Date: Saturday, Dec. 28, 2019
Time: 12 p.m. ET
Venue: Mackey Arena (West Lafayette)
TV: BTN
Radio: Purdue Radio Network
Purdue Particulars: Roster | Schedule | Statistics
More: Purdue primer and GoldandBlack.com coverage
Central Michigan Particulars: Roster | Schedule | Statistics
GoldandBlack.com in-game updates: @GoldandBlackcom | @brianneubert
ABOUT THIS GAME
After another weeklong break over the holiday, Purdue closes non-conference play vs. Central Michigan, the Boilermakers' first game in Mackey Arena since Dec. 8.
Big Ten play resumes Jan. 2, when Minnesota visits.
PURDUE BOILERMAKERS (7-5, 1-1 B1G)
ABOUT PURDUE
• After two games without him, Purdue gets big man Matt Haarms back Saturday afternoon.
The Boilermakers will not, though, return to starting both big men together. The likely scenario is that Trevion Williams remains in the first five, along with Nojel Eastern at forward.
CENTRAL MICHIGAN CHIPPEWAS (7-5)
Central Michigan Particulars: Roster | Schedule | Statistics
ABOUT CENTRAL MICHIGAN
• Central Michigan is 7-5 and third nationally In scoring at an average of 87.9 points per game, but both the Chippewas' record and its offensive output thus far are bloated due to three blowout wins over non-Division-I schools.
CMU averaged nearly 108 points per game game in home victories over Michigan-Dearborn, Trinity Christian and Siena Heights.
Additionally, Central Michigan scored 134 points against Mississippi Valley State, who's ranked 353rd nationally — i.e. last — by KenPom and 84 vs. Tennessee Martin, who's ranked 314th.
Against high-majors Minnesota, DePaul and Texas — all double-digit losses away from Mount Pleasant — Central Michigan averaged 69 points in relatively fast-paced, back-and-forth games. The Chipps did hold double-digit leads vs. the Blue Demons and Longhorns.
Central Michigan does play fast, ranking 10th nationally in tempo, per KenPom.
• Coach Keno Davis, the son of long-time Iowa coach Tom Davis, has loaded has stocked his roster with junior college players, and exclusively plays juniors and seniors this season.
• Central Michigan isn't great defensively — 256th nationally in efficiency — but will do basically everything, from man to zone to press and all points in between. Purdue associate head coach Micah Shrewsberry dubbed it the Boilermakers' "final exam," covering everything they've seen offensively to this point.
BOTTOM LINE
If Central Michigan has any say in the matter, this will be a high-possessions and thus probably higher-scoring game, maybe similar to Green Bay. Purdue is clearly the better team and its offensive struggles shouldn't matter all that much in this one unless it goes turnover-crazy, and If it does, then it has problems.
GoldandBlack.com Prediction: PURDUE 85, CENTRAL MICHIGAN 67
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