Coming off finals week, Purdue plays its annual Christmastime game in Indianapolis at 2 p.m. Saturday when it takes on back-to-back national runner-up Butler in the inaugural Crossroads Classic in Indianapolis.

The game is the first part of a double-header, with Indiana and Notre Dame squaring off in the nightcap.

Purdue

G: Lewis Jackson (5-9 - Senior)

G: Ryne Smith (6-3 - Senior)

G/F: Kelsey Barlow (6-5 - Junior)

F: Robbie Hummel (6-8 - Senior)

C: Sandi Marcius (6-9 - Sophomore)

Butler

F: Kameron Woods (6-8 • Freshman)

C: Andrew Smith (6-11 • Junior)

G: Roosevelt Jones (6-4 • Freshman)

G: Ronald Nored (6-0 • Senior)

G: Chase Stigall (6-3 • Junior)

More on Butler: | Schedule | Statistics

Purdue's 9-2 coming out of a much-needed week without games. The Boilermakers have experienced some uneven-ness in practice because of the fact that Robbie Hummel, Lewis Jackson and Terone Johnson have come and gone on the practice floor due to their health, or in Hummel's case, due diligence as he returns from back-to-back knee injuries.

No one needed the week more than Jackson, who's had battled several injuries already this season.

It will be interesting to see what improvements may have been made during the week of practice, if any, beside the fact the Boilermakers' collectively may feel a little better collectively.

One thing Purdue will obviously want to see improved is its free-throw shooting. The Boilermakers are shooting less than 62 percent from the foul line.

Purdue's staff knows its opponents well.

Boilermaker coach Matt Painter and Butler's Brad Stevens were on the same staff for USA Basketball's World University Games team this summer, with Painter serving as head coach, with Stevens and Tennessee's Cuonzo Martin as assistants.

Additionally, Purdue assistant coach Micah Shrewsberry spent the past four years at Butler, the final three on its coaching staff. Q&A

The week "off" may have come at a good time for Hummel especially. He's shooting 34 percent on 50 field goal attempts the past three games.

Random stat: Purdue is shooting just 55 percent (16-of-29) on "and-one" free throws. Anthony JohnsonClick His rebounding is on an up-tick, though, as he's averaging 7.3 in the past three.Here to view this Link. (1-for-4) and Terone Johnson (4-for-8, most tries on the team) are combined 5-of-12. Kelsey BarlowClick His rebounding is on an up-tick, though, as he's averaging 7.3 in the past three.Here to view this Link. is 2-of-5.

Having played in the last two national title games to cap dramatic and improbable runs through the NCAA Tournament, Butler has become the face of what mid-major programs are capable of in college basketball and one of the most respected and cheered-for programs in the country.

But this season has been a difficult one thus far, with the Bulldogs having lost players early to the NBA - Gordon Hayward and Shelvin Mack - the past two off-seasons and is doing without one of the top players in program history in the graduated Matt Howard.

In what can probably be described as a rebuilding year - Butler has good young talent and a potential star in Rotnei Clark sitting out as a transfer - the Bulldogs are 4-6 and coming off a loss to Ball State.

Against major-conference or ranked competition, Stevens' team is 0-3, having lost to Louisville by 16, Indiana by 16 and Xavier by 12. Against in-state teams, the Bulldogs have also lost at Evansville (80-77 in overtime) and at Ball State (58-55).

After losing at Purdue 78-46 in the Boilermakers' exhibition opener, Northern State visited Butler and won 53-50 on a buzzer-beater.

Butler is just flat-out struggling to shoot the ball. It's making only 38.4 percent from the field and just under 28 percent from the three-point arc.

And from the foul line, the Bulldogs are only slightly better than Purdue, making just 64 percent.

Butler has more turnovers (134) through 10 games than assists.

Khyle Marshall and Chrishawn Hopkins may be budding into Butler's next stars.

Marshall, a 6-6 sophomore forward, is averaging a team-best 10-and-a-half points and coming off a 21-point, 16-rebound game at Ball State. Previously he scored 20 against Louisville and 16 at IU.

Hopkins, a scary-athletic 6-1 guard who can and will play above the rim, is averaging 10.4 a game as a sophomore after shaking off a concussion that idled him for the Bulldogs' exhibition games.

Senior Ronald Nored is one of the remaining key figures in Butler's back-to-back NCAA runner-up finishes and will be playing his 100th career game Saturday.

The defensive stopper is averaging 5.7 points, 5.1 assists, 3.1 rebounds and a robust two-and-a-half steals.

Roosevelt Jones, a 6-foot-4 freshman forward, is starting right away and averaging 5.4 points and 5.7 rebounds.

Andrew Smith, a 6-11 big man who was a significant part of Butler's NCAA run last season, will be a tough matchup for Purdue because of his size and mobility. He's one of four Bulldogs averaging more than nine points a game and averages a team-best 6.3 rebounds.

Butler is averaging 14.4 offensive rebounds per game, while allowing only 8.4.

Butler's won the Horizon League and made the NCAA Tournament four years running, a streak that may be in jeopardy this season.

Stevens' 117 wins are the most ever by a D-I coach in his first four years.

Butler forwards Emerson and Elliot Kampen are the grandsons of long-time Purdue benefactor Emerson Kampen, for whom one of the university's golf courses is named.

Painter very much wants the Crossroads Classic to continue beyond its initial two-season run.

"From a scheduling standpoint, it really helps," Painter said. "We can play a great opponent and play in Indianapolis.

"Hopefully we can make this a tradition and play it every year."

Purdue will play Notre Dame in the regular season for the first time since the '60s in the Crossroads Classic next season.

The event worked out well for the Boilermakers, its advent coming shortly after the dissolution of the Wooden Tradition, for several years Purdue's chance for a high-profile game in Indy.

As a bridge between the two events, Purdue brought back the Boilermaker BlockBuster on a one-year basis last year, beating Indiana State in the back end of the double-header with the women's team beating Auburn to start the day. The women return that trip to Auburn Saturday.

Purdue's record in Conseco Fieldhouse is 12-9 since the building's opening in November of 1999. That includes games in the Boilermaker BlockBuster, Wooden Tradition and Big Ten Tournament.

Radio: Purdue Sports Network (95.7 FM locally)

Satellite: Sirius 91; XM 91

TV: CBS

Internet: GoldandBlack.com subscribers can follow along live with our in-game blog, "Game Day Live."

Butler's going to be just fine, but this is a rebuilding year for college basketball's move lovable upstart.

Provided it's not zonked-out from finals week, Purdue should be able to get the W. Whether it will count as a quality one months from now remains to be seen.

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