GAMEDAY INFORMATION -- GAME 21
[2] Purdue (18-2, 7-2) vs. Rutgers (10-8, 2-5)
Sunday, Jan. 28, 2024
1 p.m. ET | Piscataway, New Jersey
Jersey Mike's Arena (8,000)
TELEVISION: FOX (Tim Brando, LaPhonso Ellis)
RADIO: Purdue Global Radio Network (Rob Blackman, Ralph Taylor)
THE NOTES TO KNOW
• The No. 2-ranked Purdue Boilermakers close out its first half of Big Ten play on Sunday, when it travels to Piscataway, New Jersey, and Jersey Mike's Arena for a tough road contest with Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights have defeated Purdue in its last three trips to New Jersey and the Boilermaker seniors are looking to complete a Big Ten road sweep with a win in the only arena that the group has not won a game.
• This week is Coaches vs. Cancer week, where Purdue will return to the Suits and Sneakers format. The Boilermaker coaching staff will wear suits in its game against Rutgers paired with Nike Air Max 87. Since CoVid, the Purdue staff has gone more casual in its attire.
• In addition in its game against Michigan on Tuesday, Purdue raised money for cancer research, via messages on its warm-up shirts and ribbon boards and the auctioning off of special, game-worn Hammer Down Cancer uniforms. The total raised this year surpassed $55,000 and over the last four years, the Coaches vs. Cancer week initiatives by Purdue Basketball has raised almost $225,000 with all the proceeds going to the Purdue Institute for Cancer Research.
• Sunday's game at Rutgers marks the sixth road game in the first 10 Big Ten league games for the Boilermakers. Purdue leads the Big Ten with three league road wins (tied with Wisconsin). Purdue will then end the year with six home games in its final 10 regular-season contests.
• The Boilermakers are 18-2 (or better) through 20 games for the second straight season. It marks the third time in Matt Painter's 19 seasons that Purdue has been 18-2 or better (2024, 2023, 2018), all coming in the last seven seasons.
• Following its loss to Nebraska on Jan. 9, Purdue has averaged 91.3 points per game in its four wins, while shooting 50.0 percent from the field and 45.6 percent from 3-point range and outrebounding opponents by over 15.0 rebounds per game. Purdue's offensive efficiency in that span is 131.6 (131.6 points / 100 possessions). During that span, Zach Edey is averaging 27.3 points and 15.5 rebounds, while Lance Jones is averaging 18.0 points per game.
• In 18 Purdue wins, opponents are averaging just 66.9 points per game. In Purdue's two losses, opponents average 90.0 points and shoot 55.8 percent from 3-point range.
• Purdue ranks in the NCAA's top 20 in wins (1st), offensive efficiency (1st), rebound margin (3rd), 3-point percentage (3rd), assists per game (5th), scoring offense (9th), scoring margin (9th), defensive efficiency (11th), assist / turnover ratio (14th) and fewest fouls per game (16th)
• Purdue leads the country in quad-1 wins (7) and quad-1 and 2 wins combined (11). No one in the country has more than nine Q-1 and Q-2 wins.
• Since the start of last season, Purdue is 47-8, the fifth-most wins nationally, while the eight losses are the second fewest behind Houston (6). The eight losses during that span have come by 1, 5, 6, 14, 8, 5, 4 (OT) and 16 points. Thirty-four of the 47 wins have come against teams ranked in the KenPom top-100, including 25 against teams ranked in the top-50.
• Purdue's schedule is currently the toughest in the country, ranking No. 1 in SOS by the NCAA NET team sheets, KenPom.com and ESPN. The Boilermakers have faced teams ranked No. 3, 4, 8, 13, 17, 27, 41 and 47 in NET, with additional games coming against 12 (2x), 13, 23 and 57.
• Purdue was voted No. 2 in the AP Top 25 poll on Monday, for the second straight week. With its No. 2 ranking this week, Purdue has now been ranked in the top 5 of the AP poll for 28 straight weeks, the longest-active streak in America by 17 weeks (UConn - 11). It has been ranked in the top 3 in 22 of those 28 weeks. It is the fifth-longest top-5 streak in Big Ten history and second longest in the last 45 years.
