WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue (5-3) begins defense of its 24th Big Ten Championship with the league opener Sunday at Mackey Arena against Northwestern. The contest will tip at 5:01 p.m. ET, on BTN with Cory Provus and Stephen Bardo on the call. On the radio, Rob Blackman, Larry Clisby and Ralph Taylor will have the call courtside on the Purdue Radio Network and TuneIn.com, beginning with the Purdue Basketball Pregame Show at 4 p.m. ET. Live stats will be available on StatBroadcast.com.
• Purdue owns a 130-46 record against Northwestern having won six games in a row against the Wildcats. It will mark the first time since the 2005-06 season that Purdue and Northwestern will square off in the Big Ten Conference opener.
• This marks the third straight year that the Big Ten has played league games in December. The Boilermakers are 3-1 in those games, going 2-0 (at Maryland, Northwestern) in the 2017-18 season and 1-1 (at Michigan, Maryland) during the 2018-19 season.
• Purdue's last two wins have come against nationally-ranked foes from the state of Virginia (No. 20-ranked VCU, No. 5-ranked Virginia). Purdue is 2-0 against ranked teams and 3-3 against unranked squads. From 2016-17 to 2018-19, the Boilermakers went 69-12 (.852) against unranked teams.
• SOMETHING TO WATCH: Purdue's defense ranks as one of the best in America, ranking sixth in KenPom's adjusted defensive efficiency ratings, allowing just 0.86 points per possession.
• Purdue has won 16 straight games when holding foes to 59 or fewer points. Its last loss came on Feb. 15, 2018, at Wisconsin (57-53).
• Purdue has had five different players lead the team in scoring this year, coming in just eight games. Last year's team had four different players lead the team in scoring in 36 games.
• Purdue has won 15 straight games when attempting more free throws than its opponent.
• Purdue owns the best home record in the Big Ten (42-4) and the best overall record (69-23) since the 2014-15 season.
• Purdue has won eight of its last 10 Big Ten openers. The lone losses came in the 2013-14 opener (78-69 to Ohio State) and a year ago at Michigan (76-57).
• Purdue is holding foes to 53.0 points per game and 37.5 field goal percentage in five home games this year.
• Purdue is shooting 48.9 percent from the field in five wins this year, but just 36.3 percent in three losses. In wins, Purdue is averaging just 10.0 turnovers per game. In losses, it is averaging 16.0 turnovers per game.
• Purdue has won 99 straight games when scoring 90 or more points in a game. Its last loss came on Nov. 24, 1987, vs. Iowa State (104-96).
• Northwestern has reached 70 points at Mackey Arena just 13 times in 46 games played. However since 1978, Northwestern has reached 70 points just six times in 37 games.
• Jahaad Proctor has scored in double-figures in 24 straight games.
• With Sasha Stefanovic scoring 20 points vs. Virginia, just three active Purdue players have ever scored 20 points in a game (Stefanovic, Matt Haarms, Jahaad Proctor).