TIME / TV: 8:30pm ET on Big Ten Network
After two very close losses, the Purdue Boilermakers look to rebound against Penn State. Penn State has been playing really well as of late, knocking off two straight top 25 ranked opponents and then traveling to Ohio State and almost upsetting the number one team in the country. Now, they travel to Mackey Arena to take on Purdue.
In the last matchup Purdue out-rebounded the Nittany Lions 46-31 and one of Purdue's top scorers, E'Twaun Moore was held to a season low four points.
Penn State has found other scorers and is starting to prove that they can win on given day, they will try to keep that pattern going tonight.
Penn State's Talor Battle leads the team and conference in scoring with 20.5 points per game. Jeff Brooks leads the team in rebounding and blocks, while Tim Frazier leads Penn State assists and steals.
It will be key for Penn State to get Battle firing from three. It will also be key to rebound. Penn State cannot expect to get out-rebounded 46-31 again and win the game, it just won't happen.
Purdue's Ryne Smith will be looking to get back to his regular form tonight. In the first four non-conference games he average 17 points per game. In the last two he has played 38 minutes and only had three points as a result. He also missed the game tying shot with seconds left on the clock at West Virginia. He is getting some good looks, they just aren't falling.Purdue also is dealing with E'Twaun Moore's off shooting. Moore gets good looks, but it hasn't been going in as of late. The Boilermakers will need him to get fired up tonight.
JaJuan Johnson of Purdue is leading the Boilers with 20.3 points per game, 8.3 rebounds and 2.4 blocks. Lewis Jackson has stepped up as of late, averaging double-digit scoring in the last few games.
Overall, this is a tricky game, Purdue definitely cannot look past Penn State. If E'Twaun Moore, JaJuan Johnson, Ryne Smith and Lewis Jackson get firing away and knocking down their shots, Purdue wins comfortably. But the way this Penn State team has been playing, I would say it is bound to be a much closer game.