Monday, January 16, 2023
[3] Purdue (16-1, 5-1) vs. Michigan State (12-5, 4-2)
East Lansing, Mich. | Breslin Center (14,797)
TELEVISION: FOX | RADIO: Purdue Sports Network
ANNOUNCERS: Jason Benetti, Bill Raftery
THE NOTES TO KNOW
• After a brief stop in Mackey Arena on Friday, Purdue returns to the road for a pair of games this week, beginning with a trip to the Breslin Center to face Michigan State in a Monday afternoon matinee. This marks the third game in a "four out of five game" road swing. Purdue is already 2-0 on the road in this stretch after winning at Ohio State and in The Palestra against Penn State.
• Monday's game features two coaches that have won a combined 1,078 games (Tom Izzo - 678; Matt Painter - 400) in the Big Ten Conference. The only game in Big Ten history that featured more victories came on Feb. 29, 2000 (1,084 wins; Bob Knight - 658, Gene Keady - 426).
• Purdue's 16-1 record through 17 games ties the program's best mark through 16 games (1987-88, 1993-94). A win over Michigan State will give Purdue a 17-1 record through its first 18 games, matching the best start in school history done only by the 1987-88 squad.
• The win over Nebraska gave Purdue its 1,900th in school history, the 11th team to reach that total. Purdue is 1,900-1,054 (.643) all-time.
• Matt Painter became the fifth coach in Big Ten history with 400 victories while at a conference school with the win over Nebraska (Bob Knight, Tom Izzo, Gene Keady, Lou Henson). He needs one victory to become the seventh coach with 200 Big Ten Conference victories.
• Purdue can claim America's best resume, being one of two teams (Kansas) in America with six quad-1 wins, five of them against teams ranked in the NCAA Net's top 30 (Gonzaga, Ohio State, West Virginia, Marquette, Duke). Five of the wins (Marquette) have come away from Mackey Arena. Through Saturday's games, Alabama, Texas, Arizona and Miami (Fla.) each have five quad-1 wins.
• After being one of the final two teams in the country with zero losses (New Mexico was last), Purdue is now one of five teams nationally with just one loss (Houston, Purdue, Kansas, Florida Atlantic, College of Charleston).
• After struggling shooting the ball for the majority of the season, Purdue has gone 37-of-90 (.411) from 3-point range over its last seven halves of basketball. Prior to this stretch, Purdue was 93-of-309 (.301) from long range.
• One year after ranking second in the country in rebound margin, Purdue leads the country in rebound margin (+12.2) this season. Purdue leads Providence (2nd) by 2.9 rebounds per game, the largest margin from first to second in the category since 2016-17 (+3.3 by North Carolina).
• Purdue has MADE 278 free throws this season, while opponents have SHOT just 163. Purdue has made 159 more free throws (278 to 119) than its foes this season, the highest discrepancy in the nation (Purdue +159, North Carolina +134, Providence +134, Iowa +126).
• Purdue ranks seventh nationally in fewest fouls per game (13.3) and is first nationally in opponent free throw attempts per game (9.6).
• Purdue has held 29 straight opponents to 75 or fewer points, the second-longest streak in the country (North Texas 49).
• Zach Edey ranks No. 1 in the KenPom POY ratings by a significant margin and has been the game MVP in 13 of the 16 Purdue games that he has played in (missed New Orleans with the flu). Edey has scored 10 or more points in 33 straight games with nine straight double-doubles.
• Perhaps our favorite Zach Edey stat: Through his 16 games this year, he has more blocked shots (35) than personal fouls (27). He has also played 30 minutes 11 times this season after not doing it once in his first two seasons. Edey is averaging just 2.2 fouls / 40 minutes.
• Over the last three games, freshmen Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith are averaging a combined 32.0 points and 7.7 assists per game. The duo is shooting 33-of-64 (.516) from the field and 20-of-39 (.513) from 3-point range in that span.
• 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.
• Appearing at No. 3 in this week's AP Top 25 poll, 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 19 of the past 29 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 26 appearances in the top 10 during that span are second behind Kansas (29).