GAMEDAY INFORMATION -- GAME 01
[3] Purdue (0-0) vs. Samford (0-0)
6:30 p.m. ET | West Lafayette, Indiana
Mackey Arena | 14,876 (SOLD OUT)
TELEVISION: Big Ten Network (Cory Provus, Robbie Hummel)
RADIO: Purdue Global Radio Network (Rob Blackman, Bobby Riddell)
THE NOTES TO KNOW
• No. 3-ranked Purdue opens its 126th season of play on Monday night in Mackey Arena when one of the favorites in the Southern Conference, Samford, visits for the season opener for both teams. Samford is one of at least four non-conference opponents (Samford, Morehead State, Gonzaga, Alabama) on Purdue's schedule that won their conference's regular-season title a year ago (Possible: Marquette, Kansas, UCLA).
• The Boilermakers have won 24 straight regular-season, non-conference games, dating to a Dec. 8, 2020, setback at Miami, Fla. The streak is the longest in the country by nine games (New Mexico - 15). A win over Samford would tie the school record for the longest non-conference, regular-season winning streak in school history (25 -- Jan. 2, 1992 to Nov. 27, 1994).
• Purdue will enter the year having won 14 straight games in the month of November, with the last loss coming Nov. 26, 2020, vs. Clemson in the SpaceCoast Challenge. The streak is the second-longest November winning streak in America (Arizona - 22).
• Purdue's No. 3 ranking marks its highest preseason ranking since the 1987-88 season (No. 2). Purdue has been ranked in the preseason top 10 for the second time in the last three years (2021-22 --> No. 7). It marks the eighth time in school history that Purdue has been ranked in the top 10 of the AP preseason poll. The last five times that Purdue has been ranked top 10, it has posted a 140-31 (.819) record.
• With its top-five preseason ranking, Purdue has been ranked in the top five in 17 straight weeks, the longest streak in the country. Kansas is the next closest at six weeks.
• A year ago, Purdue became the first team since Wisconsin in 2015 to win an outright Big Ten regular-season title and the Big Ten Tournament title in the same season. Purdue became the first team in Big Ten history to win the regular-season title by at least three games and win the Big Ten Tournament in the same season. No team since Michigan State (1999, 2000) has won consecutive Big Ten Tournament and outright regular-season championships.
• Purdue's 58 wins over the last two seasons are the most in school history and the sixth most in the country (Houston, Kansas, Arizona, Gonzaga, Duke). Purdue needs just 25 wins this season to tie the school record for the most wins in a three-year span (83; 2016-17-18).
• Purdue is in search for its 26th Big Ten Championship, already owning the most Big Ten titles in league history. Should Purdue win the Big Ten title in 2024, it will mark its fourth title in the last eight seasons and back-to-back titles for the first time since 1994-95-96.
• The Boilermakers enter the season ranked No. 1 by three major analytic services (KenPom, Bart Torvik, Evan Miyakawa). It marks the first time in the 23-year history that Purdue has been ranked No. 1 by KenPom.
• Zach Edey won Purdue's third National Player of the Year honor (1932 - John Wooden; 1994 - Glenn Robinson) a year ago after averaging 22.3 points and 12.9 rebounds per game. Purdue (2), Duke (3) and North Carolina (2) are the only schools in America to have at least two consensus (all six major services) National Players of the Year in the last 30 seasons. Edey could become the first consensus back-to-back National Player of the Year since Bill Walton (1972, 1973).
• Zach Edey is the nation's third-leading scorer from a year ago (22.3 PPG), but among players that played in a major conference a year ago, he is first. Edey is the only one of the top-11 returning scorers in America from a year ago to play in a major conference last year.
• Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer return after scoring a combined 724 points a year ago. The total is second nationally among sophomore teammates behind Duke's Kyle Filipowski and Tyrese Proctor (881 points).
• Matt Painter ranks fifth on the Big Ten's list for career wins with 413, needing just eight victories to tie Illinois legend Lou Henson for fourth (421). On the Big Ten games-only chart, Painter is seventh (209 wins), needing one win to tie Indiana's Branch McCracken (210).
