GAMEDAY INFORMATION -- GAME 32 /// BIG TEN QUARTERFINALS
[3] Purdue (28-3) vs. Michigan State (18-13) OR Minnesota (18-13)
Friday, March 15, 2024
12 p.m. ET | Minneapolis, Minnesota
Target Center (20,000)
TELEVISION: BTN (Kevin Kugler, Stephen Bardo, Rick Pizzo)
RADIO: Purdue Global Radio Network (Rob Blackman, Bobby Riddell)
THE NOTES TO KNOW
• The No. 3-ranked Purdue Boilermakers aim for their fourth Big Ten championship in the last two years when it descends on Minneapolis for the Big Ten Tournament, starting tournament play on Friday against the winner Thursday's second-round game between Michigan State and Minnesota. The Boilermakers are the defending tournament champions and have won the regular-season title in each of the last two years.
• Purdue was well-represented on the All-Big Ten teams announced on Tuesday, with Zach Edey and Braden Smith earning first-team accolades. Edey was named the Player of the Year for the second straight season, while also earning a spot on the All-Defensive Team. Matt Painter was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year for the fifth time in his career, while Mason Gillis was selected as the Sixth Man of the Year. Fletcher Loyer, Lance Jones and Gillis were all voted to the Honorable Mention squad.
• Purdue tied the Big Ten record (Indiana - 1977 and 1978) for most conference victories by a single class, when the group won its 59th league game in Sunday's victory over Wisconsin. The group went 59-20 in its four years in Big Ten play.
• Purdue enters the tournament with 28 wins on the season, tied for the fourth most in the country. A tournament title would set Purdue's school record for wins in a season (31) and the Boilermakers would enter the NCAA Tournament with the most wins in the country.
• Purdue has seen two non-conference opponents already punch tickets to the NCAA Tournament (Samford, Morehead State) with five more non-con opponents (Gonzaga, Tennessee, Marquette, Alabama, Arizona) likely earning spots in the field. Purdue's opponents won the Southern Conference (Samford), the Ohio Valley (Morehead State), the Atlantic Sun (Eastern Kentucky), the SEC (Tennessee) and the PAC-12 (Arizona) this season. According to Mike DeCourcy's latest projections, Purdue has currently played 15 games against teams in the NCAA field.
• Purdue has beaten teams ranked 4th (Arizona), 5th (Tennessee), 8th (Alabama), 13th (Marquette), 15th twice (Illinois), 17th (Gonzaga), 22nd twice (Wisconsin) and 24th (Michigan State) in the NCAA NET rankings. The Boilermakers are 10-0 against the NCAA NET top 25.
• Purdue ranks in the NCAA's top 20 in off. efficiency (1st), 3-point percentage (2nd), rebound margin (2nd), wins (4th), assists per game (5th), scoring margin (9th), scoring offense (11th), field goal percentage (16th), assist / turnover ratio (16th) and fewest fouls per game (17th).
• Purdue is second in the country in quad-1 wins (11), but leads America in quad-1 and 2 wins combined (19). Purdue is 25-3 against the top-3 quads and have only played three games all season against quad-4 teams.
• Purdue was voted No. 3 in the AP Top 25 poll on Monday. With its No. 3 ranking this week, Purdue has now been ranked in the top 5 of the AP poll for 35 straight weeks, the longest-active streak in America by 17 weeks (UConn - 18). It has been ranked in the top 3 in 29 of those weeks. The 35 weeks of being ranked in the top 5 is the third longest in confererence history (41 -- Ohio State, 1960-63; 38 -- Indiana, 1975-77).
• A win in Friday's quarterfinal will give Purdue its 29th win of the season. Only Houston (28 wins entering the Big 12 Tournament) can join Purdue as teams to have at least 29 wins in each of the last three seasons.
• Purdue has won five of its last six games in the Big Ten Tournament. The lone loss came in the 2022 Finals vs. Iowa (75-66).
• Purdue is in the hunt for its second straight No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and its fifth overall. Purdue has never been the No. 1 overall seed.
• The Boilermakers have been to eight straight NCAA Tournaments, the fourth-longest streak in America (Kansas - 33; Michigan State - 25; Gonzaga - 24).
• Purdue has finished in the top three of the Big Ten standings in eight of the last 10 years.
• Purdue is one of five teams (Auburn, UConn, Houston, San Diego State) without a loss outside Quad-1.
• Purdue has a nation's-best 20 victories over the NET top 100, including 10 over the top 25.
• Purdue owns nine straight wins over teams ranked in the AP Top 15. Florida Atlantic is next in line with three straight victories.
• Purdue is on pace to set school records in rebound margin (+11.0) and assist / turnover ratio (1.62). Purdue's scoring average of 84.2 points per game is its highest average since 1994 (84.4 PPG).
• Purdue's scoring margin in Big Ten games was +10.3 points per game, the highest margin since Michigan State in 2019 (+10.6).
• Purdue is averaging 84.2 points per game, an increase of 11.5 points per game from a year ago, the Boilermakers' highest increase in scoring average since the 1992-93 to 1993-94 season (+13.5).
