GAMEDAY INFORMATION -- GAME 33 /// BIG TEN SEMIFINALS
[3] Purdue (29-3) vs. Wisconsin (21-12)
Saturday, March 16, 2024
1 p.m. ET | Minneapolis, Minnesota
Target Center (20,000)
TELEVISION: CBS (Ian Eagle, Bill Raftery, Grant Hill, Tracy Wolfson)
RADIO: Purdue Global Radio Network (Rob Blackman, Bobby Riddell)
THE NOTES TO KNOW
• For the second time in seven days, the No. 3-ranked Purdue Boilermakers face Wisconsin in a high-stakes game, this time coming in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals in Minneapolis. On March 10, the Boilermakers completed a regular-season sweep of Wisconsin with a physical 78-70 win over the Badgers on Senior Day in Mackey Arena.
• The two teams will face each other in the Big Ten Tournament for the first time since the 2015 semifinals. Purdue led the highly-ranked Badgers at halftime in that game before falling 71-51 in Chicago.
• The Boilermakers are looking to make their third straight Big Ten Tournament championship game. In 2022, Purdue lost to Iowa in the finals, before defeating Penn State a year ago in the title game. The Boilermakers are aiming for their seventh championship game appearance overall (1998, 2009, 2016, 2018, 2022, 2023).
• With the win over MSU in the quarterfinals, Purdue has defeated Michigan State in five straight games for the first time since March 1993 to Feb. 1997 (7 games). Matt Painter is now 18-16 all-time against Michigan State, having won nine of the last 10 games, and 11 of the last 14 games, against Michigan State.
• Purdue owns a 114-74 series lead against Wisconsin, having won three games in a row and 10 of the last 14 meetings, dating to Dec. 2015.
• Purdue and Houston are the only schools in the country to have at least 29 victories in each of the last three seasons. The Boilermakers are now one win shy of a school-record 30 wins set during the 2017-18 season.
• Purdue is one win away from tying the school record for wins in a season (30; 2017-18 season).
• Purdue owns a 58-9 record since the start of last season, now tied for the most wins in a two-year span in school history.
• The Michigan State win was Purdue's 20th in quad-1 or quad-2, the most in the country. Purdue owns 21 wins over the KenPom top-100.
• Purdue has won 38 straight games when forcing 10 or more turnovers, after forcing 13 against Michigan State.
• Purdue has won 49 straight games when shooting a better field goal percentage than its opponents (41.5 to 39.3 percent).
• In his last three games in the Big Ten Tournament, Zach Edey is averaging 30.3 points and 13.0 rebounds, after having 29 and 12 in the win today (32 & 14 vs. Ohio State; 30 & 13 vs. Penn State; 29 & 12 vs. Michigan State). In his career (8 games), he's at 19.5 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 2.0 APG).
• Edey become the third player in Big Ten Tournament history (Purdue's Trevion Williams; Ohio State's Evan Turner) with at least 25 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists in a tournament game.
• Zach Edey now needs 12 points to tie the school record for career scoring, now having 2,311 points (Rick Mount – 2,323).
• Zach Edey moved into seventh place on the Big Ten's career scoring list (2,311), passing Iowa's Luka Garza (2,306), and with his 12 rebounds, Edey moved into third place on the Big Ten's career rebounds list (1,223).
• Edey has made 251 free throws, now the second most in Big Ten history in a season (Terry Dischinger – 292). His 351 free throw attempts are the most in Big Ten history.
• Edey is now just the second player in NCAA history (La Salle's Lionel Simmons - 1988) with at least 775 points, 375 rebounds, 60 assists and 65 blocks in a season. Should he reach 800 points (22 points away), he'd be the first player to reach 800 points with 375, 60 and 60.
• Zach Edey has had at least 22 points in nine straight games and at least 12 rebounds in six of the last nine games. Edey also has four straight games of three or more assists. Over the last five games, Edey is averaging 29.8 points, 12.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.8 blocks.
• In 26 games against high-major opposition, Zach Edey is averaging a combined 40.4 points (25.9), rebounds (12.4) and assists (2.1) per game. In the last 15 years, no player in America has averaged at least 40.0 combined P-R-A against high-major opposition.
• 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 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 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).
• Braden Smith overcame foul trouble and a minor leg injury to score five points with eight assists and four rebounds. He now has 230 assists on the season, the sixth most by a freshman or sophomore in Big Ten history (Magic Johnson – 269; Trey Burke – 260; Cassius Winston – 241; Mike Conley – 238; Darius Morris – 235; Braden Smith – 230).
• Fletcher Loyer made his only 3-point attempt of the game against Michigan State is now 9-of-12 from deep in his last four games. Loyer is 38-of-79 (.481) from deep in his last 22 games (last non-con game, all Big Ten games, first game of BTT).
• Lance Jones surpassed 1,900 career points in the win over Michigan State, now with 1,909 career points.
• Mason Gillis made two more 3-pointers, now with 142 career 3-pointers. Purdue is 42-4 in his career when he makes two or more 3-pointers.
