Nov. 1—LAS VEGAS — Two years ago, in Las Vegas of all places, Matt Painter was asked if Purdue had ever explored the idea of a home-and-home, nonconference series with Gonzaga.
The setting and timing both felt appropriate for the question. Painter was helping out at USA Olympic Basketball Camp on UNLV's campus, working specifically with the USA Select Team. Gonzaga's Mark Few was roaming the same practice gym on a scorching summer day in Vegas, working his offseason assignment with the Paris-bound men's Olympic team.
There had been three chance meetings between Gonzaga and Purdue programs over the previous 20 months — on Nov. 25, 2022, at the Phil Knight Legacy in Portland, on Nov. 20, 2023, at the Maui Invitational in Honolulu and most recently, March 29, 2024, in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
Two of the most respected programs in college basketball. Two of the most revered coaches in the game. Why wouldn't they want to get something on the books?
"We've talked about it," Painter said on July 8, 2024. "Not home-and-home, but we've talked about neutral site."
Voila, here they are two years later, matching up in Monday's 4:30 p.m. neutral-site opener at T-Mobile Arena, just a few-hundred steps from the Vegas Strip. It's one of two men's games that will be part of this year's Hall of Fame Series. Longtime Gonzaga assistant Tommy Lloyd and Arizona will cap the night with a 7 p.m. tipoff against former Pac-12 rival UCLA. Both games will air on TNT.
"Purdue's one of the real great programs we have in college basketball right now, Matt's a heckuva coach and they're just going to be a tough out," Few said. "They're very execution-oriented on offense and run a myriad of really, really nice actions, usually off the ball. But they're big, they've always had those bigs inside. They're man-to-man defense and they'll pick us up full court and try to make every basket hard."
That was the evaluation Few offered before even watching film from Purdue's exhibition slate, which included a 76-53 loss to UConn and dominant 92-62 and 87-55 wins over Purdue Fort Wayne and Ball State. Gonzaga's coaching staff doesn't necessarily have to know Purdue's personnel to know how Painter will try to scheme things up Monday night.
That goes both ways, obviously. The Boilermakers suspect the Bulldogs will try to speed the game up, play through an All-American-caliber post on offense and control the offensive and defensive glass. Mostly correct, although Few is still slightly skeptical about what his group can do from a rebounding standpoint.
"Great in transition, good size," Painter said of the Zags. "Obviously getting (Massamba) Diop from Arizona State, good shot-blocker, good length. Braden Huff is an all-conference player, can score inside and out, can drive the basketball. Xaivian Lee at Princeton, at Florida, a lot of experience, very, very fast.
"There's a couple areas for us that's going to be important no matter who we play, but we have to do a better job of keeping people out of transition and these guys are really good in transition. And that starts with taking care of the basketball, taking good shots, setting your defense."
From a personnel standpoint, there's almost zero carryover from the last Gonzaga-Purdue matchup in 2024. Other than Huff, who scored four points in nine minutes off the bench, nobody else from either roster is back. Huff and Purdue's C.J. Cox are also the only returning starters for their respective teams.
Cox could be the focal point of Gonzaga's defensive plan. He's the top returning scorer at 8.5 points per game and paced the Boilermakers through their exhibition slate, averaging 15.3 points and accounting for one-third of Purdue's total scoring production against UConn with 18 points.
"A great set of guards," Few said. "They shoot it well, they shoot it freely, they're difficult to prepare with all the myriad of sets and actions they have and kind of challenge you in every way. They're one of those teams that keep you in front, you've got to make shots over the top of them and are just phenomenal on the glass. Just the offensive glass and the defensive glass."
Transfer wing Caden Pierce is expected to start in a small-ball "4" role for Purdue. Gonzaga doesn't need to do much homework on the 6-foot-7 senior because Few's staff did plenty last season when the Bulldogs tried to land a transfer commitment from Pierce, bringing him to Spokane for an official visit in January. Pierce is Huff's former high school teammate at Glenbard West in the Chicago area and played with Lee for three seasons at Princeton.
"They seem to be really clicking with their execution. Obviously, I think they probably were all there this summer and adding Caden Pierce is a really, really nice addition," Few said. "Really athletic and hard driving, hard playing kind of swing forward."
Gonzaga's expected to go with a starting unit of Lee, Isiah Harwell, Davis Fogle, Huff and Diop, but Few's bench rotation could change in the hours leading up to Monday's opener. Chauncey Wiggins is currently ineligible, but a judge in McLennan County, Texas, is still reviewing a temporary restraining order for the transfer wing and other player plaintiffs in his 5-in-5 lawsuit. A verdict is expected Monday, which could potentially reverse Wiggins' eligibility status before the 4:30 p.m. start time in Vegas.
