The No. 6 Purdue Boilermakers try to stay close to the top of the Big Ten standings when they visit the Iowa Hawkeyes for a key conference clash on Thursday night. The opening tip for this contest is scheduled for 9 pm ET at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa.
Purdue (16-3, 5-3 Big Ten) is coming off a 20-point home win over the Northwestern Wildcats on Sunday. The Boilermakers are fifth in the Big Ten standings, trailing the first-place Illinois Fighting Illini by 1.5 games.
In their last outing, the Hawkeyes (14-5, 4-4) also had a convincing win, topping the visiting Penn State Nittany Lions by 17 on Saturday. Currently, Iowa is ninth in the conference, sitting a half-game behind both the Michigan Wolverines and the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.
The Boilermakers are favored by one point on the road in this one, with the over/under set at 156 points.
Running Well
The Purdue offense was hitting on all cylinders in Sunday’s win over Northwestern, with the team shooting 51.8 percent from the field, including 41.4 percent from three-point range. Guard Sasha Stefanovic led four players in double figures in scoring with 22 points, hitting six three-pointers in the victory.
Stefanovic is one of four players who average double figures for coach Matt Painter, as he is scoring 12.1 points per contest. He also leads the Boilermakers with 3.6 assists per game.
Guard Jaden Ivey paces Purdue in scoring, averaging 16.7 points per game. He’s also a pest on the defensive end, averaging 1.2 steals per contest. He had 19 points to lead Purdue to the win in the first meeting with the Hawkeyes this season.
The big man duo of Zach Edey (15.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.3 blocks) and Trevion Williams (12.7 points, 8.4 rebounds) is a handful for any team to deal with. The 7-4 Edey is especially difficult to deal with on the defensive end with his length, while Williams is a beast in the post on the offensive end of the floor.
Leading the Way
Iowa sophomore forward Keegan Murray leads the Big Ten in scoring this season with 22.8 points per game. He’s also fifth in the conference in rebounding at 8.4 per contest. He did not play in the first meeting with the Boilermakers and will be looking to make up for the lost time in this one.
Forward Patrick McCaffery is second on the team in scoring at 10.8 points per game, while guard Jordan Bohannon is chipping in with 10.6 points per game. Murray’s brother, Kris, is scoring 9.9 points and grabbing 4.5 rebounds per contest while shooting 41.1 percent from three-point range.
The Hawkeyes will need to tighten up their defense in this one, especially on the interior. Iowa ranks 13th in the Big Ten, allowing 69.4 points per game, and it is facing the top-scoring team in the conference in the Boilermakers, who average 84.7 points per contest.
Boilermakers Complete Sweep
The Hawkeyes are a high-scoring team as well, averaging 83.1 points per game to rank second in the Big Ten, but they’re facing a tough defensive team in the Boilermakers. Murray’s return will help a bit, but it won’t keep Iowa from dropping another one to Purdue.
Take the Boilermakers to win and cover on the road.
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