GAMEDAY INFORMATION -- GAME 27
[3] Purdue (23-3, 12-3) vs. Rutgers (14-11, 6-8)
Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024
7:00 p.m. ET | West Lafayette, Indiana
Mackey Arena (14,876)
TELEVISION: FS1 (Jason Benetti, Bill Raftery)
RADIO: Purdue Global Radio Network (Rob Blackman, Bobby Riddell)
THE NOTES TO KNOW
• The No. 3-ranked Purdue Boilermakers look to bounce back from just their third loss of the season when a surging Rutgers squad visits Mackey Arena on Thursday night. Purdue has won nine of its last 10 games, but is coming off a four-point loss to Ohio State on Sunday. Rutgers, meanwhile, saw its four-game win streak end on Sunday with an 81-70 setback at Minnesota.
• Purdue enters Wednesday's play as one of seven teams nationally with at least 23 wins, while also being one of seven teams with three or fewer losses. Among major-conference teams, Purdue's 23 wins are tied for fourth nationally (UConn - 24; Grand Canyon - 24; James Madison - 24), while Purdue, Houston and UConn are the only major-college teams with four or fewer losses.
• Purdue has won 20 games under Matt Painter in 14 of his 19 seasons with at least 25 wins in 10 of them. Purdue is looking for its third straight season of at least 29 victories.
• Over the last three years, Purdue has already won 81 games overall. The school record for wins in a three-year span is 83 (2016, 2017, 2018), needing just two wins to tie the record. Entering the weekend, Purdue's 81 wins are tied for the third most during that span in the country (Houston - 88; Kansas - 82).
• Purdue's schedule ranks as the most difficult in the country by a wide margin and its non-conference foes currently lead the Southern Conference by two games (Samford), the Ohio Valley (Morehead State), the SEC (Alabama), the PAC-12 (Arizona) and the Atlantic Sun (Eastern Kentucky). Marquette (Big East), Tennessee (SEC) and Gonzaga (WCC) are currently in second place in their respective conferences.
• Purdue has beaten teams ranked 4th (Arizona), 5th (Tennessee), 7th (Marquette), 12th (Illinois) and 13th (Alabama) in this week's AP poll. The Boilermakers also own wins over teams receiving votes in 27th (Gonzaga) and 28th (Wisconsin).
• Purdue ranks in the NCAA's top 20 in wins (2nd), off. efficiency (2nd), rebound margin (2nd), 3-point percentage (3rd), assists per game (7th), scoring offense (10th), scoring margin (11th), fewest fouls per game (13th) and field goal percentage (20th).
• Purdue leads the country in quad-1 wins (9) and quad-1 and 2 wins combined (15). No one in the country has more than 13 Q-1 and Q-2 wins.
• Since the start of last season, Purdue is 52-9, the fourth-most wins nationally, while the nine losses are the second fewest behind Houston (7). The eight losses during that span have come by 1, 5, 6, 14, 8, 5, 4 (OT), 16 and 4 points. Thirty-nine of the 52 wins have come against teams ranked in the KenPom top-100, including 27 against teams ranked in the top-50.
• Purdue has won at least 12 games in Big Ten Conference play for the ninth time in the last 10 years. No other team currently has more than six years (in 10) of at least 12 victories (Wisconsin). Purdue has finished in the top three of the Big Ten standings in seven of the previous nine seasons.
• Purdue was voted No. 3 in the AP Top 25 poll on Monday, dropping one spot after being No. 2 for five straight weeks. With its No. 3 ranking this week, Purdue has now been ranked in the top 5 of the AP poll for 32 straight weeks, the longest-active streak in America by 17 weeks (UConn - 15). It has been ranked in the top 3 in 26 of those 32 weeks. The 32 weeks of being ranked in the top 5 is the longest streak by a Big Ten team in the last 45 years.
• With the win over No. 6 Wisconsin, Purdue has won seven straight against AP Top-10 ranked teams, the longest streak ever by a Big Ten team.
• With his 200th career block coming against Wisconsin on Feb. 4, Zach Edey became 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).
• Zach Edey needs 186 points to become the school's leader in career points (record: 2,323) and career rebounds (already owns it -- 1,156).