• Purdue has started the same starting five in all 31 games, the longest stretch to start a year in school history. Purdue has never had a season where it started the same five all season.
• Purdue has trailed by six or more points in 10 games this year, posting an 8-2 record in those games, including wins in three straight games over Michigan, Michigan State and Illinois.
• Zach Edey started his 100th career game on Sunday vs. Wisconsin. He is the 17th player in school history with 100 career starts, and owns an 84-16 record as a starter.
• A year ago, Purdue shot 32.2 percent from 3-point range, a number that ranked 281st nationally. This year, Purdue is at 41.1 percent, ranking second 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 25.4 points per game in Big Ten play were the second-highest total in the Big Ten since the turn of the century (2020 - Luka Garza; 26.2).
• Zach Edey is averaging 10.87 free throw attempts per game. Based on a 38-game season, he would shoot 413 free throw attempts, which would be the most since Pete Maravich in 1970 (436).
• Among players that made at least 20, 3-pointers in Big Ten play, Fletcher Loyer (33-68; .485) and Mason Gillis (36-75; .480) ranked one and three in 3-point percentage.
• Braden Smith became the first Purdue player since Tony Jones (1990) to lead the Big Ten in assists, averaging 7.6 assists per game in league play. Smith's 151 assists in conference play were the second most in league games behind Michigan State's Cassius Winston (157) in 2019.
PURDUE IN THE BIG TEN TOURNAMENT
• Purdue heads to Minneapolis in search of its third Big Ten Tournament title (2009, 2023) in school history, arriving in the Land of 10,000 Lakes as the No. 1 seed. It marks just the third time that Purdue has been the No. 1 seed, falling to Michigan in overtime in the 2017 quarterfinals in Washington, D.C., before winning the tournament title a year ago.
• Purdue is looking to become the first team since Michigan in 2017 and 2018 to repeat as Big Ten Tournament champions.
• The Boilermakers have reached the finals in four of the last six Big Ten Tournaments (2016, 2018, 2022, 2023). In years that Purdue didn't reach the finals in that span, it lost in the quarterfinals.
• Purdue's six title-game appearances are the fifth most in the Big Ten (Ohio State - 9; Wisconsin, Michigan State - 7; Illinois - 7).
• Purdue is looking to become the 11th No. 1 seed (Big Ten champion) to win the Big Ten Tournament in its 26th year.
• Purdue is 9-9 in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals (8-7 as the higher seed), but owns a 6-3 record in the semifinals. The last time Purdue won a quarterfinal game and DID NOT advance to the championship game was in 2015, going 4-0 in the Boilermakers' last four semifinal trips.
[3] Purdue (28-3) vs. Michigan State (18-13) OR Minnesota (18-13)
Friday, March 15, 2024
12 p.m. ET | Minneapolis, Minnesota
Target Center (20,000)
TELEVISION: BTN (Kevin Kugler, Stephen Bardo, Rick Pizzo)
RADIO: Purdue Global Radio Network (Rob Blackman, Bobby Riddell)
THE NOTES TO KNOW
• The No. 3-ranked Purdue Boilermakers aim for their fourth Big Ten championship in the last two years when it descends on Minneapolis for the Big Ten Tournament, starting tournament play on Friday against the winner Thursday's second-round game between Michigan State and Minnesota. The Boilermakers are the defending tournament champions and have won the regular-season title in each of the last two years.
• Purdue was well-represented on the All-Big Ten teams announced on Tuesday, with Zach Edey and Braden Smith earning first-team accolades. Edey was named the Player of the Year for the second straight season, while also earning a spot on the All-Defensive Team. Matt Painter was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year for the fifth time in his career, while Mason Gillis was selected as the Sixth Man of the Year. Fletcher Loyer, Lance Jones and Gillis were all voted to the Honorable Mention squad.
• Purdue tied the Big Ten record (Indiana - 1977 and 1978) for most conference victories by a single class, when the group won its 59th league game in Sunday's victory over Wisconsin. The group went 59-20 in its four years in Big Ten play.
• Purdue enters the tournament with 28 wins on the season, tied for the fourth most in the country. A tournament title would set Purdue's school record for wins in a season (31) and the Boilermakers would enter the NCAA Tournament with the most wins in the country.
• Purdue has seen two non-conference opponents already punch tickets to the NCAA Tournament (Samford, Morehead State) with five more non-con opponents (Gonzaga, Tennessee, Marquette, Alabama, Arizona) likely earning spots in the field. Purdue's opponents won the Southern Conference (Samford), the Ohio Valley (Morehead State), the Atlantic Sun (Eastern Kentucky), the SEC (Tennessee) and the PAC-12 (Arizona) this season. According to Mike DeCourcy's latest projections, Purdue has currently played 15 games against teams in the NCAA field.
• Purdue has beaten teams ranked 4th (Arizona), 5th (Tennessee), 8th (Alabama), 13th (Marquette), 15th twice (Illinois), 17th (Gonzaga), 22nd twice (Wisconsin) and 24th (Michigan State) in the NCAA NET rankings. The Boilermakers are 10-0 against the NCAA NET top 25.
