A GAME
Breaking a harrowing two-game losing streak, No. 8 Purdue is looking to close strong and do the right thing with his seniors on Saturday as Indiana arrives for the regular season finale and the Boilermakers look to split with the Hoosiers.
PECULIARITIES
Date: Saturday, March 4, 2022
Time: 2:00 pm ET
TV: ESPN
Radio: Purdue Radio Network (96.5 WAZY locally)
O No. 8 PURDUE (24-6, 13-6 B1G)
• Perdue was out of contention for the Big Ten regular season title after losses in Michigan and Wisconsin.
• The Boilermakers will name retirees Sasha Stefanovich, Trevion Williams, Eric Hunter and Jared Woolbrun among other program participants after the game.
• Purdue won 10 consecutive victories over Indiana. Lost 68-65 at Bloomington On January 20, a strange game took place in which the Boilermakers lost due to losses, missed free throws and a heroic performance by Rob Finisi, whose three-match victory was the difference.
It was the second of four games lost to Purdue this season due to shots made in the last 16 seconds of the game.
FART LINE-UPS
SNACKS
C – 15 Zach Edie (7-4, 295, p.)
14.9 points per game • 67.5% from the field • 7.5 NB • 1.1 FG
Edie was a real handful of Indiana in the first meeting, but IU bailed out by missing five of the seven free throws. As in any other game, fouls will matter. His foul issues in Wisconsin really mattered, and as he and Trace Jackson-Davies squabble with each other, it becomes a major issue for both players.
F – 0 Mason Gillis (6-6, 230, p.)
6.6 points per game • 4.5 steals • 51.8% from the field • 45.2% from 3 points • 85.7% from the field
Gillies has been great for Purdue this season, but the problem has been keeping him on the floor. His aggressive playing style has made him the victim of some pretty hard calls and limited his minutes in the last few games.
G – 55 Sasha Stefanovich (6-5, 205, p.)
11.2 PPG • 40% 3-PT • 3.3 AST
Having played his last match at Macchi Arena, Stefanovic would like to enjoy one of the bursts of shooting that defined his career. However, he plays with both a sprained and a broken finger, and this is worth watching.
G – 2 Eric Hunter (6-4, 175, st.)
5.7 PPG • 1.9 AST • 47.7% FG • 43.4% 3-PT
Hunter was a standout on defense in Wisconsin, taking on Johnny Davis’ assignment. If Purdue gets the same amount of defensive effort from Hunter, they will be very hard to beat and perhaps the energy will be contagious.
G – 23 Jayden Ivey (6-4, 195, p.)
17.4 points per game • 46.7% from the field • 37.1% from 3 points • 4.8 rebounds • 3.0 per assist
Almost a hero in Wisconsin, Ivey completes the All-American regular season. Although he won’t be recognized on the first day, this will certainly be his last game at Mackey Arena, so fans will get another chance to see one of the program’s most gifted players live.
ROTATION
C – 50 Trevion Williams (6-10, 255, Art.)
11.7 points per game • 54.6% from the field • 7.3 NB • 3.1 AST
Williams has had his ups and downs in the past few games during losses to Michigan and Wisconsin, but he will be honored Saturday for a great career at Purdue.
G – 11 Isaiah Thompson (6-1, 160, Jr.)
4.8 PPG • 43.2% 3-PT
Thompson has had no shots in the last two games, but his minutes have been limited in both Michigan and especially Wisconsin games. Whoever is in point guard position will have to hold Xavier Johnson as best as they can.
G – 25 Ethan Morton (6-6, 215, Co.)
2.5 PPG • 1.5 AST • 49.1% FG • 44.4% 3-PT
Morton gave Purdue good minutes in Wisconsin, but this could be a game where he’s unlikely to see minutes in 4th place like he did in the last two games.
W – 3 Caleb Furst (6-10, 230, Fr.)
4.1 points per game • 3.4 rebounds • 57.9% from the field from the field • 40.9% from 3 points
Furst is doing great in his role – things will change next year – but Purdue really needs Mason Gillis on set as much as possible. This is the merit of Gillis more than anything else.
G – 5 Brandon Newman (6-5, 200 s.)
5.0 PPG • 32.5% 3-PT • 85% FT
Newman hasn’t played significant minutes since Jan. 23.
Freshmen Trey Kaufman-Renne as well as Brian Waddell will be in the red shirt this season. Waddell will miss most of the season with an ACL tear, while Kaufman-Renne is out for six weeks after undergoing foot surgery.
Trace Jackson-Davis of Indiana (AP)
ABOUT INDIANA (18-11, 9-10 B1G)
Schedule | Composition | Statistics
• Indiana is right on the NCAA tournament bubble, maybe on the wrong side at the moment. The average predicted seeding of the Hoosiers right now, as part of the BracketMatrix.com aggregation, is 11.55, and IU is ESPN’s Joe Lunardi’s first team at the moment and one of the first four CBS teams.
