GAMEDAY INFO
Monday, January 2, 2023
[1] Purdue (13-0, 2-0) vs. Rutgers (9-4, 1-1)
West Lafayette, Indiana | Mackey Arena (14,876)
TELEVISION: BTN | RADIO: Purdue Sports Network
ANNOUNCERS: Brandon Gaudin, Robbie Hummel
THE NOTES TO KNOW
• Purdue enters the 2023 calendar year with its toughest home game to date when Rutgers visits for a Monday night tip. The game was moved from noon to 7 p.m. ET, to account for the Purdue Football appearance in the Citrus Bowl that kicks off at 1 p.m. ET, in Orlando.
• Purdue enters the contest with a 13-0 record, done just three times in school history (2022-23, 2009-10, 1993-94). A victory will give Purdue a 14-0 start which will match the most wins to start a season without a loss in school history.
• Something to watch against Rutgers — Purdue enters the game with the fifth-best offense analytically according to KenPom. Rutgers enters the contest ranked third in defensive efficiency.
• Purdue is one of the last two unbeaten teams in the country, joined by New Mexico (14-0).
• Purdue’s 30 victories in the 2022 calendar year tied for the most in school history (2010 year — 30-7 record).
• Since the 2016-17 season, Purdue owns the Big Ten’s best record (83-34) by six-and-a-half games over Michigan State (77-41).
• The Boilermakers are 42-8 (.840) since the start of last season, the fifth-most wins in the country in that span (including 23-1 at home).
• Purdue has lost the first game of the calendar year at Mackey Arena in three of the last seven years (2016, 2017, 2022).
• 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 a nation’s-best four top-50 KenPom wins, all of them against teams ranked in the top 25. Three of the wins (Marquette was at home) have come away from Mackey Arena.
• In addition, Purdue owns a nation’s-best five quad-1 wins in the NCAA Net rankings. Only Arizona (5) and Kansas (4) have even four quad-1 wins.
• Appearing at No. 1 in this week’s AP Top 25, 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 17 of the past 27 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 24 appearances in the top 10 during that span are second behind Kansas (27).
• One year after ranking second in the country in rebound margin, Purdue leads the country in rebound margin (+12.7) this season. The Boilermakers are outscoring their opponents 180 to 76 in second-chance points (13.8 to 5.8 points per game).
• Purdue has made 229 free throws this season, while opponents have shot just 139. Purdue has made 129 more free throws (229 to 100) than its foes this season, the highest discrepancy in the country (Purdue +129, North Carolina +127, New Mexico +111, Denver +112).
• Purdue has held 25 straight opponents to 75 or fewer points, the third-longest streak in the country (North Texas 45, Houston 29).
• Purdue has won 34 straight regular-season games when it faced an unranked opponent at home or on a neutral game.
• Purdue has trailed for just nine minutes and 19 seconds (245 minutes) over its last six games, with the largest margin being two points by both Nebraska and New Orleans.
• Zach Edey ranks No. 1 in the KenPom POY ratings by a significant margin and has been the game MVP in all 12 Purdue contests that he has played in (missed New Orleans game with the flu). It’s the longest game MVP streak in the KenPom era. Edey has 10+ points in 29 straight.
• Perhaps our favorite Zach Edey stat: Through his 12 games this year, he has more blocked shots (26) than personal fouls (21). He has also played 30 minutes nine times this season after not doing it once in his first two seasons. Edey is averaging just 2.3 fouls / 40 minutes.
• Purdue’s freshman class is averaging 29.2 points per game, accounting for 37.8 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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