The Purdue duo of Oscar Cluff (6'11, 255 pounds) and Trey Kaufman-Kenn (6'9, 210) has the length and size to match Arizona's physicality in the NCAA Tournament West Regional Final on Saturday night at the SAP Center in San Jose.
Kaufman-Renn made the game-winning shot for Purdue on a tip-in with 0.7 seconds remaining to beat Texas 79-77 in the Regional Semifinals. In the win, Kaufman-Renn led Purdue with 20 points on 8-10 from the field with eight rebounds, including four offensive.
Cluff scored 11 points and six rebounds with four offensive against Texas. Kaufman-Renn averages 14.3 PPG, leads Purdue with 8.5 RPG and 2.5 APG. In the NCAA Tournament, Kaufman-Renn is averaging 21.3 PPG and 8.7 RPG in the 2026 NCAA Tournament.
Cluff gives Purdue more mass on the inside and averages 10.5 PPG and 7.4 RPG this season. In the 2026 NCAA Tournament, Cluff is averaging 9.3 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 3.0 APG, 2.0 blocks and 1.3 steals. Purdue backup center, Daniel Jacobsen, at 7'4 and 230 pounds, is averaging 5.6 PPG and 3.1 RPG.
Arizona.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 27, 2026
Purdue.
An epic Elite 8 showdown in Saturday in San Jose.
This is March. https://t.co/ADbWzXHoLz
After averaging 5.6 PPG and 3.1 RPG in 12.1 MPG during the regular season, Jacobsen has played 14 minutes with four points, four rebounds and two blocks in the three NCAA Tournament games for Purdue. All of Jacobsen's points, rebounds and blocks in the NCAA Tournament came in 10 minutes in the first round against Queens.
Jacobsen has played only two minutes each in Purdue's second-round win over Miami and Regional Semifinal victory over Texas. Cluff is averaging 27.7 MPG in the NCAA Tournament after playing 24.3 MPG during the season. Kaufman-Renn's minutes have increased from 27.7 MPG during the season to 32.0 in the NCAA Tournament.
Arizona uses primarily an eight-man rotation. In wins over Utah State in the second round and Arkansas in the Regional Semifinal, Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd has tightened his rotation to primarily seven players. Reserve forward Dwayne Aristode played nine minutes combined against Arkansas and Utah State.
Purdue does not have much size beyond Cluff and Kaufman-Renn in their NCAA Tournament rotation. Arizona has Tobe Awaka, Motiejus Krivas and Koa Peat on the frontline. Ivan Kharchenkov can also provide minutes at power forward. How well Cluff and Kaufman-Renn can perform against the Arizona frontline is critical.
If Arizona can get Cluff and/or Kaufman-Renn in foul trouble, they will make it very difficult for Purdue to win. Expect Awaka and Peat to take turns on Kaufman-Renn, who is more of a scoring threat than Cluff. The frontline should be a physical battle on Saturday with a Final Four trip at stake.