GAMEDAY INFO
[4] Purdue (9-0, 1-0) at Nebraska (6-4, 0-1)
Lincoln, Neb. | Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,500)
TELEVISION: BTN | RADIO: Purdue Sports Network
ANNOUNCERS: Jeff Levering, Stephen Bardo
THE NOTES TO KNOW
• Purdue ends its first swing in Big Ten play with a Saturday afternoon tilt at Pinnacle Bank Arena to face Nebraska. The Boilermakers will take to the road for the second time this season after beating Florida State in the ACC / Big Ten Challenge on Nov. 30. Purdue hasn't started 2-0 on the road since the 2017-18 season (Marquette, Maryland), also the last time Purdue started 2-0 in Big Ten play.
• Purdue improved to 9-0 on Wednesday with an 85-66 win over Hofstra. The win was Purdue's 21st straight against non-conference opponents in the regular season, the nation's longest streak.
• Purdue enters the contest ranked No. 1 nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency while ranking 29th on the defensive end.
• Purdue can claim America's best resume, owning a nation's-best four top-50 KenPom wins, all of them against teams ranked in the top 40. In the NCAA NET rankings, Purdue comes in at No. 3, being one of two teams with three quad-1 victories (Duke - 3; 3-2 record).
• Appearing at No. 4 in the AP Top 25, Purdue has been ranked in the top 5 in consecutive years for the first time since 1986-87 and 1987-88. The Boilermakers have spent 14 of the past 24 AP polls ranked in the top 5. Only Gonzaga (22) has spent more time in the top 5 than Purdue.
• Purdue is 152-12 under Painter when scoring at least 80 points, including 66-2 since the start of the 2017-18 season. Purdue has won 44 straight games when scoring at least 80 points.
• Purdue has made 152 free throws this season, while opponents have shot just 95. Purdue has made 85 more free throws (152 to 67) this season, the second-highest discrepancy in the country (Denver -- +92).
• Over the last five games, Purdue is shooting 47.7 percent from the field and 37.9 percent from 3-point range, while averaging just 9.2 turnovers. In the first four games, Purdue was shooting 45.7 percent and 32.0 percent from deep while averaging 12.3 turnovers per game.
• Zach Edey has scored at least 20 points in eight straight games, the longest streak of scoring 20 or more points during the Matt Painter era and the third-longest streak in the last 50 years for a Purdue player (Glenn Robinson - twice in 1993-94; 19 and 9 games).
• Through Monday, Zach Edey ranks No. 1 in the KenPom POY ratings by a significant margin and has been the game MVP in all nine Purdue contests (unprecedented to start a season in the KenPom era) so far this year. It's the second-longest streak ever behind Ohio State's Keita Bates-Diop in 2017-18 (11 games). Including this season with Edey, Purdue has had a top-10 KenPom player in 5 of the last 7 seasons. Edey ranks 4th in the country in scoring, 2nd in rebounding and 38th in field goal percentage.
• Perhaps our favorite Zach Edey stat: Through nine games this year, he has just one more foul (17) than blocked shots (16). He has also played 30 minutes seven times this season after not doing it once in his first two seasons.
• Edey and Fletcher Loyer became the first set of teammates to win consecutive Big Ten Player and Freshman of the Week awards. The duo was named after the Phil Knight Legacy championship and then again this week after wins over Florida State and Minnesota.
• Loyer was named the Big Ten's Freshman of the Week after averaging 15.5 points and 6.0 assists per game in the two wins. He had 12 assists and zero turnovers while going 11-of-23 from the field and 4-of-10 from long range. Loyer is the first player in school history to win back-to-back Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors and he was the National Freshman of the Week by CBS Sports on Nov. 28.
• Purdue has won three straight Big Ten Freshman of the Week awards after Braden Smith won it on Nov. 21 (20 pts., 3 asts. vs Marquette).
• Over the last five games, Purdue's two freshman guards (Loyer and Smith) are averaging a combined 23.4 points, 8.8 assists and 7.2 rebounds per game, are shooting 17-of-43 (.395) from 3-point range and have a combined assist-to-turnover ratio of 4.00 (44 / 11).
• Matt Painter needs seven overall victories to become the fifth coach in Big Ten history with 400 victories while at a conference school (Bob Knight, Tom Izzo, Gene Keady, Lou Henson). He needs five victories to become the seventh coach with 200 Big Ten Conference victories.
