Purdue Basketball Preview: Game 18 – @ Washington

A FEW THINGS ABOUT PURDUE

• Purdue has won its last five games, including four Big Ten games, since conference play resumed by an average of 23 points.

• Once again, Purdue has a KenPom offense ranked in the top 10 and is now ranked 8th nationally in efficiency. Meanwhile, it hasn’t allowed 70 or more points since Auburn on Dec. 21.

• Fletcher Loyer is shooting 56 percent from the floor in Purdue’s last four wins.

• Braden Smith has already recorded seven double-digit assist games this season and ranks third nationally with an average of 9.2 per game.

• Has been top scorer just once this season Trey Kaufman Renn made fewer than half of his shot attempts in a game (3 of 9 vs. Texas A&M). He has a 61 percent shooting percentage this season and has been 13 of 17 in the last two games. Not bad for a player whose shots are often far from the rim.

ABOUT THIS GAME

• Great OsoborThe Zion Williamson-starred Purdue point forward did such a strong job defensively in the NCAA tournament last year – he averaged 14.3 points, 8.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists, along with 2.1 steals. The 6-foot-2, 250-pounder isn’t a particularly good three-point shooter, but he can handle the ball, post the ball and drive out of the offense to score or pass.

The England native, considered a $2 million man on the NIL market last spring, followed Sprinkle from Utah State, where he was just 4 of 11 from the floor and scored 14 points at Purdue’s 106-67 NCAA win at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. He previously played for Sprinkle at Montana State.

• Guard Tyler Harris is a 45 percent three-point shooter on high volume and averages 12 points per game.

• U-Dub is one of the worst fouling teams in America at just 67 percent and is shooting just 33 percent from three-point range, part of a fairly inefficient offense that averages a worst 66.7 points in Big Ten play League achieved. The field goal percentage of 40.3 in those games also ranks 18th of 18.

• A big man starting Wilhelm Breidenbach is a transfer from Nebraska.

• Sprinkle was one of the stories of college basketball last season after leading an almost entirely freshman team that won the Mountain West and earned an NCAA victory over TCU in his first and only season at Utah State.

Things didn’t go so smoothly for the Huskies, a team with eight transfers and five freshmen.

• Announced Attendance: Washington is averaging just 5,886 spectators per game at Alaska Airlines Arena this season. However, when Big Ten contender Illinois was hosted there, 8,156 spectators were announced.

• A relentless string of games continues for the Huskies; After losing to Illinois, Michigan State and Michigan, Washington receives Purdue and Oregon next. These could be the five best teams in the league.

THREE KEYS TO PURDUE

Purdue is on a roll right now and there’s no reason to think that will slow down against a team that likely won’t qualify for the Big Ten Tournament.