2025 NCAA Tournament Preview: High Point vs. Purdue (Thursday, 12:40 pm)

2025 NCAA Tournament 1st-Round Preview:
#13 High Point vs. #4 Purdue (Thursday, 12:40 p.m., truTV)

By David Glenn
North Carolina Sports Network

High Point, led by second-year head coach Alan Huss, is playing in its first NCAA Tournament as a Division One member.

Purdue is playing in its 10th consecutive NCAA Tournament — and its 16th overall — under 20th-year head coach Matt Painter, who took the Boilermakers all the way to the national championship game last season.

High Point represents the single-bid Big South Conference (ranked 17th nationally), as the league’s regular-season and tournament champion. Purdue is a long-time member of the Big Ten Conference, which ranked second nationally during the 2024-25 regular season, behind only the Southeastern Conference.

However, those long-term and short-term historical backdrops don’t automatically mean that the teams’ head-to-head, first-round matchup (Thursday, 12:40 p.m., truTV) in the Big Dance will be a lopsided one.

(NOTE: For a chance to win FREE BACON FOR A YEAR from our friends at the North Carolina Pork Council, please click the “Bacon & Basketball” logo immediately below and participate in the “North Carolina Sports Network” sub-group of the men’s and/or women’s Bracket Challenge at ESPN.com. If you’re in a hurry, just use the auto-fill feature to complete your selections. Please support the North Carolina Sports Network by signing up today. Thank you!)

For starters, High Point is one of the hottest teams in this year’s bracket, with its 14-game winning streak the second-longest nationally. Purdue, meanwhile, is one of the coldest teams in the field, with six losses in its past nine games.

Secondarily, High Point’s greatest strength by far — its offensive efficiency — is a perfect match for Purdue’s greatest weakness this season: defense.

Without 7-foot-4, 300-pound All-American center Zach Edey, an imposing rim-protector who’s now playing in the NBA, the fourth-seeded Boilermakers yielded the worst two-point field goal percentage (almost 59 percent) in Big Ten play this season.

The 13th-seeded Panthers have three double-digit scorers in point guard Kezza Giffa (first-team All-Big South), wing guard D’Maurian Williams (second-team) and forward Kimani Hamilton (first-team), plus a dangerous sharpshooter in Chase Johnston and a dynamic, experienced playmaker in backup point guard Bobby Pettiford.

While it shouldn’t shock anyone if the Panthers put up an impressive point total against the Boilermakers, it also won’t be a surprise if Purdue manages a similarly high number.

The Boilermakers have three big-time offensive weapons in All-American point guard Braden Smith (16 ppg, 9 apg, 38% threes), first-team All-Big Ten forward Trey Kaufman-Renn (20 ppg, 43% threes) and veteran sharpshooter Fletcher Loyer (14 ppg, 46% threes).

While High Point is a 10-point underdog against Purdue, historically speaking, #13 seeds have upset #4 seeds in the NCAA Tournament approximately 21 percent of the time.

BPI/KenPom/KPI/NET Team Rankings (of 364 teams):
High Point — 81/84/71/82
Purdue — 21/19/12/19

Offensive/Defensive Efficiency Rankings (of 364 teams):
High Point — 25/227
Purdue — 7/63

2024-25 Purdue Boilermakers
(22-11, 13-7/4th Big Ten; through March 19)

STARTERS

PG Braden Smith*, Jr. (6-0/170) — HS signee (2025 Big Ten Player of Year)
37 mpg, 16 ppg, 5 rpg, 44% FG, 83% FT, 38% threes, 287/95 ATO, 6 blocks, 74 steals

G CJ Cox, Fr. (6-3/200) — HS signee (top-300 in Class of 2024)
19 mpg, 6 ppg, 3 rpg, 45% FG, 76% FT, 39% threes, 23/19 ATO, 1 block, 23 steals

G Fletcher Loyer*, Jr. (6-5/180) — HS signee (top-100 in Class of 2022)
31 mpg, 14 ppg, 2 rpg, 47% FG, 86% FT, 46% threes, 55/40 ATO, 1 block, 17 steals

F Trey Kaufman-Renn*, r-Jr. (6-9/230) — HS signee (1st-team All-Big Ten)
30 mpg, 20 ppg, 6 rpg, 60% FG, 65% FT, 43% threes, 73/76 ATO, 9 blocks, 23 steals