A five-game losing streak in the second half of the Big Ten season knocked IU out of what seemed to be a comfortable position. Indiana has lost six of its last eight games, with Maryland and Minnesota winning.
Indiana really struggled to close the games. Wisconsin has beaten twice this Big Ten season, as well as Ohio State, but all of those games have slipped away.
IU just lost a triple at home to Ron Harper Jr in the final seconds.
• IU is third in the Big Ten in defensive scoring with just 67.1 points per game and first in field goal percentage (41.4%).
According to KenPom, Hoosiers are ranked 24th in the country in terms of protection effectiveness.
• Indiana is shooting fewer 3-pointers per game than any other team in the Big Ten, averaging only 5.8 shots per game on 32.4% shooting.
INDIANA COMPOSITION
SNACKS
C – 23 Trace Jackson-Davies (6-9, 245, ml.)
17.5 points per game • 8.2 rebounds • 57.8% from the field • 2.4 per assist
As the center of both Purdue’s defensive plan and IU’s attacking structure, Jackson-Davis will attract additional attention from boilermen who will want to push him, forcing him to finish too much and prevent him from reaching the foul line. He draws a lot of whistles.
F-25 Race Thompson (6-8, 235, Art.)
11.9 ppg • 7.7 rebounds • 55.8% from the field
Purdue has to keep Thompson away from the offensive shields, but also from the ring in the pick and roll. He will give his best in fourth place, and although he is not a very good shooter, he shoots confidently from a long distance.
F-12 Miller Kopp (6-7, 220, Art.)
6.0 points per game • 34.9% 3-PT
When Indiana brought in Kopp from the Northwest, the team likely hoped for more offensive hits than he actually provided, averaging only six points per game. He will stretch the floor, but can also present some favorable defensive matches for more athletic flanks.
G – 45 Parker Stewart (6-5, 202, p.)
6.8 points per game • 41.1% 3-PT
Stewart is Indiana’s top shooter, but like Kopp, he hasn’t improved as much in scoring as IU might have hoped.
G – 0 Xavier Johnson (6-3, 200 st.)
11.6 points per game • 3.6 rebounds • 4.5 assists • 39% of 3 points
The transfer point guard may be a streak, but he’s been in tears lately, averaging 19.3 points in his last four games and 9 of 13 in his last three games. He gave Purdue dribbling problems in the first meeting and scored 19 points.
MAIN RESERVES
G – 32 Trey Galloway (6-4, 200 sb.) (Q)
6.1PPG
Galloway could miss the game with a groin injury. He gave IU a defensive spark in the first meeting with the Boilermakers.
F-22 Jordan Geronimo (6-6, 225, Co.)
4.0 points per game • 3.6 rebounds • 51.7% from the field from the field • 28.6% from 3 points
Perdue will want to make sure they keep Geronimo off the offensive in the first place. When he succeeds, he can make a real impact with his energy.
G – 1 Rob Finisi (6-1, 187, Art.)
5.1 points • 2.4 rebounds
Phinisi’s 30 percent three-point shooter looked more like Ray Allen in the first game with Purdue, the random hero of that game for the Hoosiers. Since then he has been beaten up and missed games, but now he is back.
G – 53 Tamar Bates (6-5, 193, fr.)
4.2PPG
Bates had his ups and downs for the Hoosiers, hitting big shots from time to time, but also hitting just 34 percent from the floor for the season. It’s hard to be new to the Big Ten.
C – 2 Michael Durr (7-0, 250, st.)
1.6 points • 1.1 rebounds
The big man’s minutes come and go, but it’s reasonable to assume Indiana will need at least five of his fouls against Zach Edie and Trevion Williams.
INFORMATION IN THE GAME AND AFTER THE GAME
Stay connected to GoldandBlack.com while you play for our pre-match first thought analysis. As you play, follow our game thread and subscribe @brianneubert on Twitter for more information.
After the game, we will have a video of the post-match press conference, game review, analysis, our final video and closing thoughts, and a Gold and Black Radio podcast within hours of the game being over.
Keep for updates.
FORECAST: PURDUE 74, Indiana 64
The first result in Indiana was really random, with Perdue missing a ton of free throws, Jayden Ivey playing with an injury, and Rob Finisi playing the game of his life after fouling Trace Jackson-Davies actually helped Indiana.
Matches here should be mostly in favor of Purdue, and the Boilermakers have historically done a good job on Jackson-Davies. The security guards, in particular Xavier Johnson, can cause no less concern.
But the Boilermakers did well defensively to finish the regular season, and that should make a difference against the Hoosiers.
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