GAMEDAY INFORMATION
[5 / 5] Purdue (16-1, 6-0) vs. [rv / rv] USC (14-3, 3-3)
Saturday, January 17, 2026 | 6 p.m. ET, 3 p.m. PT
Los Angeles, California | Galen Center (10,248)
TELEVISION: NBCSN, Peacock (Ted Robinson, Miles Simon)
RADIO: Purdue Global Radio Network (Rob Blackman, Bobby Riddell)
THE SCENE SETTER
• Beginning a stretch of playing six of its next eight games on the road, the No. 5-ranked Purdue Boilermakers head West to face a talented USC squad in Los Angeles on Saturday. The Boilermakers are 3-0 on the road this season, including 2-0 in league play with wins over Rutgers and Wisconsin away from Mackey Arena.
• Following the contest with USC, Purdue will stay out West and face UCLA on Tuesday night at historic Pauley Pavilion.
THE MATCHUP
• Purdue and USC will meet for just the 10th time in series history, with the Boilermakers owning a 5-4 advantage.
• Purdue won a pair of meetings a year ago, topping the Trojans 90-72 in Mackey Arena in February, then a 76-71 decision in the Big Ten Tournament in March.
• This will mark Purdue's first visit to the Galen Center and first visit to Los Angeles to face USC since December 1972.
• In last year's meeting in West Lafayette, Trey Kaufman-Renn scored 24 points and Braden Smith dished out 13 assists to go with nine points. Purdue shot 50.0 percent (33-of-66) from the field, but was just 6-of-26 (.231) from deep. Wesley Yates III, now at Washington, scored 30 points for USC in that contest.
• In the Big Ten Tournament, Kaufman-Renn then scored a career-high 30 points to lift Purdue to the victory.
• In two career games, Kaufman-Renn is averaging 27.0 points on 20-of-32 (.625) shooting from the field. Braden Smith is averaging 11.0 assists per game, while Fletcher Loyer is 5-of-14 (.357) from 3-point range vs. USC.
NEWS AND NOTES
• Purdue is coming off a 79-72 victory over Iowa on Wednesday night, rallying from nine points down with 14 minutes to play for its eighth victory in a row. Purdue shot over 52.0 percent for the seventh time in the last eight games and committed just nine turnovers in the win.
• Purdue is 6-0 in Big Ten play for the first time since the 2017-18 season (12-0) and for the second time under head coach Matt Painter (2017-18, 2025-26). The 16-1 overall start matches the best 17-game in school history, done four other times (most recently: 2022-23).
• Purdue begins a gauntlet of playing six of its next eight games away from Mackey Arena. Beginning with the Iowa game on Wednesday, Purdue will play five straight games against quad-1 opponents. Ten of Purdue's final 14 games are current quad-1 contests.
• Purdue is the only team in America to have not played a game decided by six or fewer points. All 17 of Purdue's games have been decided by at least seven points.
• Purdue has a nation's-best 14 wins in the first three quads, having played only two quad-4 games. UConn and Michigan each have 13 wins in the first three quads. Purdue's five quad-1 victories are tied for the fourth most nationally.
• Purdue is shooting 54.0 percent from the field during its eight-game winning streak and has a 2.32 (174 / 75) assist-to-turnover ratio, averaging just 9.4 turnovers per game.
• Over the last 10 seasons, Purdue is 53-37 (.589) in Big Ten Conference road games, the best mark in the league by six games (Michigan State; 47-43).
• Purdue ranks in the top 25 nationally in offensive efficiency (1st), assist / turnover ratio (2nd), assists per game (2nd), 3-point percentage (9th), field goal percentage (11th), rebound margin (14th), scoring margin (16th) and turnovers per game (22nd).
• Individually, Braden Smith is first in assists, Fletcher Loyer is 20th in free throw percentage and Trey Kaufman-Renn is 26th in double-doubles and 27th in rebounding.
• Over the last three seasons, Purdue is 51-15 (.773) in Big Ten play, the league's best record by 7.5 games (Michigan State, 43-22).
• Braden Smith needs two rebounds for 600 rebounds, that would make him the second player in NCAA history with 1,600 points, 900 assists and 600 boards (Ohio's D.J. Cooper).