F Caleb Furst, Sr. (6-10/235) — HS signee (top-100 in Class of 2021)
19 mpg, 4 ppg, 4 rpg, 55% FG, 65% FT, 0 threes, 15/28 ATO, 8 blocks, 22 steals

KEY RESERVES

F Camden Heide, r-So. (6-7/205) — HS signee (top-150 in Class of 2022)
19 mpg, 4 ppg, 3 rpg, 47% FG, 82% FT, 37% threes, 15/9 ATO, 8 blocks, 13 steals

G Myles Colvin, So. (6-5/205) — HS signee (top-100 in Class of 2023)
17 mpg, 5 ppg, 3 rpg, 38% FG, 63% FT, 33% threes, 13/20 ATO, 6 blocks, 19 steals

G Gicarri Harris, Fr. (6-3/200) — HS signee (top-75 in Class of 2024)
15 mpg, 4 ppg, 2 rpg, 41% FG, 93% FT, 30% threes, 28/12 ATO, 5 blocks, 14 steals

*—2023-24 starter (started at least 50% of Purdue’s games last season)

2024-25 High Point Panthers
(29-5, 14-2/1st Big South; through March 19)

STARTERS

G Kezza Giffa*, Sr. (6-2/175) — 2023 Daytona State CC transfer (starter)
28 mpg, 15 ppg, 3 rpg, 44% FG, 86% FT, 31% threes, 81/56 ATO, 1 block, 12 steals

G Chase Johnston, Gr. (6-3/180) — 2024 Florida Golf Coast transfer (starter)
22 mpg, 7 ppg, 2 rpg, 44% FG, 50% FT, 44% threes, 31/19 ATO, 0 blocks, 38 steals

G D’Maurian Williams, Gr. (6-3/209) — 2024 Texas Tech transfer (backup)
27 mpg, 14 ppg, 3 rpg, 47% FG, 82% FT, 40% threes, 71/40 ATO, 3 blocks, 24 steals

F Kimani Hamilton*, Jr. (6-8/225) — 2023 Mississippi State transfer (backup)
24 mpg, 13 ppg, 5 rpg, 52% FG, 72% FT, 33% threes, 77/63 ATO, 15 blocks, 33 steals

C Juslin Bodo Bodo*, So. (7-0/255) — HS signee (unranked in Class of 2023)
22 mpg, 5 ppg, 8 rpg, 64% FG, 54% FT, 0 threes, 5/24 ATO, 48 blocks, 20 steals

KEY RESERVES

G Bobby Pettiford, Sr. (6-0/195) — 2024 East Carolina transfer (starter)
22 mpg, 9 ppg, 2 rpg, 59% FG, 88% FT, 42% threes, 99/37 ATO, 1 blocks, 30 steals

G Trae Benham*, Sr. (6-4/203) — 2023 Lipscomb transfer (starter)
15 mpg, 4 ppg, 2 rpg, 41% FG, 78% FT, 37% threes, 9/11 ATO, 2 blocks, 11 steals

F Simon Hildebrandt, Jr. (6-9/238) — 2024 Manitoba transfer (2-year starter)
14 mpg, 6 ppg, 3 rpg, 47% FG, 74% FT, 33% threes, 10/25 ATO, 5 blocks, 4 steals

G Abdoulaye Thiam, Jr. (6-4/191) — 2022 Minnesota transfer (backup)
14 mpg, 6 ppg, 1 rpg, 50% FG, 81% FT, 33% threes, 13/19 ATO, 1 block, 11 steals

F Terry Anderson, Sr. (6-6/202) — 2024 Lamar transfer (2-year starter)
14 mpg, 5 ppg, 3 rpg, 54% FG, 58% FT, 33% threes, 24/18 ATO, 3 blocks, 14 steals

F Josh Ibukunoluwa, Fr. (6-10/219) — 2024 international signee (Australia)
10 mpg, 3 ppg, 3 rpg, 57% FG, 73% FT, 17% threes, 9/8 ATO, 13 blocks, 7 steals

Departures from 2023-24: F Pavlo Dziuba (Sr./transfer/Eastern Washington), F Denzel Hines (Fr./transfer/Coastal Carolina), G Duke Miles* (Sr./transfer/Oklahoma), F Cade Potter (So./transfer/Cal Poly Humboldt), G Justin Taylor (So./transfer/Coffeyville CC)

*—2023-24 starter (started at least 50% of the Panthers’ games last season)