Game Day essentials:
No. 2 Purdue (21-2, 10-2) vs. Indiana (14-9, 6-6)
- Tip Time: 8:00 p.m. Eastern, Saturday
- Location: Mackey Arena (14,876), West Lafayette, Ind.
- Television: FOX (Gus Johnson, Jim Jackson)
- Stream: Fox Sports
- IU Radio Network: IU Radio Network
- Point Spread: Purdue is around a 18.5 point favorite.
- KenPom Projected Score: No. 96 Indiana 66 – No. 2 Purdue 85
- Series History: Purdue leads, 126-92.
Three keys from last meeting:
Purdue defeated Indiana 87-66 in Assembly Hall on Jan. 16.
1. Two foul strategy backfires. Mackenzie Mgbako and Kel’el Ware both picked up two early first half fouls. Mgbako picked his up with 15:30 left in the first and checked out. Ware picked his second up with 13:40 left and checked out. IU trailed just 12-9 at the time Ware checked out. By the time IU put them both back in the game at the 2:14 mark of the first half, the Hoosiers trailed 43-25. IU coach Mike Woodson acknowledged after the game he should have put Mgbako, who scored the first seven points of the game, back in sooner.
2. Ware and Reneau slowed. Of course, Ware was slowed in part because he sat on the bench, but both he and fellow frontcourt starter Malik Reneau were slowed by Purdue’s defense. They are Indiana’s leading scorers for the season, but the pair combined for just 13 points on 6-of-16 shooting. Part of Indiana’s strategy appeared to involved pulling Zach Edey out of the paint and shooting threes over him, but Reneau and Ware made just 1-of-5 from beyond the arc.
3. Purdue lives at the line. Whatever the reason, there was a foul discrepancy throughout the game, and Purdue lived at the free throw line. The Boilermakers took 27 free throws compared to Indiana’s nine. While Purdue made 22 of those shots, Indiana did nothing to capitalize on their limited chances, making just four.
Purdue’s results and roster
| DATE | OPPONENT | LOCATION | RESULT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11/6/2023 | Samford | West Lafayette, Ind. | W 98-45 |
| 11/10/2023 | Morehead State | West Lafayette, Ind. | W 87-57 |
| 11/13/2023 | Xavier (Gavitt Games) | West Lafayette, Ind. | W 83-71 |
| 11/20/2023 | vs. #11 Gonzaga (Maui Inv.) | Honolulu, Hawai’i | W 73-63 |
| 11/21/2023 | vs#7 Tennessee (Maui Inv.) | Honolulu, Hawai’i | W 71-67 |
| 11/22/2023 | vs. #4 Marquette (Maui Inv.) | Honolulu, Hawai’i | W 78-75 |
| 11/28/2023 | Texas Southern | West Lafayette, Ind. | W 99-67 |
| 12/1/2023 | at Northwestern | Evanston, Ill. | L 88-92 OT |
| 12/4/2023 | Iowa | West Lafayette, Ind. | W 87-68 |
| 12/9/2023 | vs. Alabama | Toronto, Canada | W 92-86 |
| 12/16/2023 | vs. #1 Arizona (Indy Classic) | Indianapolis, Ind. | W 92-84 |
| 12/21/2023 | Jacksonville | West Lafayette, Ind. | W 100-57 |
| 12/29/2023 | Eastern Kentucky | West Lafayette, Ind. | W 80-53 |
| 1/2/2024 | at Maryland | College Park, Md. | W 67-53 |
| 1/5/2024 | #9 Illinois | West Lafayette, Ind. | W 83-78 |
| 1/9/2024 | at Nebraska | Lincoln, Neb. | L 72-88 |
| 1/13/2024 | Penn State | West Lafayette, Ind. | W 95-78 |
| 1/16/2024 | at Indiana | Bloomington, Ind. | W 87-66 |
| 1/20/2024 | at Iowa | Iowa City, Iowa | W 84-70 |
| 1/23/2024 | Michigan | West Lafayette, Ind. | W 99-67 |
| 1/28/2024 | at Rutgers | Piscataway, N.J. | W 68-60 |
| 1/31/2024 | Northwestern | West Lafayette, Ind. | W 105-96 OT |
| 2/4/2024 | at #6 Wisconsin | Madison, Wis. | W 75-69 |
Purdue’s Game Notes (via Purdue Athletics)
1,800 POINT CLUB
Zach Edey has already been over 1,800 career points for a while, but Lance Jones surpassed the mark in the win over Wisconsin. Purdue, Wright State and North Carolina State are the only teams in America with two active players over 1,800 career points.