[4] Purdue (9-0, 1-0) at Nebraska (6-4, 0-1)
Lincoln, Neb. | Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,500)
TELEVISION: BTN | RADIO: Purdue Sports Network
ANNOUNCERS: Jeff Levering, Stephen Bardo
THE NOTES TO KNOW
• Purdue ends its first swing in Big Ten play with a Saturday afternoon tilt at Pinnacle Bank Arena to face Nebraska. The Boilermakers will take to the road for the second time this season after beating Florida State in the ACC / Big Ten Challenge on Nov. 30. Purdue hasn't started 2-0 on the road since the 2017-18 season (Marquette, Maryland), also the last time Purdue started 2-0 in Big Ten play.
• Purdue improved to 9-0 on Wednesday with an 85-66 win over Hofstra. The win was Purdue's 21st straight against non-conference opponents in the regular season, the nation's longest streak.
• Purdue enters the contest ranked No. 1 nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency while ranking 29th on the defensive end.
• Purdue can claim America's best resume, owning a nation's-best four top-50 KenPom wins, all of them against teams ranked in the top 40. In the NCAA NET rankings, Purdue comes in at No. 3, being one of two teams with three quad-1 victories (Duke - 3; 3-2 record).
• Appearing at No. 4 in the AP Top 25, Purdue has been ranked in the top 5 in consecutive years for the first time since 1986-87 and 1987-88. The Boilermakers have spent 14 of the past 24 AP polls ranked in the top 5. Only Gonzaga (22) has spent more time in the top 5 than Purdue.
• Purdue is 152-12 under Painter when scoring at least 80 points, including 66-2 since the start of the 2017-18 season. Purdue has won 44 straight games when scoring at least 80 points.
• Purdue has made 152 free throws this season, while opponents have shot just 95. Purdue has made 85 more free throws (152 to 67) this season, the second-highest discrepancy in the country (Denver -- +92).
• Over the last five games, Purdue is shooting 47.7 percent from the field and 37.9 percent from 3-point range, while averaging just 9.2 turnovers. In the first four games, Purdue was shooting 45.7 percent and 32.0 percent from deep while averaging 12.3 turnovers per game.
• Zach Edey has scored at least 20 points in eight straight games, the longest streak of scoring 20 or more points during the Matt Painter era and the third-longest streak in the last 50 years for a Purdue player (Glenn Robinson - twice in 1993-94; 19 and 9 games).
• Through Monday, Zach Edey ranks No. 1 in the KenPom POY ratings by a significant margin and has been the game MVP in all nine Purdue contests (unprecedented to start a season in the KenPom era) so far this year. It's the second-longest streak ever behind Ohio State's Keita Bates-Diop in 2017-18 (11 games). Including this season with Edey, Purdue has had a top-10 KenPom player in 5 of the last 7 seasons. Edey ranks 4th in the country in scoring, 2nd in rebounding and 38th in field goal percentage.
• Perhaps our favorite Zach Edey stat: Through nine games this year, he has just one more foul (17) than blocked shots (16). He has also played 30 minutes seven times this season after not doing it once in his first two seasons.
• Edey and Fletcher Loyer became the first set of teammates to win consecutive Big Ten Player and Freshman of the Week awards. The duo was named after the Phil Knight Legacy championship and then again this week after wins over Florida State and Minnesota.
• Loyer was named the Big Ten's Freshman of the Week after averaging 15.5 points and 6.0 assists per game in the two wins. He had 12 assists and zero turnovers while going 11-of-23 from the field and 4-of-10 from long range. Loyer is the first player in school history to win back-to-back Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors and he was the National Freshman of the Week by CBS Sports on Nov. 28.
• Purdue has won three straight Big Ten Freshman of the Week awards after Braden Smith won it on Nov. 21 (20 pts., 3 asts. vs Marquette).
• Over the last five games, Purdue's two freshman guards (Loyer and Smith) are averaging a combined 23.4 points, 8.8 assists and 7.2 rebounds per game, are shooting 17-of-43 (.395) from 3-point range and have a combined assist-to-turnover ratio of 4.00 (44 / 11).
• Matt Painter needs seven overall victories to become the fifth coach in Big Ten history with 400 victories while at a conference school (Bob Knight, Tom Izzo, Gene Keady, Lou Henson). He needs five victories to become the seventh coach with 200 Big Ten Conference victories.