• A win over Rutgers would give Purdue a 13-3 Big Ten start for the fifth time under Matt Painter (2007-08, 2010-11, 2017-18, 2018-19). Coincidentally, Purdue won the Big Ten regular-season title in just one of those seasons (2019).
• Purdue has won nine of its last 10 games.
• Purdue is one of six teams (Dayton, UConn, Florida, Houston, San Diego State) without a loss outside Quad-1.
• Purdue owns a nation's-best 18 wins over the NCAA NET top-100 teams. Purdue has seven wins over teams ranked in the NET top 25.
• Five teams (Purdue, James Madison, Appalachian State, Weber State, UNC Wilmington) have at least one Quad-1A win (top 15 home, top 25 neutral, top 40 road) while being undefeated in those games. The other four teams mentioned above are 1-0. Purdue is 7-0 in that category.
• Purdue is 14-0 when holding teams under 69 points. The Boilermakers are 9-3 when allowing 70 or more points.
• Purdue ranks second nationally behind Saint Mary's in rebound margin, one year after leading the country in rebound margin. The last team to lead the country in rebound margin in consecutive seasons was Quinnipiac (2013-14 and 2014-15).
• When Purdue has a run of 10-0 or larger, the Boilermakers are 13-0.
• Purdue has trailed by six or more points in just seven games this year, posting a 5-2 record in those games.
• Purdue's nine 3-point attempts against Ohio State were its fewest since Feb. 26, 2022, at Michigan State (9). During the Painter era, Purdue is 5-10 when attempting single-digit 3-pointers.
• Purdue's leading rebounder is 7-foot, 4-inch Zach Edey. The Boilermakers' second-leading rebounder is 6-foot Braden Smith.
• A year ago, Purdue shot 32.2 percent from 3-point range, a number that ranked 281st nationally. This year, Purdue is at 40.1 percent, ranking third nationally. Purdue had one player (Braden Smith) shoot over 36.0 percent from deep a year ago. This year, Purdue has nine players over 36.0 percent.
• Zach Edey's 24.2 points per game in Big Ten play is the second-highest total in the Big Ten since the turn of the century (2020 - Luka Garza; 26.2). Edey's 13.5 rebounds per game in Big Ten play is the most since Michigan State's Lindsay Hairston in 1974 (14.2).
• Zach Edey currently ranks third in the country in both points per game and rebounds per game. Since the 2000 season, only South Dakota State's Mike Daum (2019), Kansas State's Michael Beasley (2008) and Texas' Kevin Durant (2007) have finished in the top five nationally in both categories. He would be the first one to rank in the top three in both categories.
• Zach Edey has 51 offensive rebounds in his last eight games (6.4 per game). He has 10 games this season of at least six offensive rebounds, including five straight.
• Zach Edey has five 20-10 games in the last six contests. The lone game not with 20 and 10, came in an 18-point, 13-rebound performance against No. 6-ranked Wisconsin.
• Braden Smith has 340 career assists, leading sophomores (or younger) in career assists. Coincidentally, second on the list is Colgate sophomore Braeden Smith (316).
• Based on a 38-game season, Braden Smith is on pace for 485 points, 273 assists and 216 rebounds. Since the 1947-48 season, only BYU's Kyle Collinsworth and UCLA's Lonzo Ball have had 450 points, 250 assists and 200 rebounds in a season.
THE SERIES WITH RUTGERS
• Thursday's meeting in West Lafayette marks the 22nd meeting between the two schools, with Purdue leading the series by a 15-6 margin, including a 7-2 lead in Mackey Arena. However, Rutgers has won two of the last three meetings in Mackey Arena, including a 65-64 win a year ago over No. 1-ranked and 13-0 Purdue.
• Purdue has won three of the last four meetings after losing four straight to the Scarlet Knights from Jan. 2020 to Dec. 2021.
• Rutgers' last two wins in the series have come when Purdue was ranked No. 1 in the country, both coming on 3-pointers by Ron Harper Jr., and Cam Spencer in the final 10 seconds of the game.
• Seven of the last eight meetings between the two teams have come by single-digits. Rutgers' largest margin of victory is 8 points (1975). Recently, the largest margin is 7 points (Jan. 2020).
