Purdue returns to Mackey Arena on the heels of a west coast trip that moved the Boilers to seven straight wins and 7-1 in the Big Ten.


Ohio State's last week hasn't been as kind. Going back to January 9th, the Buckeyes have lost three straight games by a combined five points. Most recently, the Buckeyes fell to IU at home in overtime, 77-76.


Ohio State is still a metric's darling. It ranks as Kenpom's 34th best team in the country despite being just two games above five hundred. Ohio State's losses have all been quality, with seven of the losses coming against top-33 teams according to Kenpom with just IU's loss as the 59th best team in the country being the only loss outside the top-50.


Ohio State also has two quality wins in the non-conference, taking down Kentucky on a neutral floor and starting the year beating Texas.


But the Buckeyes are a team desperate for wins. It's in danger of missing out on the NCAA Tournament, and also not qualifying for the B10 tournament by being in the top-15 in Big Ten standings.


Purdue is just one game back now of Michigan State in the Big Ten. Michigan State is the only team left without a loss in the Big Ten, but is staring down a brutal last half of its conference schedule after eking out a win against Illinois over the weekend.


Purdue will have a chance to add a loss to the other one loss Big Ten team, Michigan, on Friday night but will need to take care of business against a Ohio State team that beat Purdue in its only matchup last season first.

The west coast agreed with Trey Kaufman-Renn who garners his second Big Ten Player of the Week Award of the season.


TKR had 19 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists against Washington on Wednesday and then had a game-high 23 points and 11 rebounds against Oregon for his second double-double of the season.

Purdue's seven game win streak has had Purdue moving up in the metric's community the last couple weeks, and now the AP Poll has followed suit. After knocking off #13 Oregon on the road and beating Washington on the road before that, Purdue is moving up six spots in the AP Poll. Purdue is now #11 as it starts a three game homestand that will include a ranked game at home against Michigan on Friday. If Purdue sweeps at home this week, it'll like find its way back into the top-10 next week.

A big time point guard comes to town with Bruce Thornton leading a young Ohio state team. Unlike most teams Purdue has faced, the Buckeyes have been put together with younger players, but Thornton is a very familiar name to Matt Painter. Thornton was once a priority target in high school for Purdue. Since heading to Ohio State, Thornton has been one of the best point guards in the conference.

Thornton combines a lot of skill with a lot of body at the point guard spot.


"He can get to his kill spots," Painter said about Thornton and the difficulty of taking on the strong guard. "He's shifty, he's quick, but he's also physical."


That physacility has made Thornton one of the better guards in the Big Ten, and someone capable of challenging at all three levels of the floor. Thornton is shooting better than 52% from the floor and knocking down 41% of his three-point shots.


In Purdue's upset loss to the Buckeyes last season, it was a 22 point Thornton performance at home that gave Purdue one of just three losses in the regular season.

Purdue's improved defense will be tested by Thornton, but Purdue has had success in its seven game win streak with limiting perimeter scorers. Brooks Barnhizer, Nick Martinelli, and Dylan Harper have all been held well below their season average by a recharged Purdue defense. The task will fall to CJ Cox to start the game, but Purdue will again rely on Myles Colvin off the bench to offer a perimeter defender with more size and strength. Gicarri Harris will also likely get a shot at Thornton.

Thornton has struggled with his three-point shot in Big Ten play. He's just 8 of 28 in conference play from three, a 28% rate that's much lower than his non-conference mark.