(PURDUE RELEASE)
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - After getting a much-needed road win last Friday at No. 23-ranked Michigan State, Purdue closes out a grueling four-game road swing at rival Indiana. The Boilermakers are aiming for their eighth straight win over the Hoosiers.
Purdue defeated No. 23-ranked Michigan State on Friday night 55-54 after rallying from 17 down early in the second half. With its final road game of its four-game road swing up ahead, a win over the Hoosiers would give Purdue a 2-2 stretch in the four-game span and more importantly, keep Purdue within shouting distance of the league leaders, moving the Boilermakers to 4-3 in the league standings.
THE KEY TALKING POINTS
1) Purdue leads the all-time series with Indiana by a 122-89 margin, having won seven games in a row in the series. Purdue is the only Big Ten team with a winning record against the Hoosiers.
2) According to KenPom.com, the Big Ten's two-least experienced teams will be playing Thursday. Purdue ranks 326th in experience (1.09 years). Indiana ranks 289th in experience (1.35 years). Northwestern is next, ranking 254th (1.50 years).
3) Seventeen of the 31 players on the teams hail from the state of Indiana (Purdue - 8; Indiana - 9).
4) Two different freshmen (Zach Edey, Mason Gillis) have earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week. In fact, only three players have won Big Ten Freshmen of the Week honors this season (Michigan's Hunter Dickinson).
5) When Purdue returns home on Sunday to host Penn State, it will have been 24 days between home games. It marks the fourth-longest layoff in Mackey Arena history and longest since a 32-day stretch in the 1998-99 season.
6) A win on Thursday will match Wisconsin for the longest winning streak ever by one team in Assembly Hall. Wisconsin won five straight games in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2013.
7) In four Big Ten road games, Trevion Williams is shooting 61.1 percent from the field, averaging 18.8 PPG and 9.5 RPG.
8) Purdue has four of the top 15 freshmen scorers in the Big Ten this season (Newman - 2nd; Edey - 5th; Ivey - 11th; Gillis - 15th).
9) Purdue is playing four straight Big Ten road games for the first time since Feb. 6 to Feb. 20, 1960 (5 straight road games).
10) Purdue averaged 15.4 turnovers per game during the first seven games. In the last six games, Purdue has averaged just 11.0 turnovers.
11) Purdue has won 102 straight games when scoring at least 90 points, spanning over 33 years (last loss: Nov. 24, 1987, to Iowa State).
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