[3] Purdue (23-3, 12-3) vs. Rutgers (14-11, 6-8)
Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024
7:00 p.m. ET | West Lafayette, Indiana
Mackey Arena (14,876)
TELEVISION: FS1 (Jason Benetti, Bill Raftery)
RADIO: Purdue Global Radio Network (Rob Blackman, Bobby Riddell)
THE NOTES TO KNOW
• The No. 3-ranked Purdue Boilermakers look to bounce back from just their third loss of the season when a surging Rutgers squad visits Mackey Arena on Thursday night. Purdue has won nine of its last 10 games, but is coming off a four-point loss to Ohio State on Sunday. Rutgers, meanwhile, saw its four-game win streak end on Sunday with an 81-70 setback at Minnesota.
• Purdue enters Wednesday's play as one of seven teams nationally with at least 23 wins, while also being one of seven teams with three or fewer losses. Among major-conference teams, Purdue's 23 wins are tied for fourth nationally (UConn - 24; Grand Canyon - 24; James Madison - 24), while Purdue, Houston and UConn are the only major-college teams with four or fewer losses.
• Purdue has won 20 games under Matt Painter in 14 of his 19 seasons with at least 25 wins in 10 of them. Purdue is looking for its third straight season of at least 29 victories.
• Over the last three years, Purdue has already won 81 games overall. The school record for wins in a three-year span is 83 (2016, 2017, 2018), needing just two wins to tie the record. Entering the weekend, Purdue's 81 wins are tied for the third most during that span in the country (Houston - 88; Kansas - 82).
• Purdue's schedule ranks as the most difficult in the country by a wide margin and its non-conference foes currently lead the Southern Conference by two games (Samford), the Ohio Valley (Morehead State), the SEC (Alabama), the PAC-12 (Arizona) and the Atlantic Sun (Eastern Kentucky). Marquette (Big East), Tennessee (SEC) and Gonzaga (WCC) are currently in second place in their respective conferences.
• Purdue has beaten teams ranked 4th (Arizona), 5th (Tennessee), 7th (Marquette), 12th (Illinois) and 13th (Alabama) in this week's AP poll. The Boilermakers also own wins over teams receiving votes in 27th (Gonzaga) and 28th (Wisconsin).
• Purdue ranks in the NCAA's top 20 in wins (2nd), off. efficiency (2nd), rebound margin (2nd), 3-point percentage (3rd), assists per game (7th), scoring offense (10th), scoring margin (11th), fewest fouls per game (13th) and field goal percentage (20th).
• Purdue leads the country in quad-1 wins (9) and quad-1 and 2 wins combined (15). No one in the country has more than 13 Q-1 and Q-2 wins.
• Since the start of last season, Purdue is 52-9, the fourth-most wins nationally, while the nine losses are the second fewest behind Houston (7). The eight losses during that span have come by 1, 5, 6, 14, 8, 5, 4 (OT), 16 and 4 points. Thirty-nine of the 52 wins have come against teams ranked in the KenPom top-100, including 27 against teams ranked in the top-50.
• Purdue has won at least 12 games in Big Ten Conference play for the ninth time in the last 10 years. No other team currently has more than six years (in 10) of at least 12 victories (Wisconsin). Purdue has finished in the top three of the Big Ten standings in seven of the previous nine seasons.
• Purdue was voted No. 3 in the AP Top 25 poll on Monday, dropping one spot after being No. 2 for five straight weeks. With its No. 3 ranking this week, Purdue has now been ranked in the top 5 of the AP poll for 32 straight weeks, the longest-active streak in America by 17 weeks (UConn - 15). It has been ranked in the top 3 in 26 of those 32 weeks. The 32 weeks of being ranked in the top 5 is the longest streak by a Big Ten team in the last 45 years.
• With the win over No. 6 Wisconsin, Purdue has won seven straight against AP Top-10 ranked teams, the longest streak ever by a Big Ten team.
• With his 200th career block coming against Wisconsin on Feb. 4, Zach Edey became 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).
• Zach Edey needs 186 points to become the school's leader in career points (record: 2,323) and career rebounds (already owns it -- 1,156).
