More: Purdue 2018-19 roster | 2018-19 men's basketball schedule

More ($): Fearful Predictions — Purdue's 2018-19 season | Burning Questions

Saturday, Jan. 19, 2019 • 2 p.m. ET | Mackey Arena (West Lafayette) | TV: FOX | Radio: Purdue Radio Network

In-game updates: Twitter.com — @GoldandBlackcom | @brianneubert

Our premium board game thread and pre-game thoughts can be found roughly an hour prior to tip-off

ABOUT THIS GAME

• This is the first of two meetings between the two rivals this season, the first in which the series is protected in the Big Ten scheduling, ensuring two regular season meetings per year.

The Boilermakers won the lone contest last season, in Assembly Hall, and have won six of the last seven against the Hoosiers.

• The two rivals appear to be heading in opposite directions.

Purdue has now won five of its last six, including three of four since Big Ten play started back up Jan. 3, including home blowouts over Iowa and Rutgers.

Indiana has lost three in a row, most recently a disappointing one-sided loss to Nebraska in Bloomington, a game in which the Cornhuskers' zone held IU to just 51 points on 37-percent shooting, 2-of-14 from three.

• Indiana has been plagued by injury. Touted freshman Jerome Hunter hasn't played a game this season. Guard Al Durham's status for Purdue is unclear. Freshman Robert Phinisee is back from a concussion, but has been limited since. Big man De'Ron Davis has been hurt. And forward Zach McRoberts is known to be playing through some limitations.

Purdue may or may not have back big man Evan Boudreaux, who's missed the past two games with a strain in his thigh.

• In Big Ten play, Purdue is No. 1 in the league in both turnover margin and assist-to-turnover ratio, as ball security has been a strength of late.

The Boilermakers have also been extremely productive on the offensive glass, with a top-20 offensive rebounding percentage of 35.8, per KenPom.

Purdue is the worst three-point field goal defense in the Big Ten in league play, as opponents are shooting nearly 40 percent. But IU is only shooting 30.2 percent in conference play and its highest-percentage shooter, Al Durham, is hurt.

Roster | Schedule | Statistics

Projected Rotation

50 C Trevion Williams (6-9, 280, Fr.)

The freshman big man has transformed Purdue, providing it a potent and consistent interior scoring presence and a force on the offensive and defensive glass. He'll line up against Indiana standout Juwan Morgan, but he's already played against Ethan Happ and Nick Ward and more than held his own against each of the Big Ten's other top big men.

24 F Grady Eifert (6-6, 220, Sr.)

Eifert's out there to maximize possessions — to get rebounds, to chase loose balls, generate deflections, etc. Those things can be magnified in games like this one, because they're the sorts of plays the Mackey Arena crowd will respond to as much as any.

14 G/F Ryan Cline (6-6, 195, Sr.)

The Boilermaker senior is shooting the ball very well, better than 50 percent from three-point range since the resumption of Big Ten play. Through Purdue's six conference games: 20 assists, three turnovers.

20 G Nojel Eastern (6-6, 220, So.)

In Eastern, Purdue has as influential a perimeter defender as there is in the league. The guess here is that Matt Painter uses him to guard Romeo Langford, but several Boilermakers will end up on the freshman at one time or another.

3 G Carsen Edwards (6-1, 200, Jr.)

After scoring 36 at Wisconsin, the Boilermakers' leading scorer took a season-low 12 shots against Rutgers, needing only that many to get 19 points, but also handed out a near-season-high six assists with just one turnover, creating off the dribble. He also triggered the blowout by contributing to a series of takeaways late in the first half.

KEY PLAYERS

32 C - Matt Haarms (7-3, 250, So.)

As Williams has emerged, Purdue suddenly has a nice complementary dynamic going between its two healthy centers. Between Williams' low-post game and Haarms' screen-and-roll element, the Boilermakers again have two very distinct looks. Both will have their hands full against Juwan Morgan on the interior on D, but both can cause him problems in their own ways.

1 F Aaron Wheeler (6-9, 200, R-Fr.)

Wheeler's not making shots the way he has at times this season — 3-of-12 from the floor, 0-for-8 from three — the past three games, but he showed in the first half at Wisconsin what sort of energy he can provide and how that can matter. Matt Painter believes his young reserves are now understanding more how to contribute when they're not scoring, and that might serve as an example.

2 G Eric Hunter (6-3, 170, Fr.)

Again, Purdue just needs solid minutes from Hunter on offense and his best effort on defense, and it's getting those things from the freshman.

55 G Sasha Stefanovic (6-4, 195, R-Fr.)

Stefanovic's best game of the season came against Rutgers Purdue's last time out, as he scored a career-high 14 points and made 4-of-5 threes. Second-unit scoring is always a nice thing to have.

Roster | Schedule | Stats

F - 3 Justin Smith (6-7, 227, So.)

Indiana's power forward, Smith is athletic and can be a nuisance for opponents on the glass, but hasn't been much of a consistent offensive threat for the Hoosiers as a sophomore. He's a high-percentage shooter, but mostly on low-volume, high-percentage opportunities.

F - 13 Juwan Morgan (6-8, 232, Sr.)

One of the Big Ten's top big men, Morgan is physically strong enough to be a traditional sort of low-post presence, but also skilled enough to face the basket and drive or shoot from various levels. He's a 40-plus-percent three-point shooter. As talented as Romeo Langford is, slowing Morgan and keeping him off the glass may be the more important matter for Purdue. He averages 16.5 points and 7.8 rebounds.

G - 0 Romeo Langford (6-6, 215, Fr.)

The blue-chip freshman has largely lived up to astronomical expectations, averaging just under 19 points on 50-plus-percent shooting. He's not making threes, though, shooting less than 30 percent. Purdue will want to keep him out of the lane, out of the open floor and off the baseline and make him work for everything he gets, touches and all. He's two games removed from getting 28 on 8-of-14 shooting at Maryland, so he's proven himself in at least one tough Big Ten road environment.

G - 1 Aljami Durham (6-4, 181, So.)

Durham is banged up and it remains to be seen for certain whether he will play, and if he does, how effective he is. If IU's without him, it's down a three-point threat, among other things.

G - 11 Devonte Green (6-3, 185, Jr.)

Green is a capable scorer, but inconsistent, just a 37-percent shooter who may get a little free-wheeling at times. After scoring 15 at Maryland, he was 1-of-6 vs. Nebraska.

KEY PLAYERS

G - 10 Rob Phinisee (6-1, 182, Fr.)

Back from a concussion but perhaps still limited, the freshman from McCutcheon will play college basketball in his hometown for the first time, and may be particularly important for IU if Durham is out. Phinisee did some really positive things early in the season before the injury set him back.

F - 15 Zach McRoberts (6-6, 210, Sr.)

F - 55 Evan Fitzner (6-10, 225, Sr.)

Langford and Morgan will each pose significant challenges for Purdue, but the Boilermakers have been good — and consistent — at home this season, and are trending well at this stage of the season. The Hoosiers are banged up and struggling of late. That can obviously turn on a dime, but if Purdue keeps taking care of the basketball and defending as it's been, its chances would seem promising.

Membership Info: Sign up for GoldandBlack.com now | Why join? | Questions?

Follow GoldandBlack.com: Twitter | Facebook

More: Gold and Black Illustrated/Gold and Black Express | Subscribe to our podcast

Copyright, Boilers, Inc. 2019. All Rights Reserved. Reproducing or using editorial or graphical content, in whole or in part, without permission, is strictly prohibited.