himself against a lot of guards in one on one situations against High Point on Thursday afternoon. That's a familiar place for the 6-10 senior. Big Ten guards have learned over his four year career, a switch against Furst doesn't mean you have advantage. High Point guards didn't seem to realize that early against Purdue, but it knows now.

It was an advantage on Thursday, but one that tilted heavily in Purdue's favor.

"It's a little weird this time, honestly," Caleb Furst told me after the game. "Because I feel like in the Big Ten everybody's found out that I'm not this easy big guy to blow by. A lot of times I was guarding those guards as my primary matchup, so it was a little weird at first because when I got switched on them they were trying to clear out and stuff."

Both of those instances, Furst stayed level, long arms outstretched, and High Point's guards failed to get a step on him. Instead, they were forced to take extra steps as Furst clamped them before they could break into the paint.

Purdue didn't force a ton of turnovers, but the 6 first half turnovers helped keep Purdue's lead as it wore High Point down late. Furst's ability to defend allowed Purdue to play bigger without comprising it's dribble penetration.

But the second half saw Camden Heide get the start in place of Caleb Furst.

The switch had little to do with Furst. Heide, who has found his shot again and then some, continues to make a case for being one of Purdue's best player.

He might have been its best on Thursday after securing his first double-double of his career with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

It was a switch in the rotation that came as a Matt Painter coaching adjustment. With Furst in the starting lineup, High Point was able to cross-match on the defensive end. It hid shot blocker and the nation's most efficient rebounder, Juslin Bodo Bodo, on Caleb Furst. That pulled Bodo Bodo away from the primary pick and roll action against Braden Smith and Trey Kaufman-Renn.

Part of Purdue's offensive struggles early stemmed from High Point's ability to take away the short roll and make Kaufman-Renn's life difficult. Bodo Bodo didn't have to be tasked with taking on Smith as a dribbler or tagging Kaufman-Renn. Instead, he could provide support and a shot blocker at the rim in case either broke through.

But with Heide in the lineup, High Point had to respect Heide's shot and athleticism and was forced to put Bodo Bodo in the thick of pick and roll hell with Smith by matching Bodo Bodo up with Kaufman-Renn instead of Purdue's other big.

With Bodo Bodo defending the pick and roll, High Point plays a deep drop. That allowed both Smith to get inside - as he did in the final play of the first half, resulting in a Smith lob up to Will Berg for a lay up - and Kaufman-Renn to catch the ball cleanly and play against advantages on the floor.

The switch allowed by Kaufman-Renn and Smith to get to 21 and 20 points respectively.

But this Camden Heide, the one that goes 2 for 4 from three and throws down two monster dunks while grabbing 10 boards would play 30 minutes in any game for any team.

That's part of the culture and sacrifice of joining Purdue, and a sign that Purdue really might be playing its best basketball at the end of the season despite losing 6 of its last 9 games coming into the tournament.

"I don't need much for myself," Heide told me after the game.

But with Heide's play in the back quarter of the season, it's becoming clear that Purdue is going to need a lot more of this from Heide if it's going to return to the Final Four this season.

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Purdue's win is another chorus for the unsung

Purdue's fours stand out again High Point

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