By Danielle Daniels

2 18 2024

GAME NOTES

https://purduesports.com/documents/2024/2/18/GAME26_Purdue_Game_Notes.pdf

GAMEDAY INFORMATION — GAME 26
[2] Purdue (23-2, 12-2) vs. Ohio State (14-11, 4-10)
Sunday, Feb. 18, 2024
1:00 p.m. ET | Columbus, Ohio
Value City Arena (18,809)
TELEVISION: CBS (Tom McCarthy, Jim Spanarkel)
RADIO: Purdue Global Radio Network (Rob Blackman, Bobby Riddell)

THE NOTES TO KNOW
• The No. 2-ranked Purdue Boilermakers return to the road for the first time in 14 days when it travels to Ohio State for a Sunday afternoon matinee in Columbus. The Boilermakers are looking for their 10th straight victory, but will try to do so in a place (Value City Arena) where the Boilermakers are just 5-14 all-time. Purdue has won two straight games in Value City Arena, both coming in dramatic fashion.
• Purdue enters the weekend as one of five teams in America with 23 victories (UConn, Grand Canyon, James Madison, Samford) and one of three teams with just two losses (UConn, Grand Canyon). Purdue’s 23-2 start ties the best 25-game start in Purdue history.
• Purdue’s nine straight wins are tied for the fifth-longest streak in the nation and second among major-conference programs (UConn – 13).
• 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.
• Over the last three years, Purdue has already won 81 games overall. The school record for wins in a three-game span is 83 (2016, 2017, 2018), needing just two wins to tie the record. Entering the weekend, Purdue’s 81 wins are tied for the second most in the country (Houston – 86).
• Purdue’s schedule ranks as the most difficult in the country by a wide margin and its non-conference foes currently lead the Southern Conference by 2 games (Samford), the Ohio Valley by 2 games (Morehead State), the SEC (Alabama), the PAC-12 (Arizona) and the Atlantic Sun (Eastern Kentucky). Marquette (Big East), Tennessee (SEC) and Gonzaga (WCC) are currently in second place in their respective conferences.
• In addition, Purdue leads the country in strength of schedule and teams that it has beaten rank 2nd (Michigan), 3rd (Wisconsin), 4th (Alabama), 5th (Xavier), 6th (Tennessee), 7th (Arizona) and 14th (Marquette) in strength of schedule.
• Entering the weekend, the combined record of Purdue’s non-conference opponents is 184-87 (.679) with seven of the 11 opponents already having won at least 17 games. Take 11 losses to Purdue out of the equation and non-conference opponent’s record is 184-76 (.708).
• Purdue ranks in the NCAA’s top 20 in wins (1st), off. efficiency (2nd), rebound margin (2nd), 3-point percentage (4th), assists per game (6th), scoring offense (6th), scoring margin (11th), fewest fouls per game (14th), assist / turnover ratio (17th) and defensive efficiency (18th).
• Purdue leads the country in quad-1 wins (9) and quad-1 and 2 wins combined (15). No one in the country has more than 13 Q-1 and Q-2 wins.
• Since the start of last season, Purdue is 52-8, the fourth-most wins nationally, while the eight losses are the second fewest behind Houston (7). The eight losses during that span have come by 1, 5, 6, 14, 8, 5, 4 (OT) and 16 points. Thirty-nine of the 52 wins have come against teams ranked in the KenPom top-100, including 27 against teams ranked in the top-50.
• Purdue has won at least 12 games in Big Ten Conference play for the ninth time in the last 10 years. No other team currently has more than six years (in 10) of at least 12 victories (Wisconsin). Purdue has finished in the top three of the Big Ten standings in seven of the previous nine seasons.
• Purdue was voted No. 2 in the AP Top 25 poll on Monday, for the fifth straight week. With its No. 2 ranking this week, Purdue has now been ranked in the top 5 of the AP poll for 31 straight weeks, the longest-active streak in America by 17 weeks (UConn – 14). It has been ranked in the top 3 in 25 of those 31 weeks. The 31 weeks of being ranked in the top 5 is the longest streak by a Big Ten team in the last 45 years.
• With the win over No. 6 Wisconsin, Purdue has won seven straight against AP Top-10 ranked teams, the longest streak ever by a Big Ten team.
• With his 200th career block coming against Wisconsin on Feb. 4, Zach Edey became the third player in NCAA history with 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 200 blocks and to shoot at least 60.0 percent from the field (Patrick Ewing, David Robinson).
