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GAME 24 | PURDUE (14-9, 4-6) vs. [rv | 25] Ohio State (18-5, 5-5)
Saturday, February 8, 2014 | 6 PM (ET)
Columbus, Ohio | Value City Arena (18,809)
Television: Big Ten Network (Eric Collins, Jim Jackson)
Radio: Purdue Sports Network (Larry Clisby, Rob Blackman, Wes Scott - engineer)
Satellite Radio: OSU Broadcast (SIRIUS 91, XM 91)
Gametracker: PurdueSports.com
The Game
After ending a four-game slide on Wednesday night in triple overtime, the Purdue men's basketball team travels to Columbus, Ohio, to face a resurgent Ohio State squad at 6 pm (ET) on Saturday at Value City Arena. The contest will be aired on BTN with Eric Collins and Jim Jackson, while the Purdue Sports Network will handle the radio call with Larry Clisby and Rob Blackman courtside, beginning with the pregame show at 5 pm (ET). The Boilermakers enter the game with a 14-9 overall record and a 4-6 mark in the Big Ten, while the Buckeyes are 18-5 overall and 5-5 in Big Ten play.
Fans unable to attend the contest can watch online on BTN2GO.com and live stats will be provided on PurdueSports.com via Gametracker. As always, you can receive text messages through Twitter, available at @BoilerBall.
The Opponent
Ohio State has had a rollercoaster-type season, but the Buckeyes appear to be back on the upswing, entering Saturday's contest with an 18-5 overall record and a 5-5 Big Ten mark. After starting the year 15-0 and ranked as high as No. 3 in the country, the Buckeyes lost four games in a row to drop to 15-4 overall on Jan. 20. After defeating Illinois on Jan. 23, Ohio State dropped a 71-70 overtime decision at home to Penn State on Jan. 29 to slide the Buckeyes out of the national rankings. However since that loss, the Buckeyes have won on the road at both Wisconsin and Iowa to move to 18-5 overall and back into a tie for fourth place in the league standings.
When starting with Ohio State, senior point guard Aaron Craft is often the first name mentioned. Craft is averaging just 9.4 points per game and 4.9 assists per outing, but his defensive presence has made him an All-America candidate. Craft has moved into second place on the all-time Big Ten career steals list and already has 59 swipes in just 23 games this year. LaQuinton Ross leads the team in scoring at 14.1 points per game, while Lenzelle Smith, Jr., averages 11.8 points per outing. Amir Williams contributes 9.2 points and a team-best 6.2 rebounds per contest.
As a team, Ohio State is averaging 72.1 points per game (all games played), while allowing just 59.3 points per contest, good for seventh nationally. Opponents are shooting just 40.0 percent against the Buckeyes and just 25.9 percent fron long distance in all games played (first nationally). Ohio State's rebounding margin is even in all games played and minus-4.3 in Big Ten play. In league games only, Ohio State has allowed 66.2 points per game and foes are shooting 44.7 percent from the field against the Buckeyes.
The Logjam
It is setting up to be quite a sprint for the top half of the Big Ten standings. After Michigan (9-1) and Michigan State (9-1), there are seven teams within two games of each other in the standings. Iowa (6-4) sits in third place and is followed in fourth place by Wisconsin, Ohio State and Northwestern in the standings, all at 5-5. Indiana is 4-5, while Purdue and Minnesota are both 4-6. A Purdue win on Saturday, coupled with an Iowa loss on Saturday to Michigan, would move the Boilermakers to within one game of third place in the Big Ten standings.
The Series
- Saturday's contest marks the 170th meeting between the two teams, with the Buckeyes owning an 86-83 lead.
- The 86 losses against the Buckeyes are the second most against any team in school history (Indiana - 88).
- Ohio State is the only Big Ten school to own an all-time winning record against the Boilermakers.
- Purdue is 1-11 all-time at Value City Arena, the lone victory coming in Feb. 2010 (60-57).
- Four of the last five losses at Value City have come by eight or fewer points, including two by three points.
- Value City Arena is the only Big Ten arena that Purdue's current senior class has not won in.
- Since the 1998-99 season, Purdue is just 6-22 against the Buckeyes. Prior to then, Purdue was 77-64 vs. OSU.
Boiling Points
- Just four teams (Oklahoma State, Butler, Minnesota, Michigan) have shot over 45.0 percent against Purdue.
- In the first seven Big Ten games, Purdue shot over 42.0 percent just once; has done so in each of last three games.
- Against Minnesota, Purdue's bench was outscored for the first time in the last 13 games.
- Purdue has played in two overtime games in its last five outings, totaling five overtime sessions.
- Purdue owns seven wins this season after trailing by six or more points during some point of the contest.
- Purdue owns an 11-1 record this year when shooting a higher field goal percentage than its opponent.
- Purdue's 73.8 points per game is its highest average since averaging 74.7 points per game in the 2000-01 season.
- Purdue is allowing 70.4 points per game, the most points allowed since the 2005-06 season (70.9 ppg).
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