The No.4-seeded Purdue Boilermakers face the Illinois Fighting Illini in the third round of the Big 10 tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Action begins at 2:25 pm ET on Friday, Mar. 11 and can be seen on ESP and ES3.
The Boilermakers come into this game hoping to repeat their last performance, topping Wisconsin 91-80 in their last matchup. Caleb Swanigan was the team’s leading scorer with 27 points on 6-for-7 shooting. The Fighting Illini, meanwhile, are coming off a 68-66 win against Iowa in the 2. Kendrick Nunn played well for Illinois, registering 16 points, five rebounds, and four assists.
Expect this one to be a clinic on boxing out, as two of the nation’s top rebounding teams face off. Purdue is among the nation’s best on the offensive glass, ranking 13th in OR% at 35.9%. Meanwhile, Illinois ranks 26th in the nation at corralling defensive boards with a DR% of 72.2%. Moreover, foul-shooting opportunities could prove to be quite rare for the Fighting Illini. They are 322nd in the nation in FTA rate (30.5), while the Boilermakers are among the nation’s least foul-prone teams (allowing a rate of just 28.4, ranking 16th in the country).
This is the second game of the season between these two teams, with the Fighting Illini winning the first matchup 68-66. Nunn had a standout performance in the victory, putting up 16 points, five rebounds, four assists, three steals, and two three-pointers.
Notes
Illinois won its last game by a two-point margin. In games decided by a margin of three points or less, Purdue is 1-0. Illinois is 2-3 in close games this season.
The Purdue Boilermakers have a defensive rating of 95.8 (ranked 14th), while the Illinois Fighting Illini have an offensive rating of 104.3 (ranked 209th).
The Illinois Fighting Illini average a field goal percentage of 43.3% this season. The Purdue Boilermakers have a winning 7-3 record in games where opponents have a FG% of 43.3% or greater.
Purdue attempts an average of 20.0 three pointers per game and Illinois attempts 22.0. In games where they have 20 or more three point attempts, the Purdue Boilermakers have a winning 12-5 record while the Illinois Fighting Illini have a 10-12 record.
Purdue ranks 27th in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.44, while Illinois ranks 55th with an A/TO of 1.29.
The Purdue Boilermakers are one of the top rebounding teams in the nation with an average of 41.2 per game (ranked 10th). The Illinois Fighting Illini are outside the top 100 with 31.9 rebounds per game (ranked 330th).
Illinois ranks 342nd in offensive rebounds, while Purdue ranks at fifth in defensive rebounds.
On average, Illinois forces a turnover rate of 19.3%. When Purdue turns over the ball at a similar or higher rate, the team has a solid 10-5 record.