• Zach Edey needs 22 points to move into third on the school’s career scoring chart and six rebounds to become the all-time leader in rebounds.
• A win over Ohio State would give Purdue a 13-2 Big Ten start for just the second time under Matt Painter (2007-08). Purdue has started 13-2 in Big Ten play four previous times in Big Ten history (2007-08, 1995-96, 1987-88, 1986-87).
• Purdue has won 16 of its last 17 games overall.
• Purdue’s four-game road winning streak is tied for the third-longest road winning streak among high-major teams in the country (UConn – 6; Marquette – 5).
• Purdue is one of six teams (Dayton, UConn, Florida, Houston, San Diego State) without a loss outside Quad-1.
• Purdue owns a nation’s-best 17 wins over the NCAA NET top-100 teams. Purdue has seven wins over teams ranked in the NET top 25.
• Five teams (Purdue, James Madison, Appalachian State, Weber State, UNC Wilmington) have at least one Quad-1A win (top 15 home, top 25 neutral, top 40 road) while being undefeated in those games. The other four teams mentioned above are 1-0. Purdue is 7-0 in that category.
• Over the last three seasons, Purdue owned a 59-6 (.908) record during the months of November, December and January, including a 41-3 (.932) mark over the last two seasons.
• Purdue is 20-0 this season when holding foes to 79 or fewer points. When opponents reach 80-plus points, Purdue is 3-2.
• Purdue is shooting just 81-of-134 (.604) from the free throw line in the last four games. Edey and Kaufman-Renn have combined to go 35-of-70 (.500) in that stretch. In the season’s first 21 games, the duo was a combined 190-of-268 (.709) from the stripe.
• Purdue’s leading rebounder is 7-foot, 4-inch Zach Edey. The Boilermakers’ second-leading rebounder is 6-foot Braden Smith.
• A year ago, Purdue shot 32.2 percent from 3-point range, a number that ranked 281st nationally. This year, Purdue is at 40.3 percent, ranking fourth nationally. Purdue had three players shoot over 35.0 percent from deep a year ago. This year, Purdue has nine players over 35.0 percent.
• Purdue’s schedule is ranked as the toughest nationally (via KenPom). Purdue, which ranks second nationally in offensive efficiency, has faced defenses ranked 2nd, 5th, 6th, 13th and 14th. The Boilermakers rank 18th nationally in def. efficiency, facing offenses ranked 1st, 4th, 6th, 12th, 15th, 16th (2x) 19th and 23rd.
• Zach Edey currently ranks third in the country in both points per game and rebounds per game. Since the 2000 season, only South Dakota State’s Mike Daum (2019), Kansas State’s Michael Beasley (2008) and Texas’ Kevin Durant (2007) have finished in the top five nationally in both categories. He would be the first one to rank in the top three in both categories.
• Since the start of last season, Zach Edey is averaging 22.9 points and 13.3 rebounds per game in 34 Big Ten Conference games.
• Based on a 36-game season, Zach Edey is on pace to attempt 387 free throws. It would be the eighth-most attempts in NCAA history and the most since Pete Maravich in 1970 (436 attempts).
• Braden Smith has 333 career assists, leading sophomores (or younger) in career assists. Coincidentally, second on the list is Colgate sophomore Braeden Smith (309).
• Based on a 38-game season, Braden Smith is on pace for 486 points, 216 rebounds and 274 assists. Since the 1947-48 season, only BYU’s Kyle Collinsworth and UCLA’s Lonzo Ball have had 450 points, 250 assists and 200 rebounds in a season.

• Purdue leads the all-time series with Ohio State by a slim 94-92 advantage. The two-game advantage is the closest margin of any Big Ten opponent, as Purdue reached .500 against the Buckeyes on Jan. 5, 2023.
• Purdue’s current four-game win streak against the Buckeyes is the longest since winning nine straight from Jan. 22, 1994 to Feb. 7, 1998.
• Matt Painter is 16-19 against Ohio State, one of two Big Ten teams that he does not have a winning record against (Michigan; 16-17).
• Three of Purdue’s last five wins in the series have come on 3-pointers in the final 10 seconds of the game (two by Jaden Ivey; one by Fletcher Loyer).
• Purdue is 5-14 in Value City Arena, but started 1-13 in the building. It has gone 4-1 in its last five trips to Value City Arena.

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