GAMEDAY INFO
[1] Purdue (11-0) vs. New Orleans (3-7)
West Lafayette, Indiana | Mackey Arena (14,876)
TELEVISION: ESPNu | RADIO: Purdue Sports Network
ANNOUNCERS: Jordan Bernfield, Robbie Hummel
THE NOTES TO KNOW
• Purdue closes out the pre-Holiday break portion of the schedule when New Orleans visits Mackey Arena for a Wednesday night battle.
• The game marks the first time that the Boilermaker basketball program will play a home game as the nation's No. 1 team. Purdue's previous three games as the No. 1-ranked team have come on the road (Rutgers) and at two neutral sites (Brooklyn, Indianapolis).
• Purdue is looking to extend its non-conference, regular-season winning streak to 23 games, dating to a Dec. 8, 2020, loss at Miami, Fla. The win streak is the longest in the country by nine games (13 - New Mexico, Connecticut).
• For the second straight year, Purdue has been voted No. 1 in the AP Top 25 poll. A year ago, Purdue was voted No. 1 on Dec. 6, for the first time in school history. Purdue becomes the first Big Ten program since Indiana (1974-75, 1975-76) to be ranked No. 1 in consecutive seasons.
• 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 30. Three of the wins (Marquette was at home) have come away from Mackey Arena.
• Appearing at No. 1 in this week's AP Top 25, Purdue has been ranked in the top 5 in consecutive years for the first time since the 1986-87 and 1987-88 seasons. The Boilermakers have spent 16 of the past 26 AP polls ranked in the top 5. Only Gonzaga (22) has spent more time in the top 5 than Purdue since the start of last season. Purdue's 23 appearances in the top 10 during that span are second behind Kansas (26).
• One year after ranking second in the country in rebound margin, Purdue now leads the country in rebound margin (+12.8). The Boilermakers are outscoring their opponents 147 to 69 in second-chance points (13.4 to 6.3 points per game).
• Purdue has made 192 free throws this season, while opponents have shot just 116. Purdue has made 112 more free throws (192 to 80) this season, the second-highest discrepancy in the country (North Carolina +123, Purdue +112, Denver +106, Iowa +103, New Mexico +103).
• Purdue has held 23 straight opponents to 75 or fewer points, the third-longest streak in the country (North Texas 43, Houston 27).
• Purdue has won 32 straight regular-season games when it faced an unranked opponent at home or on a neutral game.
• Purdue is currently the fifth-youngest team among power-conference teams in America in terms of D-I experience (1.36) according to KenPom.com. The Purdue freshman class is averaging 28.4 points per game (36.9 percent of scoring).
• Through Thursday, Zach Edey ranks No. 1 in the KenPom POY ratings by a significant margin and has been the game MVP in all 11 Purdue contests (unprecedented to start a season in the KenPom era) so far this year. It's now tied for the longest game MVP streak ever with 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 five of the last seven seasons. Edey ranks 6th in the country in scoring, 1st in rebounding, 21st in blocked shots and 22nd in field goal percentage.
• Perhaps our favorite Zach Edey stat: Through 11 games this year, he has more blocked shots (24) than personal fouls (20). He has also played 30 minutes nine times this season after not doing it once in his first two seasons. Edey is averaging just 2.3 fouls / 40 minutes.
• Over the last four games, Zach Edey has produced 94 points and 73 rebounds. He is the first player since Oklahoma's Blake Griffin (Nov. 2008; 104 points, 79 rebounds) to have at least 94 points and 73 rebounds in a 4-game span.
• Edey became the first Big Ten player since Ethan Happ (Nov. 2018) to be named Big Ten Player of the Week in three consecutive weeks. His three Big Ten Player of the Week awards (in only five weeks) are tied for the third most in a season in Purdue history.
• Fletcher Loyer has been named Big Ten Freshman of the Week twice this season (Nov. 28, Dec. 5). The two awards are the third most for a freshman in Purdue history (Caleb Swanigan, Vince Edwards - 3).
• Matt Painter needs five 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 four victories to become the seventh coach with 200 Big Ten Conference victories.
