Game Day Essentials:
Indiana (15-11, 6-9) vs. No. 13/14 Purdue (19-8, 11-5)
- Tip Time: 1:30 p.m. Eastern, Sunday
- Location: Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (17,222), Bloomington, Ind.
- Television: CBS (Andrew Catalon, Steve Lappas)
- Radio: IU Radio Network (Don Fischer, Errek Suhr, John Herrick)
- Stream: CBS Sports
- Point Spread: Purdue is a 3.5-point favorite
- KenPom Projected Score: Purdue 77 Indiana 73
- History: Purdue leads, 128-92.
- Last Meeting: PUR 81, IU 76 on Jan. 31, 2025, in West Lafayette
- Tickets (via our StubHub affiliate link)
Three keys from the first meeting:
1. Too many turnovers. Indiana gave it away 20 times and Purdue scored 26 points off those miscues. The turnovers were a constant, as IU gave it away 10 times each half. Trey Galloway had six of the turnovers, and Anthony Leal five. Indiana went on several good runs during the game, but their mistakes never allowed them to pull away.
2. Can’t contain Smith. Purdue star point guard Braden Smith scored 24 points on 11-of-21 shooting. He added seven assists. Trey Kaufman-Renn added 23 including a game-winner. But it was Smith who was constantly getting downhill and creating problems for the IU defense. And Smith had six steals on the other end of the floor. On a night when Purdue was just 2-of-13 from three, he made enough clutch buckets to pull it out for Purdue.
3. Struggles at the stripe. Indiana shot better from the field (56.6%) than the free throw line (56.3%). Oumar Ballo has improved this year but made just 2-of-6 including just 1-of-4 in the second half. IU made just 9-of-16 for the game and 4-of-9 after the break.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM FIRST MEETING
Purdue’s results and roster:
Purdue’s game notes (via Purdue Athletics)
NOTES
- Purdue has shot at least 50.0 percent from the field in 11 of 16 Big Ten contests. In league games, Purdue leads the Big Ten in field goal percentage (.502).
- In league games only, Trey Kaufman-Renn leads the Big Ten in scoring (20.4), while Braden Smith leads in assists (8.8) and steals (2.4).
- Purdue is in the midst of a rough stretch, losing three straight games for the first time since the 2019-20 season (four straight losses in mid-February). The three losses have come on the road to No. 20 Michigan (75-73) and No. 14 Michigan State (75-66) and at home to No. 16 Wisconsin (94-84).
- Purdue is averaging 82.1 points per game over the last seven games.
- During that span, Purdue boasts the nation’s third-highest offensive efficiency (130.9) via BartTorvik.com.
- In the second half of losses to Wisconsin and Michigan State, Purdue allowed the two opponents to shoot 70.0 percent (35-of-50) from the field, allowing 1.67 points per possession.
- Purdue’s leader in blocked shots is Caleb Furst with eight. Purdue has nine blocked shots in the last nine games. Purdue is last in the Big Ten, and 342nd nationally, in blocked shots per game (1.8 bpg).
ON THE CUSP
- Point guard Braden Smith is on the cusp of becoming Purdue’s all-time leader in career assists, needing seven assists to tie Bruce Parkinson (1973-77) on the top of the charts.
- Smith needs 17 assists to become the 12th player in NCAA history with 700 assists by the end of his junior year and 12 assists to become the first player in Big Ten history with two seasons of at least 250 assists.
- Smith also needs one rebound for 500 in his career and with one rebound and 17 assists, will be the first player in NCAA history with 1,200 points, 700 assists and 500 rebounds by the end of his junior season.
THE NATION’S BEST DUO
- The duo of Trey Kaufman-Renn and Braden Smith are reaching combined marks not often seen.
- The pair is averaging a combined 35.7 points, 10.9 rebounds and 11.3 assists per game, becoming the first tandem since California’s Jason Kidd and Lamond Murray in 1993-94 to average a combined 35.0 points, 10.5 rebounds and 10.5 assists in a season.
Purdue’s KenPom notable numbers:
(out of 364 teams)
Tempo – No. 285 (Offense No. 295 / Defense No. 128)
Offensive Efficiency – No. 8
- The Boilers have a 56.6% effective field goal percentage so far on the year (No. 13). They’re shooting 37.7% on 3-point attempts (No. 26) and 56.6% on twos (No. 28).
- Assist numbers have decreased a bit since their last matchup on made field goals at 59.7% (No. 32).
- They still do a decent job limiting turnovers, with a 15.8% rate (No. 75)
- Purdue is middle-of-the-road when it comes to offensive rebounding, with a 30.6% rate (No. 163).
Defensive Efficiency – No. 47
- Purdue has seen some regression on the defensive end. Teams have shot 51.5% on effective field goal percentage, a two percentage point increase from Indiana’s last matchup (No. 206).
- They’re still limiting teams well from beyond the arc at 30.8% (No. 36), but opponents are now shooting 55.5% from twos against the Boilermakers (No. 331).
- As pointed out in the game notes, Purdue is not great when it comes to blocking shots. Their rate stands at 5.8% (No. 343).
- The Boilermakers are No. 94 in forcing turnovers with an 18.6% rate.
OG’s Pick
Win/Loss Record: 19-4
I wasn’t able to pick the first game between these two teams due to some traveling, so let’s give it a crack.
Turnovers were HUGE in IU’s last matchup against Purdue in Mackey. I’ve always capped off my confidence to win a game at 17 or under, but even with that high number, the Hoosiers played the Boilers close. I believe that was one of the first games Malik Reneau was back, and he was certainly not at full strength.
There are a lot of extra circumstances to consider when trying to pick this game. Indiana has played pretty solid in their losses, but obviously, not good enough to play consistent winning basketball. However, you look at Purdue in their recent games and it is quite the opposite. Their defensive showing has been pretty poor, and outside of Smith and Kaufman-Renn, there hasn’t been consistent help across the lineup. Still, those three losses were t0 Michigan, Wisconsin, and Michigan State, three of the league’s best.
I am not counting out Indiana fully. The main key has been that regression in Purdue’s defense inside. Ballo had a solid game in Mackey, and Reneau only played eight minutes. The supporting pieces, such as Goode, Galloway, and Mgabko are going to have to step up to keep it close.
Ah what the heck, let’s see some fireworks today.
PICK: Indiana 71 – Purdue 70
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