[3] Purdue (0-0) vs. Samford (0-0)
6:30 p.m. ET | West Lafayette, Indiana
Mackey Arena | 14,876 (SOLD OUT)
TELEVISION: Big Ten Network (Cory Provus, Robbie Hummel)
RADIO: Purdue Global Radio Network (Rob Blackman, Bobby Riddell)
THE NOTES TO KNOW
• No. 3-ranked Purdue opens its 126th season of play on Monday night in Mackey Arena when one of the favorites in the Southern Conference, Samford, visits for the season opener for both teams. Samford is one of at least four non-conference opponents (Samford, Morehead State, Gonzaga, Alabama) on Purdue's schedule that won their conference's regular-season title a year ago (Possible: Marquette, Kansas, UCLA).
• The Boilermakers have won 24 straight regular-season, non-conference games, dating to a Dec. 8, 2020, setback at Miami, Fla. The streak is the longest in the country by nine games (New Mexico - 15). A win over Samford would tie the school record for the longest non-conference, regular-season winning streak in school history (25 -- Jan. 2, 1992 to Nov. 27, 1994).
• Purdue will enter the year having won 14 straight games in the month of November, with the last loss coming Nov. 26, 2020, vs. Clemson in the SpaceCoast Challenge. The streak is the second-longest November winning streak in America (Arizona - 22).
• Purdue's No. 3 ranking marks its highest preseason ranking since the 1987-88 season (No. 2). Purdue has been ranked in the preseason top 10 for the second time in the last three years (2021-22 --> No. 7). It marks the eighth time in school history that Purdue has been ranked in the top 10 of the AP preseason poll. The last five times that Purdue has been ranked top 10, it has posted a 140-31 (.819) record.
• With its top-five preseason ranking, Purdue has been ranked in the top five in 17 straight weeks, the longest streak in the country. Kansas is the next closest at six weeks.
• A year ago, Purdue became the first team since Wisconsin in 2015 to win an outright Big Ten regular-season title and the Big Ten Tournament title in the same season. Purdue became the first team in Big Ten history to win the regular-season title by at least three games and win the Big Ten Tournament in the same season. No team since Michigan State (1999, 2000) has won consecutive Big Ten Tournament and outright regular-season championships.
• Purdue's 58 wins over the last two seasons are the most in school history and the sixth most in the country (Houston, Kansas, Arizona, Gonzaga, Duke). Purdue needs just 25 wins this season to tie the school record for the most wins in a three-year span (83; 2016-17-18).
• Purdue is in search for its 26th Big Ten Championship, already owning the most Big Ten titles in league history. Should Purdue win the Big Ten title in 2024, it will mark its fourth title in the last eight seasons and back-to-back titles for the first time since 1994-95-96.
• The Boilermakers enter the season ranked No. 1 by three major analytic services (KenPom, Bart Torvik, Evan Miyakawa). It marks the first time in the 23-year history that Purdue has been ranked No. 1 by KenPom.
• Zach Edey won Purdue's third National Player of the Year honor (1932 - John Wooden; 1994 - Glenn Robinson) a year ago after averaging 22.3 points and 12.9 rebounds per game. Purdue (2), Duke (3) and North Carolina (2) are the only schools in America to have at least two consensus (all six major services) National Players of the Year in the last 30 seasons. Edey could become the first consensus back-to-back National Player of the Year since Bill Walton (1972, 1973).
• Zach Edey is the nation's third-leading scorer from a year ago (22.3 PPG), but among players that played in a major conference a year ago, he is first. Edey is the only one of the top-11 returning scorers in America from a year ago to play in a major conference last year.
• Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer return after scoring a combined 724 points a year ago. The total is second nationally among sophomore teammates behind Duke's Kyle Filipowski and Tyrese Proctor (881 points).
• Matt Painter ranks fifth on the Big Ten's list for career wins with 413, needing just eight victories to tie Illinois legend Lou Henson for fourth (421). On the Big Ten games-only chart, Painter is seventh (209 wins), needing one win to tie Indiana's Branch McCracken (210).