• Purdue's starting lineup of Braden Smith, Lance Jones, Fletcher Loyer, Trey Kaufman-Renn and Zach Edey have started all 20 games.
• Edey needs nine points and seven blocked shots to become the third player in NCAA history with 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 200 blocks and to shoot at least 60.0 percent from the field (Patrick Ewing, David Robinson). Edey was named the Big Ten Player of the Week Monday.
• Sunday's game at Rutgers marks the halfway point for Purdue in the Big Ten Conference slate. A win would give Purdue an 8-2 start at the halfway point for the fifth time under Matt Painter, including four times in the last seven seasons (2022-23, 2018-19, 2017-18, 2007-08).
• Purdue is now 18-2 (or better) through 20 games for the second straight season and for the third time in the last seven seasons (also 2017-18 season). It marks the first time in school history that Purdue has been 18-2 or better in consecutive seasons.
• Purdue owns a nation's-best 13 wins over the NCAA NET top-100 teams. Wisconsin is second with 10, while UConn, North Carolina and Tennessee have nine each.
• Over the last three seasons, Purdue owns a 57-6 (.905) record during the months of November, December and January, including a 39-3 (.929) record over the last two seasons.
• Purdue has won back-to-back Big Ten road games by at least 14 points for the first time since February of the 2020-21 season (75-58 at Nebraska; 73-52 at Penn State). Purdue has never won three straight Big Ten road games by 14 or more points.
• Purdue has also won four straight Big Ten games by 14 or more points for the first time in 119 years of being in the Big Ten Conference.
• Purdue has played half of its Big Ten road games, posting a 3-2 record in its first five league road games. Purdue has been at least .500 in its Big Ten road games in six of the last seven seasons, with the lone exception being 2020 (3-7). Purdue is 10-5 on the road since the start of last year in league play and since the 2021-22 season, owns the league's best road record at 15-10.
• There are four teams that remain unbeaten at home in Big Ten play (Purdue, Wisconsin, Northwestern and Nebraska). Those four teams have combined for a 17-0 home record. Road teams are just 15-40 (.273) in Big Ten road games (thru Jan. 25). Purdue and Wisconsin each have three Big Ten road wins.
• Over the last four games, Purdue has 83 assists against 40 turnovers (2.08 A / TO Ratio). Purdue ranks sixth in the country in assists / field goals made at 64.2 percent.
• Purdue has scored at least 84 points in each of the last four games. The last time Purdue had 84 or more points in regulation in five straight Big Ten games was Feb. 11 to March 2, 1974 (6 straight games).
• Over the last seven games, Purdue is shooting 72-of-162 (.444) from 3-point range, making at least nine 3-pointers in six of them.
• Purdue is 25-of-26 (.962) in and-1 opportunities this season.
• Zach Edey has drawn 698 fouls in career, needing two fouls drawn for 700 in his career. He ranks first nationally in fouls drawn / 40 minutes this season (9.2). Drew Pember of UNC Asheville is second at 8.5 per game.
• Edey needs three more games of 10 points for 100 double-digit scoring games in his career. E'Twaun Moore is the school-record holder with 116.
• Fletcher Loyer's 3-point percentage of 54.1 percent is the fourth best in America in conference games only (min. 20 3PM).
• Braden Smith's 8.33 assists per game in conference play is the most in the country (Marquette's Tyler Kolek -- 2nd at 8.25). Smith is averaging 9.8 assists per game over the last four outings.
THE SERIES WITH RUTGERS
• Sunday's meeting in Piscataway marks the 21st all-time meeting between Purdue and Rutgers, with Purdue owning a 14-6 series advantage. However, Rutgers has wn five of the last seven meetings between the two teams.
• Among Big Ten teams, Michigan and Rutgers are the only schools to own at least a .500 record against Purdue in the last 10 games.
• The Boilermakers haven't won in Piscataway since a 78-76 victory in Feb. 2018 -- spanning almost six calendar years.
• In addition, Rutgers has dealt Purdue two of its six losses when ranked No. 1 in the country. The others have come against Northwestern (twice), Indiana and Nebraska.
• Prior to the current stretch, Purdue won 10 straight games in the series, dating from March 1982 to Jan. 2019.