• A win over Rutgers would give Purdue a 13-3 Big Ten start for the fifth time under Matt Painter (2007-08, 2010-11, 2017-18, 2018-19). Coincidentally, Purdue won the Big Ten regular-season title in just one of those seasons (2019).
• Purdue has won nine of its last 10 games.
• Purdue is one of six teams (Dayton, UConn, Florida, Houston, San Diego State) without a loss outside Quad-1.
• Purdue owns a nation's-best 18 wins over the NCAA NET top-100 teams. Purdue has seven wins over teams ranked in the NET top 25.
• Five teams (Purdue, James Madison, Appalachian State, Weber State, UNC Wilmington) have at least one Quad-1A win (top 15 home, top 25 neutral, top 40 road) while being undefeated in those games. The other four teams mentioned above are 1-0. Purdue is 7-0 in that category.
• Purdue is 14-0 when holding teams under 69 points. The Boilermakers are 9-3 when allowing 70 or more points.
• Purdue ranks second nationally behind Saint Mary's in rebound margin, one year after leading the country in rebound margin. The last team to lead the country in rebound margin in consecutive seasons was Quinnipiac (2013-14 and 2014-15).
• When Purdue has a run of 10-0 or larger, the Boilermakers are 13-0.
• Purdue has trailed by six or more points in just seven games this year, posting a 5-2 record in those games.
• Purdue's nine 3-point attempts against Ohio State were its fewest since Feb. 26, 2022, at Michigan State (9). During the Painter era, Purdue is 5-10 when attempting single-digit 3-pointers.
• Purdue's leading rebounder is 7-foot, 4-inch Zach Edey. The Boilermakers' second-leading rebounder is 6-foot Braden Smith.
• A year ago, Purdue shot 32.2 percent from 3-point range, a number that ranked 281st nationally. This year, Purdue is at 40.1 percent, ranking third nationally. Purdue had one player (Braden Smith) shoot over 36.0 percent from deep a year ago. This year, Purdue has nine players over 36.0 percent.
• Zach Edey's 24.2 points per game in Big Ten play is the second-highest total in the Big Ten since the turn of the century (2020 - Luka Garza; 26.2). Edey's 13.5 rebounds per game in Big Ten play is the most since Michigan State's Lindsay Hairston in 1974 (14.2).
• Zach Edey currently ranks third in the country in both points per game and rebounds per game. Since the 2000 season, only South Dakota State's Mike Daum (2019), Kansas State's Michael Beasley (2008) and Texas' Kevin Durant (2007) have finished in the top five nationally in both categories. He would be the first one to rank in the top three in both categories.
• Zach Edey has 51 offensive rebounds in his last eight games (6.4 per game). He has 10 games this season of at least six offensive rebounds, including five straight.
• Zach Edey has five 20-10 games in the last six contests. The lone game not with 20 and 10, came in an 18-point, 13-rebound performance against No. 6-ranked Wisconsin.
• Braden Smith has 340 career assists, leading sophomores (or younger) in career assists. Coincidentally, second on the list is Colgate sophomore Braeden Smith (316).
• Based on a 38-game season, Braden Smith is on pace for 485 points, 273 assists and 216 rebounds. Since the 1947-48 season, only BYU's Kyle Collinsworth and UCLA's Lonzo Ball have had 450 points, 250 assists and 200 rebounds in a season.
THE SERIES WITH RUTGERS
• Thursday's meeting in West Lafayette marks the 22nd meeting between the two schools, with Purdue leading the series by a 15-6 margin, including a 7-2 lead in Mackey Arena. However, Rutgers has won two of the last three meetings in Mackey Arena, including a 65-64 win a year ago over No. 1-ranked and 13-0 Purdue.
• Purdue has won three of the last four meetings after losing four straight to the Scarlet Knights from Jan. 2020 to Dec. 2021.
• Rutgers' last two wins in the series have come when Purdue was ranked No. 1 in the country, both coming on 3-pointers by Ron Harper Jr., and Cam Spencer in the final 10 seconds of the game.
• Seven of the last eight meetings between the two teams have come by single-digits. Rutgers' largest margin of victory is 8 points (1975). Recently, the largest margin is 7 points (Jan. 2020).