ANOTHER TOP-15 CONQUEST
Purdue improved to 6-0 against teams ranked in the AP Top 15 with the win over No. 6 Wisconsin on Sunday. Only Kansas (4), TCU (4), UConn (3) and North Carolina (3) have more than two top-15 wins this season.
Five of Purdue’s six top-15 wins have come away from Mackey Arena. For comparisons, UNC, Kansas and TCU have one top-15 victory away from home. Purdue (6-0) and Memphis (4-0) are the only teams in America to have played at least three games against ranked teams and be undefeated.
SNIPER SQUAD
Entering the year, pundits questioned whether Purdue’s perimeter shooting would be good enough surrounding Zach Edey. Through 23 games, the answer is an emphatic YES. Purdue has five players that have made at least 10, 3-pointers this year shooting at least 42.0 percent from deep, another (Trey Kaufman-Renn) who is at 41.2 percent with seven made triples, and another (Lance Jones) who is shooting 36.4 percent overall, including 44.2 percent during Purdue’s seven-game winning streak.
Purdue and Samford (7) are the only schools in America to have five players with 10-plus 3-pointers to shoot over 42.0 percent from deep.
PRODUCING ON BOTH ENDS
Zach Edey is one of two players this season to average at least 20 points and 10 rebounds per game. He is the only one to average at least 2.0 blocks per game.
• Following its loss to Nebraska on Jan. 9, Purdue has averaged 87.6 points per game in its seven straight wins, while shooting 50.6 percent from the field and 41.8 percent from 3-point range. Purdue’s offensive efficiency in that span is 130.8 (130.8 points / 100 possessions). During that span, Zach Edey is averaging 26.1 points and 14.6 rebounds, while Lance Jones (17.4), Fletcher Loyer (11.9) and Braden Smith (11.4 PPG, 8.6 APG) are all averaging in double-figures. Jones and Loyer are a combined 35-of-76 (.461) from long range in that span.
• Purdue has won 20 games under Matt Painter in 14 of his 19 seasons with at least 25 wins in 10 of them. Purdue is looking for its third straight season of at least 29 victories.
• Since the start of the 2021-22 season, Purdue is 41-3 in home games. Indiana is one of the three losses, defeating Purdue a year ago in Mackey.
Purdue’s KenPom notable numbers:
(out of 362 teams)
Tempo – No. 159 (Offense No. 191 / Defense No. 45)
Offensive Efficiency – No. 1
- Purdue has an effective field goal percentage of 56.7 percent on the season (No. 10). The Boilers are shooting 40.1 percent from three on the season (No. 5) and also do very well from two at 54.7 percent (No. 34).
- The Boilers create a lot of second chance opportunities with a 36.8 percent rate on offensive rebounds (No. 16).
- Purdue also has one of the highest assist rates in the country, with a 63.4 percent rate for every field goal made (No. 7).
- The Boilers continue to get to the free throw line at a very high rate, with a 42.2 percent rate on every field goal attempt (No. 14)
Defensive Efficiency – No. 15
- The Boilers are holding teams to a 47.2 effective field goal percentage on the season (No. 43). Opponents are shooting 31.2 percent from beyond the arc (No. 52) and 47.5 percent from twos (No. 72).
- Purdue is also the complete opposite defensively when it comes to free throw rates. They only give up a 22.4 percent attempt rate for every field goal attempt (No. 7).
- Purdue continues to struggle at forcing turnovers, or they simply choose to not emphasize them. Their rate has dropped to 14.2 percent since the last matchup (No.331, was 15.3 percent), and steal rates are also low at just 8 percent (No. 284).
Extras
- Zach Edey is still the consensus #1-ranked player in the nation, according to KenPom. He is top-100 in nine separate statistical categories on KenPom. He is ranked first in fouls drawn per 40 minutes, with 9.1.
- Mason Gillis is the ninth-ranked three-point shooter in the nation in terms of percentage, albeit on only 62 attempts.
- Braden Smith’s assist rate now sits at 37.6 percent, good for #14 in all of Division I.
For complete coverage of IU basketball, GO HERE.
The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”
- Find us on Facebook: thedailyhoosier
- You can follow us on Twitter: @daily_hoosier
- Seven ways to support completely free IU coverage at no cost to you.
