No. 19 Purdue takes prolific offense into battle with Fairfield (Nov 18, 2017)

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- No. 19 Purdue is one of the nation's most prolific offensive teams, averaging 100.7 points. Fairfield, on the other hand, centers everything on its defense while yielding just 62 points per game.

Now 3-0, the Boilermakers host Fairfield (2-0) on Saturday night before heading to the Bahamas to play Tennessee (2-0) on Wednesday in the opening round of the eight-team Battle 4 Atlantis.

Before the elite tournament in the Bahamas, Purdue must contend with a solid group of Stags.

Matija Milin collected 18 points and 11 rebounds in Fairfield's victory over Loyola (Maryland) after the Stags opened the season by beating Penn.

"Matija needs to have a big season for us," Stags coach Sydney Johnson said. "He is a very talented player."

Milin is eager to play Purdue.

"Purdue is a huge test for us," Milin said. " I actually have a friend (Matt Haarms) on the team, so it will be great to catch up with him."

For the Boilermakers, the Bahamas field also includes third-ranked Arizona, No. 5 Villanova and honorable mention SMU.

Purdue then will play the Villanova-Western Kentucky winner at either 12:30 or 7 p.m. on Thursday.

Thus far, the Boilermakers are led by sophomore guard Carsen Edwards' 18.7 points and 15.3 each from senior center Isaac Haas and senior guard Dakota Mathias. Purdue is shooting 59 percent from the field, including 42.4 from 3-point range.

The Boilermakers are 3-0 for the ninth time in coach Matt Painter's 13 seasons and are outscoring opponents by an average 38.4 points.

Does this Purdue team have Final Four potential?

"Hopefully, if the chips fall into place, we will play a couple of potential Final Four teams (Villanova and Arizona) in the Bahamas," Painter said. "It's more important to focus on Tennessee in that first tournament game. It is a fun team to coach, and we have been shooting the ball well. After this tournament, we will have a better idea of where stand."

After scoring a team-best 22 in Thursday's victory at Marquette, Haas is aware of what he and Purdue need to do to be successful in the Battle 4 for Atlantis.

"I have to be aware of foul trouble, because when I am, it causes problems for all of our guys," Haas said. "It is a matter of being aware of where you are and cleaning up my mistakes. At Marquette, we were pretty level-headed and stayed ahead in the game."

Mathias said opponents will struggle to contain Purdue.

"Being a good 3-point shooting team, other teams are going to have to decide if they want to stay on Isaac or come out on us," Mathias said. "It's about recognizing mismatches and some of the defenses other teams are deciding to play."