Who’s Playing
Purdue @ Penn State
Current Records: Purdue 14-1; Penn State 11-4
What to Know
The #1 Purdue Boilermakers are 11-1 against the Penn State Nittany Lions since January of 2016, and they’ll have a chance to extend that success on Sunday. Purdue and Penn State will face off in a Big Ten battle at 6 p.m. ET at Palestra. The Boilermakers won both of their matches against Penn State last season (74-67 and 69-61) and are aiming for the same result this time around.
It was a close one, but on Thursday Purdue sidestepped the Ohio State Buckeyes for a 71-69 win. Purdue’s success was spearheaded by the efforts of guard Braden Smith, who had 16 points and six assists, and center Zach Edey, who posted a double-double on 16 points and 11 rebounds. That makes it seven consecutive games in which Edey has had at least ten rebounds.
Meanwhile, the Nittany Lions came up short against the Michigan Wolverines on Wednesday, falling 79-69. One thing holding Penn State back was the mediocre play of guard Andrew Funk, who did not have his best game: he played for 38 minutes but put up just nine points on 4-for-12 shooting.
The Boilermakers’ victory brought them up to 14-1 while Penn State’s loss pulled them down to 11-4. Two stats to keep in the back of your head while watching: Purdue is stumbling into the contest with the 350th fewest takeaways in college basketball, having accrued only 10.3 on average. The Nittany Lions have experienced some struggles of their own as they are 356th worst in college basketball in takeaways, with only ten on average. It’s possible one of these Achilles’ heels will wind up tripping the losing team up.
How To Watch
When: Sunday at 6 p.m. ETWhere: Palestra — Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaTV: Big Ten NetworkFollow: CBS Sports App
Series History
Purdue have won 11 out of their last 12 games against Penn State.
Mar 11, 2022 – Purdue 69 vs. Penn State 61Jan 08, 2022 – Purdue 74 vs. Penn State 67Feb 26, 2021 – Purdue 73 vs. Penn State 52Jan 17, 2021 – Purdue 80 vs. Penn State 72Feb 11, 2020 – Penn State 88 vs. Purdue 76Feb 16, 2019 – Purdue 76 vs. Penn State 64Jan 31, 2019 – Purdue 99 vs. Penn State 90Mar 03, 2018 – Purdue 78 vs. Penn State 70Feb 18, 2018 – Purdue 76 vs. Penn State 73Feb 21, 2017 – Purdue 74 vs. Penn State 70Jan 21, 2017 – Purdue 77 vs. Penn State 52Jan 13, 2016 – Purdue 74 vs. Penn State 57
