GAMEDAY INFORMATION
[5 / 5] Purdue (11-1) vs. Kent State (10-2)
Monday, December 29 | 7 PM ET
West Lafayette, Indiana | Mackey Arena (14,876)
ONLINE: B1G+ (Craig Combs, Kristof Kendrick)
RADIO: Purdue Global Radio Network (Rob Blackman, Bobby Riddell)
THE SCENE SETTER
• Purdue closes out non-conference play with its first home game in 16 days when MAC power Kent State visits Mackey Arena for a 7 p.m. ET, tip on Monday night. The Boilermakers are looking for their second win of the season against a MAC team as it defeated Akron on Nov. 16. Purdue is also looking for its 10th non-conference win of the season for the fourth time in the last five seasons (2022, 2023, 2024).
THE MATCHUP
• For the first time since December 1971, Purdue and Kent State will face off when the Golden Flashes visit Mackey Arena on Monday, Dec. 29.
• Purdue owns a 2-1 series advantage, winning the last meeting, 82-75, in Kent. The Boilermakers also defeated Kent State 65-64 in Dec. 1969, while falling at home the next season, 64-62.
• Purdue has won eight straight games against teams from the MAC, and owns a 50-7 record in home games against the league. Included in that total is a 97-79 win over Akron on Nov. 16, 2024.
• Purdue will welcome back former player and the "King of Mackey" Tommy Luce to the sidelines on Monday. Luce is an assistant coach with the Golden Flashes.
NEWS AND NOTES
• Purdue is coming off an impressive 88-60 win over No. 21-ranked Auburn in the Indy
Classic on Dec. 20, in Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indinapolis.
• Purdue has held three straight foes to 60 or fewer points and opponents are shooting just 34.9 percent from the field during the three-game span.
• Since Dec. 10, Purdue is the only team in the country with rankings in the top 20 in both offensive efficiency (14th) and defensive efficiency (13th), via BartTorvik.
• The Boilermakers are now 11-1 (or better) for the seventh time under Matt Painter, including four times in the last five seasons (2010, 2011, 2016, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2026).
• Purdue is one-of-nine schools to rank in the top 20 nationally in both offensive (1st) and defensive (17th) efficiency, via KenPom (Purdue, Gonzaga, Michigan, Vanderbilt, BYU, Arizona, Iowa State, Duke, Houston).
• Purdue is 11th nationally in assist rate, assisting on 65.2 percent of its made field goals. Purdue is also fifth in offensive rebound percentage (.421), trailing Tennessee, Florida, Virginia and Arizona.
• Purdue is 67-of-105 (.638) from inside the 3-point arc in the last three games.
• On the NCAA leader boards, Purdue ranks fourth nationally in assist / turnover ratio (1.96), seventh in assists per game (20.4), ninth in 3-point percentage (.401), 11th in rebound margin (+11.4), 22nd in field goal percentage (.509) and 23rd in scoring margin (+18.4).
• On the NCAA individual leaderboards, Braden Smith leads the country in assists per game (9.6), Fletcher Loyer is 14th in free throw percentage (.925), Trey Kaufman-Renn is 17th in rebounds per game (10.0) and Daniel Jacobsen is 18th in blocks per game (2.42).
• Purdue moved back into the AP poll top five this week and since the start of the 2021-22 season, has been ranked in the top five in 55 of the 88 weekly polls. Houston is next on the list at 48 weeks. Connecticut is third at 37 weeks.
• Braden Smith needs 18 assists to set the Big Ten career assists record. Entering the game with 873 career assists, Michigan State's Cassius Winston (2017-20) owns the record with 890 career dimes.