[2] Purdue (18-2, 7-2) vs. Rutgers (10-8, 2-5)
Sunday, Jan. 28, 2024
1 p.m. ET | Piscataway, New Jersey
Jersey Mike's Arena (8,000)
TELEVISION: FOX (Tim Brando, LaPhonso Ellis)
RADIO: Purdue Global Radio Network (Rob Blackman, Ralph Taylor)
THE NOTES TO KNOW
• The No. 2-ranked Purdue Boilermakers close out its first half of Big Ten play on Sunday, when it travels to Piscataway, New Jersey, and Jersey Mike's Arena for a tough road contest with Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights have defeated Purdue in its last three trips to New Jersey and the Boilermaker seniors are looking to complete a Big Ten road sweep with a win in the only arena that the group has not won a game.
• This week is Coaches vs. Cancer week, where Purdue will return to the Suits and Sneakers format. The Boilermaker coaching staff will wear suits in its game against Rutgers paired with Nike Air Max 87. Since CoVid, the Purdue staff has gone more casual in its attire.
• In addition in its game against Michigan on Tuesday, Purdue raised money for cancer research, via messages on its warm-up shirts and ribbon boards and the auctioning off of special, game-worn Hammer Down Cancer uniforms. The total raised this year surpassed $55,000 and over the last four years, the Coaches vs. Cancer week initiatives by Purdue Basketball has raised almost $225,000 with all the proceeds going to the Purdue Institute for Cancer Research.
• Sunday's game at Rutgers marks the sixth road game in the first 10 Big Ten league games for the Boilermakers. Purdue leads the Big Ten with three league road wins (tied with Wisconsin). Purdue will then end the year with six home games in its final 10 regular-season contests.
• The Boilermakers are 18-2 (or better) through 20 games for the second straight season. It marks the third time in Matt Painter's 19 seasons that Purdue has been 18-2 or better (2024, 2023, 2018), all coming in the last seven seasons.
• Following its loss to Nebraska on Jan. 9, Purdue has averaged 91.3 points per game in its four wins, while shooting 50.0 percent from the field and 45.6 percent from 3-point range and outrebounding opponents by over 15.0 rebounds per game. Purdue's offensive efficiency in that span is 131.6 (131.6 points / 100 possessions). During that span, Zach Edey is averaging 27.3 points and 15.5 rebounds, while Lance Jones is averaging 18.0 points per game.
• In 18 Purdue wins, opponents are averaging just 66.9 points per game. In Purdue's two losses, opponents average 90.0 points and shoot 55.8 percent from 3-point range.
• Purdue ranks in the NCAA's top 20 in wins (1st), offensive efficiency (1st), rebound margin (3rd), 3-point percentage (3rd), assists per game (5th), scoring offense (9th), scoring margin (9th), defensive efficiency (11th), assist / turnover ratio (14th) and fewest fouls per game (16th)
• Purdue leads the country in quad-1 wins (7) and quad-1 and 2 wins combined (11). No one in the country has more than nine Q-1 and Q-2 wins.
• Since the start of last season, Purdue is 47-8, the fifth-most wins nationally, while the eight losses are the second fewest behind Houston (6). The eight losses during that span have come by 1, 5, 6, 14, 8, 5, 4 (OT) and 16 points. Thirty-four of the 47 wins have come against teams ranked in the KenPom top-100, including 25 against teams ranked in the top-50.
• Purdue's schedule is currently the toughest in the country, ranking No. 1 in SOS by the NCAA NET team sheets, KenPom.com and ESPN. The Boilermakers have faced teams ranked No. 3, 4, 8, 13, 17, 27, 41 and 47 in NET, with additional games coming against 12 (2x), 13, 23 and 57.
• Purdue was voted No. 2 in the AP Top 25 poll on Monday, for the second straight week. With its No. 2 ranking this week, Purdue has now been ranked in the top 5 of the AP poll for 28 straight weeks, the longest-active streak in America by 17 weeks (UConn - 11). It has been ranked in the top 3 in 22 of those 28 weeks. It is the fifth-longest top-5 streak in Big Ten history and second longest in the last 45 years.
