GAME NOTES

https://purduesports.com/documents/2023/1/4/GAME15_Purdue_Game_Notes.pdf

GAMEDAY INFO
Thursday, January 5, 2023
[1] Purdue (13-1, 2-1) vs. [24] Ohio State (10-3, 2-0)
Columbus, Ohio | Value City Arena (18,809)
TELEVISION: FS1 | RADIO: Purdue Sports Network
ANNOUNCERS: Gus Johnson, Jim Jackson

THE NOTES TO KNOW
• Purdue looks to bounce back from its first loss of the season when it travels to Columbus, Ohio, for its toughest road test of the year to face the No. 24-ranked Buckeyes. The Boilermakers will stay on the road, then head to Philadelphia and the historic Palestra to face Penn State on Sunday. Purdue’s next two opponents rank No. 12 and 44 respectively in KenPom.
• Purdue enters the contest with a 13-1 record and a win over Ohio State will match Purdue’s best 15-game start in school history. 
• Two of the nation’s five-best offenses will go at it on Thursday. The Buckeyes are No. 2 in KenPom’s offensive efficiency rankings, while the Boilermakers rank No. 5 in offensive efficiency. 
• Four of the Big Ten’s eight top-freshmen scorers (Sensabaugh, Thornton, Loyer, Smith) will be on the court Thursday. The two teams are the only Big Ten teams with two players each in the top eight in freshmen scoring.
• Since the 2016-17 season, Purdue owns the Big Ten’s best record (83-35) by five-and-a-half games over Michigan State (78-41). 
• With the loss to Rutgers, eight of Purdue’s last 12 losses have come by three points or less. One more was by five points and two more came in overtime. Only one of the 12 losses was by more than nine points.
• Against nationally-ranked teams this year, Purdue is averaging 79.5 points and shooting 46.2 percent from the field and 38.6 percent from 3-point range. The Boilermakers also own a 2.00 assist-to-turnover ratio (38 / 19), and are outrebounding its foes by 13.0 rebounds per game.
• Purdue hasn’t shot over 31 percent from 3-point range in its last five games, shooting a combined 28-of-121 (.231) from deep in that span.
• Purdue has won three of its last four road games against nationally-ranked teams (wins over Illinois, Ohio State, Michigan State; loss to Wis.).
• For the second straight year, Purdue has been voted No. 1 in the AP Top 25 poll. A year ago, Purdue was voted No. 1 on Dec. 6, for the first time in school history. Purdue becomes the first Big Ten program since Indiana (1974-75, 1975-76) to be ranked No. 1 in consecutive seasons. 
• Purdue can claim America’s best resume, owning four top-50 KenPom wins, all of them against teams ranked in the top 25. Three of the wins (Marquette) have come away from Mackey Arena. The Boilermakers own four quad-1 victories, second in the nation.
• Appearing at No. 1 in this week’s AP Top 25 poll, Purdue has been ranked in the top 5 in consecutive years for the first time since the 1986-87 and 1987-88 seasons. The Boilermakers have spent 18 of the past 28 AP polls ranked in the top 5. Only Gonzaga (22) has spent more time in the top 5 than Purdue since the start of last season. Purdue’s 25 appearances in the top 10 during that span are second behind Kansas (28). 
• One year after ranking second in the country in rebound margin, Purdue leads the country in rebound margin (+12.0) this season. The Boilermakers are outscoring their opponents 193 to 90 in second-chance points (13.8 to 6.4 points per game). 
• Purdue has MADE 248 free throws this season, while opponents have SHOT just 150. Purdue has made 139 more free throws (248 to 109) than its foes this season, the highest discrepancy in the nation (Purdue +139, North Carolina +127, Denver +112, New Mexico +109, Arizona +109).
• Purdue has held 26 straight opponents to 75 or fewer points, the third-longest streak in the country (North Texas 46, Houston 29).
• Zach Edey ranks No. 1 in the KenPom POY ratings by a significant margin and has been the game MVP in 12 of the 13 Purdue games that he has played in (missed New Orleans game with the flu). Edey has scored 10 or more points in 30 straight games with six straight double-doubles.
• Perhaps our favorite Zach Edey stat: Through his 13 games this year, he has more blocked shots (28) than personal fouls (24). He has also played 30 minutes nine times this season after not doing it once in his first two seasons. Edey is averaging just 2.4 fouls / 40 minutes.
• Purdue’s freshman class is averaging 28.4 points per game, accounting for 37.2 percent of the Boilermakers’ scoring. 
• Matt Painter needs three overall victories to become the fifth coach in Big Ten history with 400 victories while at a conference school (Bob Knight, Tom Izzo, Gene Keady, Lou Henson). He needs four victories to become the seventh coach with 200 Big Ten Conference victories.

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