MILWAUKEE — To understand what type of afternoon it was for Purdue (and for Yale), consider a moment when the ball was poked loose from Yale, which led to a break that allowed Jaden Ivey to string together a few long strides and spring high above the rim to grasp Mason Gillis’s alley-oop pass.
Ivey’s dunk attempt rolled around the rim and out. Gillis’s follow attempt also lipped out of the cup. Trevion Williams gobbled up the rebound and sent it out to Sasha Stefanovic at the top of the 3-point arc. His shot curled around the rim, kissed off the backboard and finally made its way through the basket.
The sequence, early in the second half, signaled how futile it was for Yale — game, resourceful and the best program in the Ivy League — to try to slow down Purdue’s offense, which hummed to a 78-56 first-round victory.
Consider the Boilermakers’ arsenal — 7-foot-4 center Zach Edey is a mammoth in the middle, Ivey is a skillful, speedy wing who can create his own offense, Williams is a low-post bully coming off the bench and Stefanovic leads an army of deadeye distance shooters.
The way they move, cut and shoot in Coach Matt Painter’s deep and varied playbook, it is no wonder they are assessed as the nation’s second-most efficient offense — just a tick behind Gonzaga — according to the KenPom rankings.
The question is: How far can that offense carry the Boilermakers?
The two teams just behind them in offensive efficiency — Iowa and Kentucky — were sent home on Thursday, and Gonzaga found itself in an unexpectedly tight contest with Georgia State before asserting itself midway through the second half.
The Purdue defense comes and goes — the Boilermakers overplayed post-ups to force turnovers that allowed them to seize control in the first half, and they hassled Yale guard Azar Swain after a hot start. But nobody would suggest this unit be outfitted with sledgehammers and hard hats like Purdue Pete, the school mascot.
What makes Purdue truly…