• Purdue's starting lineup of Braden Smith, Lance Jones, Fletcher Loyer, Trey Kaufman-Renn and Zach Edey have started all 20 games.
• Edey needs nine points and seven blocked shots to become the third player in NCAA history with 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 200 blocks and to shoot at least 60.0 percent from the field (Patrick Ewing, David Robinson). Edey was named the Big Ten Player of the Week Monday.
• Sunday's game at Rutgers marks the halfway point for Purdue in the Big Ten Conference slate. A win would give Purdue an 8-2 start at the halfway point for the fifth time under Matt Painter, including four times in the last seven seasons (2022-23, 2018-19, 2017-18, 2007-08).
• Purdue is now 18-2 (or better) through 20 games for the second straight season and for the third time in the last seven seasons (also 2017-18 season). It marks the first time in school history that Purdue has been 18-2 or better in consecutive seasons.
• Purdue owns a nation's-best 13 wins over the NCAA NET top-100 teams. Wisconsin is second with 10, while UConn, North Carolina and Tennessee have nine each.
• Over the last three seasons, Purdue owns a 57-6 (.905) record during the months of November, December and January, including a 39-3 (.929) record over the last two seasons.
• Purdue has won back-to-back Big Ten road games by at least 14 points for the first time since February of the 2020-21 season (75-58 at Nebraska; 73-52 at Penn State). Purdue has never won three straight Big Ten road games by 14 or more points.
• Purdue has also won four straight Big Ten games by 14 or more points for the first time in 119 years of being in the Big Ten Conference.
• Purdue has played half of its Big Ten road games, posting a 3-2 record in its first five league road games. Purdue has been at least .500 in its Big Ten road games in six of the last seven seasons, with the lone exception being 2020 (3-7). Purdue is 10-5 on the road since the start of last year in league play and since the 2021-22 season, owns the league's best road record at 15-10.
• There are four teams that remain unbeaten at home in Big Ten play (Purdue, Wisconsin, Northwestern and Nebraska). Those four teams have combined for a 17-0 home record. Road teams are just 15-40 (.273) in Big Ten road games (thru Jan. 25). Purdue and Wisconsin each have three Big Ten road wins.
• Over the last four games, Purdue has 83 assists against 40 turnovers (2.08 A / TO Ratio). Purdue ranks sixth in the country in assists / field goals made at 64.2 percent.
• Purdue has scored at least 84 points in each of the last four games. The last time Purdue had 84 or more points in regulation in five straight Big Ten games was Feb. 11 to March 2, 1974 (6 straight games).
• Over the last seven games, Purdue is shooting 72-of-162 (.444) from 3-point range, making at least nine 3-pointers in six of them.
• Purdue is 25-of-26 (.962) in and-1 opportunities this season.
• Zach Edey has drawn 698 fouls in career, needing two fouls drawn for 700 in his career. He ranks first nationally in fouls drawn / 40 minutes this season (9.2). Drew Pember of UNC Asheville is second at 8.5 per game.
• Edey needs three more games of 10 points for 100 double-digit scoring games in his career. E'Twaun Moore is the school-record holder with 116.
• Fletcher Loyer's 3-point percentage of 54.1 percent is the fourth best in America in conference games only (min. 20 3PM).
• Braden Smith's 8.33 assists per game in conference play is the most in the country (Marquette's Tyler Kolek -- 2nd at 8.25). Smith is averaging 9.8 assists per game over the last four outings.
THE SERIES WITH RUTGERS
• Sunday's meeting in Piscataway marks the 21st all-time meeting between Purdue and Rutgers, with Purdue owning a 14-6 series advantage. However, Rutgers has wn five of the last seven meetings between the two teams.
• Among Big Ten teams, Michigan and Rutgers are the only schools to own at least a .500 record against Purdue in the last 10 games.
• The Boilermakers haven't won in Piscataway since a 78-76 victory in Feb. 2018 -- spanning almost six calendar years.
• In addition, Rutgers has dealt Purdue two of its six losses when ranked No. 1 in the country. The others have come against Northwestern (twice), Indiana and Nebraska.
• Prior to the current stretch, Purdue won 10 straight games in the series, dating from March 1982 to Jan. 2019.