GAMEDAY INFORMATION -- GAME 03 (GAVITT GAMES)
[3] Purdue (2-0) vs. [RV] Xavier (2-0)
8:40 p.m. ET | West Lafayette, Indiana
Mackey Arena | 14,876 (SOLD OUT)
TELEVISION: FS1 (Jason Benetti, Jim Jackson)
RADIO: Purdue Global Radio Network (Rob Blackman, Bobby Riddell)
THE NOTES TO KNOW
• No. 3-ranked Purdue closes out its season-opening, three-game homestand when Xavier visits on Monday night for the Boilermakers' toughest challenge to date. The contest will be the final rendition of the Gavitt Games, as both the Big Ten and Big East have decided to not renew the series. Purdue is 2-2 all-time in the Gavitt Games, but has only faced Villanova (0-1) and Marquette (2-1) previously.
• Xavier has won the last five meetings against Purdue, the second-longest active losing streak to a single opponent. Purdue last faced a Sean Miller-coached squad, defeating No. 2-ranked Arizona 89-64 in the 2017 Battle 4 Atlantis.
• Both Miller and Matt Painter are two of the winningest coaches in the country aged 55 or younger. Miller has won 451 games in his 19th year as a head coach to rank second (behind Mick Cronin - 466) on the coaches' victories list of coaches aged 55 or younger. Painter has won 440 games. The two coaches have combined for 891 wins between them.
• Purdue's contest with Xavier kicks off a nine-game stretch that could POTENTIALLY have eight of the nine teams ranked in the KenPom top-50 and all of them were NCAA tournament teams from a year ago. Xavier (39), Gonzaga (5), possibly Tennessee (6), possibly Kansas (3) OR Marquette (11) OR UCLA (31), Texas Southern (228 - Last year's SWAC Champion), Northwestern (48), Iowa (40), Alabama (9) and Arizona (7) are the next nine games on the schedule.
• Purdue has won 26 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 a whopping 12 games (Connecticut - 14). The Boilermaker have also won 22 straight non-conference home games.
• The Boilermakers currently rank No. 1 nationally in offensive efficiency (118.9) and seventh in defensive efficiency (90.3). Early on, Purdue is one of four teams to rank in the top 10 in both categories (Purdue, Connecticut, Kansas, Houston).
• Purdue is in the top 10 nationally in field goal percentage defense (7th), effective field goal percentage (8th), assists per game (8th), blocks per game (10th) and scoring margin (10th). It is 12th in scoring defense, 13th in field goal percentage and 15th in 3-pointers per game.
• Purdue has won both of its games this season by at least 30 points, marking the first time since the 2017-18 season it has done that, and only the fourth time in school history (2023-24, 2017-18, 2010-11, 1986-87).
• 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).
• 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 60 wins since the start of the 2021-22 season are tied for the fourth most in the country (Houston - 67, Kansas - 64, Arizona - 63). Among Big Ten teams, Iowa (47) and Wisconsin (46) are next on the list.
• 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.
• Zach Edey has scored 34 points with 19 rebounds, 7 blocks and 5 assists in just 44 minutes, needing just 14 field goal attempts for his 34 points.
• Matt Painter ranks fifth on the Big Ten's list for career wins with 415, needing just six 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 (2-0) vs. [RV] Xavier (2-0)
8:40 p.m. ET | West Lafayette, Indiana
Mackey Arena | 14,876 (SOLD OUT)
TELEVISION: FS1 (Jason Benetti, Jim Jackson)
RADIO: Purdue Global Radio Network (Rob Blackman, Bobby Riddell)
THE NOTES TO KNOW
• No. 3-ranked Purdue closes out its season-opening, three-game homestand when Xavier visits on Monday night for the Boilermakers' toughest challenge to date. The contest will be the final rendition of the Gavitt Games, as both the Big Ten and Big East have decided to not renew the series. Purdue is 2-2 all-time in the Gavitt Games, but has only faced Villanova (0-1) and Marquette (2-1) previously.
• Xavier has won the last five meetings against Purdue, the second-longest active losing streak to a single opponent. Purdue last faced a Sean Miller-coached squad, defeating No. 2-ranked Arizona 89-64 in the 2017 Battle 4 Atlantis.
• Both Miller and Matt Painter are two of the winningest coaches in the country aged 55 or younger. Miller has won 451 games in his 19th year as a head coach to rank second (behind Mick Cronin - 466) on the coaches' victories list of coaches aged 55 or younger. Painter has won 440 games. The two coaches have combined for 891 wins between them.
• Purdue's contest with Xavier kicks off a nine-game stretch that could POTENTIALLY have eight of the nine teams ranked in the KenPom top-50 and all of them were NCAA tournament teams from a year ago. Xavier (39), Gonzaga (5), possibly Tennessee (6), possibly Kansas (3) OR Marquette (11) OR UCLA (31), Texas Southern (228 - Last year's SWAC Champion), Northwestern (48), Iowa (40), Alabama (9) and Arizona (7) are the next nine games on the schedule.
• Purdue has won 26 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 a whopping 12 games (Connecticut - 14). The Boilermaker have also won 22 straight non-conference home games.
• The Boilermakers currently rank No. 1 nationally in offensive efficiency (118.9) and seventh in defensive efficiency (90.3). Early on, Purdue is one of four teams to rank in the top 10 in both categories (Purdue, Connecticut, Kansas, Houston).
• Purdue is in the top 10 nationally in field goal percentage defense (7th), effective field goal percentage (8th), assists per game (8th), blocks per game (10th) and scoring margin (10th). It is 12th in scoring defense, 13th in field goal percentage and 15th in 3-pointers per game.
• Purdue has won both of its games this season by at least 30 points, marking the first time since the 2017-18 season it has done that, and only the fourth time in school history (2023-24, 2017-18, 2010-11, 1986-87).
• 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).
• 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 60 wins since the start of the 2021-22 season are tied for the fourth most in the country (Houston - 67, Kansas - 64, Arizona - 63). Among Big Ten teams, Iowa (47) and Wisconsin (46) are next on the list.
• 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.
• Zach Edey has scored 34 points with 19 rebounds, 7 blocks and 5 assists in just 44 minutes, needing just 14 field goal attempts for his 34 points.
• Matt Painter ranks fifth on the Big Ten's list for career wins with 415, needing just six 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).