[1] Purdue (11-0) vs. New Orleans (3-7)
West Lafayette, Indiana | Mackey Arena (14,876)
TELEVISION: ESPNu | RADIO: Purdue Sports Network
ANNOUNCERS: Jordan Bernfield, Robbie Hummel
THE NOTES TO KNOW
• Purdue closes out the pre-Holiday break portion of the schedule when New Orleans visits Mackey Arena for a Wednesday night battle.
• The game marks the first time that the Boilermaker basketball program will play a home game as the nation's No. 1 team. Purdue's previous three games as the No. 1-ranked team have come on the road (Rutgers) and at two neutral sites (Brooklyn, Indianapolis).
• Purdue is looking to extend its non-conference, regular-season winning streak to 23 games, dating to a Dec. 8, 2020, loss at Miami, Fla. The win streak is the longest in the country by nine games (13 - New Mexico, Connecticut).
• For the second straight year, Purdue has been voted No. 1 in the AP Top 25 poll. A year ago, Purdue was voted No. 1 on Dec. 6, for the first time in school history. Purdue becomes the first Big Ten program since Indiana (1974-75, 1975-76) to be ranked No. 1 in consecutive seasons.
• 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 30. Three of the wins (Marquette was at home) have come away from Mackey Arena.
• Appearing at No. 1 in this week's AP Top 25, Purdue has been ranked in the top 5 in consecutive years for the first time since the 1986-87 and 1987-88 seasons. The Boilermakers have spent 16 of the past 26 AP polls ranked in the top 5. Only Gonzaga (22) has spent more time in the top 5 than Purdue since the start of last season. Purdue's 23 appearances in the top 10 during that span are second behind Kansas (26).
• One year after ranking second in the country in rebound margin, Purdue now leads the country in rebound margin (+12.8). The Boilermakers are outscoring their opponents 147 to 69 in second-chance points (13.4 to 6.3 points per game).
• Purdue has made 192 free throws this season, while opponents have shot just 116. Purdue has made 112 more free throws (192 to 80) this season, the second-highest discrepancy in the country (North Carolina +123, Purdue +112, Denver +106, Iowa +103, New Mexico +103).
• Purdue has held 23 straight opponents to 75 or fewer points, the third-longest streak in the country (North Texas 43, Houston 27).
• Purdue has won 32 straight regular-season games when it faced an unranked opponent at home or on a neutral game.
• Purdue is currently the fifth-youngest team among power-conference teams in America in terms of D-I experience (1.36) according to KenPom.com. The Purdue freshman class is averaging 28.4 points per game (36.9 percent of scoring).
• Through Thursday, Zach Edey ranks No. 1 in the KenPom POY ratings by a significant margin and has been the game MVP in all 11 Purdue contests (unprecedented to start a season in the KenPom era) so far this year. It's now tied for the longest game MVP streak ever with 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 five of the last seven seasons. Edey ranks 6th in the country in scoring, 1st in rebounding, 21st in blocked shots and 22nd in field goal percentage.
• Perhaps our favorite Zach Edey stat: Through 11 games this year, he has more blocked shots (24) than personal fouls (20). He has also played 30 minutes nine times this season after not doing it once in his first two seasons. Edey is averaging just 2.3 fouls / 40 minutes.
• Over the last four games, Zach Edey has produced 94 points and 73 rebounds. He is the first player since Oklahoma's Blake Griffin (Nov. 2008; 104 points, 79 rebounds) to have at least 94 points and 73 rebounds in a 4-game span.
• Edey became the first Big Ten player since Ethan Happ (Nov. 2018) to be named Big Ten Player of the Week in three consecutive weeks. His three Big Ten Player of the Week awards (in only five weeks) are tied for the third most in a season in Purdue history.
• Fletcher Loyer has been named Big Ten Freshman of the Week twice this season (Nov. 28, Dec. 5). The two awards are the third most for a freshman in Purdue history (Caleb Swanigan, Vince Edwards - 3).
• Matt Painter needs five 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 four victories to become the seventh coach with 200 Big Ten Conference victories.