[3] Purdue (29-3) vs. Wisconsin (21-12)
Saturday, March 16, 2024
1 p.m. ET | Minneapolis, Minnesota
Target Center (20,000)
TELEVISION: CBS (Ian Eagle, Bill Raftery, Grant Hill, Tracy Wolfson)
RADIO: Purdue Global Radio Network (Rob Blackman, Bobby Riddell)
THE NOTES TO KNOW
• For the second time in seven days, the No. 3-ranked Purdue Boilermakers face Wisconsin in a high-stakes game, this time coming in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals in Minneapolis. On March 10, the Boilermakers completed a regular-season sweep of Wisconsin with a physical 78-70 win over the Badgers on Senior Day in Mackey Arena.
• The two teams will face each other in the Big Ten Tournament for the first time since the 2015 semifinals. Purdue led the highly-ranked Badgers at halftime in that game before falling 71-51 in Chicago.
• The Boilermakers are looking to make their third straight Big Ten Tournament championship game. In 2022, Purdue lost to Iowa in the finals, before defeating Penn State a year ago in the title game. The Boilermakers are aiming for their seventh championship game appearance overall (1998, 2009, 2016, 2018, 2022, 2023).
• With the win over MSU in the quarterfinals, Purdue has defeated Michigan State in five straight games for the first time since March 1993 to Feb. 1997 (7 games). Matt Painter is now 18-16 all-time against Michigan State, having won nine of the last 10 games, and 11 of the last 14 games, against Michigan State.
• Purdue owns a 114-74 series lead against Wisconsin, having won three games in a row and 10 of the last 14 meetings, dating to Dec. 2015.
• Purdue and Houston are the only schools in the country to have at least 29 victories in each of the last three seasons. The Boilermakers are now one win shy of a school-record 30 wins set during the 2017-18 season.
• Purdue is one win away from tying the school record for wins in a season (30; 2017-18 season).
• Purdue owns a 58-9 record since the start of last season, now tied for the most wins in a two-year span in school history.
• The Michigan State win was Purdue's 20th in quad-1 or quad-2, the most in the country. Purdue owns 21 wins over the KenPom top-100.
• Purdue has won 38 straight games when forcing 10 or more turnovers, after forcing 13 against Michigan State.
• Purdue has won 49 straight games when shooting a better field goal percentage than its opponents (41.5 to 39.3 percent).
• In his last three games in the Big Ten Tournament, Zach Edey is averaging 30.3 points and 13.0 rebounds, after having 29 and 12 in the win today (32 & 14 vs. Ohio State; 30 & 13 vs. Penn State; 29 & 12 vs. Michigan State). In his career (8 games), he's at 19.5 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 2.0 APG).
• Edey become the third player in Big Ten Tournament history (Purdue's Trevion Williams; Ohio State's Evan Turner) with at least 25 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists in a tournament game.
• Zach Edey now needs 12 points to tie the school record for career scoring, now having 2,311 points (Rick Mount – 2,323).
• Zach Edey moved into seventh place on the Big Ten's career scoring list (2,311), passing Iowa's Luka Garza (2,306), and with his 12 rebounds, Edey moved into third place on the Big Ten's career rebounds list (1,223).
• Edey has made 251 free throws, now the second most in Big Ten history in a season (Terry Dischinger – 292). His 351 free throw attempts are the most in Big Ten history.
• Edey is now just the second player in NCAA history (La Salle's Lionel Simmons - 1988) with at least 775 points, 375 rebounds, 60 assists and 65 blocks in a season. Should he reach 800 points (22 points away), he'd be the first player to reach 800 points with 375, 60 and 60.
• Zach Edey has had at least 22 points in nine straight games and at least 12 rebounds in six of the last nine games. Edey also has four straight games of three or more assists. Over the last five games, Edey is averaging 29.8 points, 12.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.8 blocks.
• In 26 games against high-major opposition, Zach Edey is averaging a combined 40.4 points (25.9), rebounds (12.4) and assists (2.1) per game. In the last 15 years, no player in America has averaged at least 40.0 combined P-R-A against high-major opposition.
• 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 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 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).
• Braden Smith overcame foul trouble and a minor leg injury to score five points with eight assists and four rebounds. He now has 230 assists on the season, the sixth most by a freshman or sophomore in Big Ten history (Magic Johnson – 269; Trey Burke – 260; Cassius Winston – 241; Mike Conley – 238; Darius Morris – 235; Braden Smith – 230).
• Fletcher Loyer made his only 3-point attempt of the game against Michigan State is now 9-of-12 from deep in his last four games. Loyer is 38-of-79 (.481) from deep in his last 22 games (last non-con game, all Big Ten games, first game of BTT).
• Lance Jones surpassed 1,900 career points in the win over Michigan State, now with 1,909 career points.
• Mason Gillis made two more 3-pointers, now with 142 career 3-pointers. Purdue is 42-4 in his career when he makes two or more 3-pointers.