PREVIEW:
WHO: #1 Purdue Boilermakers (22-2, 11-2 Big Ten)
WHEN: 6:01 PM CT
WHERE: Mackey Arena (West Lafayette, IN)
TV: ESPN2 (Rece Davis and Seth Greenberg)
RADIO: Hawkeye Radio Network (Gary Dolphin and Bobby Hansen) | XM 380 or SXM 970
MOBILE: www.espn.com/watch
ONLINE: www.espn.com/app
FOLLOW: @IowaAwesome |
@IowaHoops | @IowaonBTN
LINE: Purdue -8
KENPOM: Purdue -9 (81% chance of winning)
PROJECTED STARTING FIVE
Iowa
G
Tony Perkins (11.6 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.3 spg, 0.4 bpg, 41.4 FG%, 31.1 3FG%)
G
Ahron Ulis (6.6 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 2.4 apg, 0.6 spg, 0.1 bpg, 41.0 FG%, 32.7 3FG%)
F
Connor McCaffery (7.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.9 apg, 1.3 spg, 0.0 bpg, 42.6 FG%, 36.6 3FG%)
F
Kris Murray (20.5 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 1.8 apg, 0.8 spg, 1.2 bpg, 50.2 FG%, 35.0 3FG%)
F
Filip Rebraca (13.9 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 2.1 apg, 0.6 spg, 1.3 bpg, 56.7 FG%, 40.0 3FG%)
Illinois
G
Braden Smith (9.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 4.4 apg, 1.2 spg, 0.2 bpg, 43.8 FG%, 39.4 3FG%)
G
Fletcher Loyer (12.4 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 2.5 apg, 0.7 spg, 0.1 bpg, 38.7 FG%, 35.3 3FG%)
F
Ethan Morton (4.0 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.7 apg, 0.8 spg, 0.6 bpg, 31.9 FG%, 27.0 3FG%)
F
Mason Gillis (6.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.2 apg, 0.7 spg, 0.1 bpg, 45.9 FG%, 39.7 3FG%)
C
Zach Edey (22.4 ppg, 13.2 rpg, 1.4 apg, 0.3 spg, 2.2 bpg, 62.7% FG, 0.0%)
PREVIEW
At the same time the
Iowa women's basketball is taking on a highly-ranked
Indiana team in a rematch of last year's Big Ten Tournament final, the Iowa men will be playing in their own Big Ten Tournament final rematch -- against a highly-ranked
Purdue team. "Highly-ranked" undersells Purdue too, to say the least -- they're #1 in the polls. There's no one ranked higher than the Boilermakers right now, and only one other team (
Houston) is also receiving multiple first-place votes in the latest AP poll.
Iowa's history in games against #1-ranked teams is a mix of good and (mostly) bad results. The good? Iowa won its last game against a #1 team, knocking off Michigan State 83-70 on December 29, 2015. The bad? Iowa is 3-21 overall against #1-ranked teams -- and 0-9 in road games against top-ranked teams.
Purdue has been the Big Ten's most effective
and most balanced team this season by a landslide. The Boilermakers rank 2nd nationally in offensive efficiency and 22nd nationally in defensive efficiency. They're outstanding on both ends of the court. In terms of points per game, Purdue is scoring 74.0 per game, 5th best in the Big Ten, while allowing just 61.1 per game, 2nd best in the Big Ten. That +13 scoring margin is the Big Ten's best.
The story of Purdue's dominance this season begins at an individual level, with Zach Edey, the colossal (7'4", 290 lbs) center who has taken his game to all-new heights this season.
Edey in 2021-22: 14.4 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 1.2 apg, 1.2 bpg, 64.8 FG%
Edey in 2022-23: 22.4 ppg, 13.2 rpg, 1.4 apg, 2.2 bpg, 62.7 FG%
He ranks 4th nationally in scoring, 2nd nationally in rebounding (just 0.1 behind the national leader in rebounds per game), and 21st nationally in blocks per game. He's maintained an excellent field goal percentage (62.7%, 14th best nationally) despite a significant increase in volume (he's attempting over five more shots per game than he did a season ago, and his 322 field goal attempts this year are significantly more than anyone else on the field percentage leaderboard). He's also getting to the free throw line more often (6.6 times per game this season versus 4.7 trips per game a year ago) and converting those chances at a higher rate (73.2% versus 64.9%).
Edey gets more opportunities this season without having to share any time with fellow big
Trevion Williams (who left Purdue for the NBA Draft after last season), but he's also simply gotten better at every aspect of his game this season. He has, frankly, leveled up in a way that's a bit reminiscent of what
Luka Garza did at Iowa in his final two seasons in Iowa City. He's turned himself into the runaway favorite for National Player of the Year honors.
MORE HERE:
https://iowa.rivals.com/news/preview-iowa-at-1-purdue