• Purdue ranks in the NCAA's top 20 in off. efficiency (1st), 3-point percentage (2nd), rebound margin (2nd), wins (4th), assists per game (5th), scoring margin (9th), scoring offense (11th), field goal percentage (16th), assist / turnover ratio (16th) and fewest fouls per game (17th).
• Purdue is second in the country in quad-1 wins (11), but leads America in quad-1 and 2 wins combined (19). Purdue is 25-3 against the top-3 quads and have only played three games all season against quad-4 teams.
• Purdue was voted No. 3 in the AP Top 25 poll on Monday. With its No. 3 ranking this week, Purdue has now been ranked in the top 5 of the AP poll for 35 straight weeks, the longest-active streak in America by 17 weeks (UConn - 18). It has been ranked in the top 3 in 29 of those weeks. The 35 weeks of being ranked in the top 5 is the third longest in confererence history (41 -- Ohio State, 1960-63; 38 -- Indiana, 1975-77).
• A win in Friday's quarterfinal will give Purdue its 29th win of the season. Only Houston (28 wins entering the Big 12 Tournament) can join Purdue as teams to have at least 29 wins in each of the last three seasons.
• Purdue has won five of its last six games in the Big Ten Tournament. The lone loss came in the 2022 Finals vs. Iowa (75-66).
• Purdue is in the hunt for its second straight No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and its fifth overall. Purdue has never been the No. 1 overall seed.
• The Boilermakers have been to eight straight NCAA Tournaments, the fourth-longest streak in America (Kansas - 33; Michigan State - 25; Gonzaga - 24).
• Purdue has finished in the top three of the Big Ten standings in eight of the last 10 years.
• Purdue is one of five teams (Auburn, UConn, Houston, San Diego State) without a loss outside Quad-1.
• Purdue has a nation's-best 20 victories over the NET top 100, including 10 over the top 25.
• Purdue owns nine straight wins over teams ranked in the AP Top 15. Florida Atlantic is next in line with three straight victories.
• Purdue is on pace to set school records in rebound margin (+11.0) and assist / turnover ratio (1.62). Purdue's scoring average of 84.2 points per game is its highest average since 1994 (84.4 PPG).
• Purdue's scoring margin in Big Ten games was +10.3 points per game, the highest margin since Michigan State in 2019 (+10.6).
• Purdue is averaging 84.2 points per game, an increase of 11.5 points per game from a year ago, the Boilermakers' highest increase in scoring average since the 1992-93 to 1993-94 season (+13.5).
• Purdue has started the same starting five in all 31 games, the longest stretch to start a year in school history. Purdue has never had a season where it started the same five all season.
• Purdue has trailed by six or more points in 10 games this year, posting an 8-2 record in those games, including wins in three straight games over Michigan, Michigan State and Illinois.
• Zach Edey started his 100th career game on Sunday vs. Wisconsin. He is the 17th player in school history with 100 career starts, and owns an 84-16 record as a starter.
• A year ago, Purdue shot 32.2 percent from 3-point range, a number that ranked 281st nationally. This year, Purdue is at 41.1 percent, ranking second 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 25.4 points per game in Big Ten play were the second-highest total in the Big Ten since the turn of the century (2020 - Luka Garza; 26.2).
• Zach Edey is averaging 10.87 free throw attempts per game. Based on a 38-game season, he would shoot 413 free throw attempts, which would be the most since Pete Maravich in 1970 (436).
• Among players that made at least 20, 3-pointers in Big Ten play, Fletcher Loyer (33-68; .485) and Mason Gillis (36-75; .480) ranked one and three in 3-point percentage.
• Braden Smith became the first Purdue player since Tony Jones (1990) to lead the Big Ten in assists, averaging 7.6 assists per game in league play. Smith's 151 assists in conference play were the second most in league games behind Michigan State's Cassius Winston (157) in 2019.
PURDUE IN THE BIG TEN TOURNAMENT
• Purdue heads to Minneapolis in search of its third Big Ten Tournament title (2009, 2023) in school history, arriving in the Land of 10,000 Lakes as the No. 1 seed. It marks just the third time that Purdue has been the No. 1 seed, falling to Michigan in overtime in the 2017 quarterfinals in Washington, D.C., before winning the tournament title a year ago.
• Purdue is looking to become the first team since Michigan in 2017 and 2018 to repeat as Big Ten Tournament champions.
• The Boilermakers have reached the finals in four of the last six Big Ten Tournaments (2016, 2018, 2022, 2023). In years that Purdue didn't reach the finals in that span, it lost in the quarterfinals.
• Purdue's six title-game appearances are the fifth most in the Big Ten (Ohio State - 9; Wisconsin, Michigan State - 7; Illinois - 7).
• Purdue is looking to become the 11th No. 1 seed (Big Ten champion) to win the Big Ten Tournament in its 26th year.
• Purdue is 9-9 in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals (8-7 as the higher seed), but owns a 6-3 record in the semifinals. The last time Purdue won a quarterfinal game and DID NOT advance to the championship game was in 2015, going 4-0 in the Boilermakers' last four semifinal trips.