More: Purdue 2018-19 roster | 2018-19 men's basketball schedule
More ($): Fearful Predictions — Purdue's 2018-19 season | Burning Questions
Saturday, Dec. 29, 2018 • 4:30 p.m. ET | Mackey Arena (West Lafayette, Ind.) | TV: FS1 | Radio: Purdue Radio Network
In-game updates: Twitter.com — @GoldandBlackcom | @brianneubert
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ABOUT THIS GAME
• Belmont is 9-1, with three top-100 KenPom wins to its credit, including a 74-72 win at UCLA, and is considered one of the top mid-major teams in college basketball this season.
• Known to play fast, the Bruins are ranked seventh nationally in scoring, averaging 89-and-a-half points per game, and scored 87 or more in each of their first seven games this season, including a 100-92 road loss to Linc Darner's Green Bay. Belmost hasn't topped 76, though, in any of its last three games, but beat Lipscomb, UCLA and Western Kentucky nonetheless.
They'll get a lot of shots up, shoot a lot of threes, and get scoring from all over the floor. Five Bruins average between 19.2 and 11.5 points.
• Belmont recruits Indiana heavily and has four Hoosier State players on its roster currently, including leading scorer Dylan Windler of Perry Meridian in Indy. Windler was a grassroots teammate of Purdue senior Ryan Cline, as was big man Seth Adelsperger (Peru).
• While this might not qualify as a clear résumé win for Purdue, it would be a good one as it stands today, since Belmont is a top-100 KenPom team and current ranked 40th in the NCAA's new RPI, the NET rankings.
PURDUE BOILERMAKERS (7-5, 1-1 B1G)
Roster | Schedule | Statistics
Projected Rotation
12 F/C Evan Boudreaux (6-8, 220, Jr.)
Boudreaux moved into the starting five before the break, a more familiar role for him considering his background at Dartmouth. Belmont does present some post-defense challenges that Purdue must be wary of.
24 F Grady Eifert (6-6, 220, Sr.)
14 G/F Ryan Cline (6-6, 195, Sr.)
Purdue will certainly hope that Cline's outburst against Ohio before the holidays represents his return to form from earlier in the season after a two-and-a-half-game shooting slump.
20 G Nojel Eastern (6-6, 220, So.)
Purdue’s best chance to reverse its fortunes after the holidays lies on defense, where Eastern can be its tone-setter. The Boilermakers aren’t getting enough pressure on opposing guards against good teams, but that’s not as issue with Eastern.
3 G Carsen Edwards (6-1, 200, Jr.)
KEY PLAYERS
32 C - Matt Haarms (7-3, 250, So.)
Matt Painter moved Boudreaux into the starting five before the holidays, hoping a reserve role may rekindle the energy that sort of defined Haarms last season as a redshirt freshman.
1 F Aaron Wheeler (6-9, 200, R-Fr.)
2 G Eric Hunter (6-3, 170, Fr.)
55 G Sasha Stefanovic (6-4, 195, R-Fr.)
50 C Trevion Williams (6-8, 220, Jr.)
The freshman big man has seemingly moved into a meaningful role in the rotation, and a role in which he stands out, as well. He's the Boilermakers' most formidable presence at the rim and Purdue's most back-to-the-basket-minded scoring option down low. He's produced every chance he's gotten lately, but he's still a freshman, remember. Challenges, particularly defensively, will continue to present themselves.
BELMONT BRUINS (9-1)
F - 3 Dylan Windler (6-8, 200, Sr.)
Windler's one of the top mid-major players in college basketball. The perimeter-oriented wing/forward may be one of the trickier matchups Purdue sees this season. He's all of 6-8, but really good off the dribble, excellent at finishing around the basket in a variety of ways and a 36-percent three-point shooter. He's averaging 19.2 points, and doing so on better than 51-percent shooting. And he averages better than nine rebounds per game.
F - 10 Caleb Hollander (6-8, 225, R-Fr.)
Hollander, a redshirt freshman, gives Belmont productivity on the glass, averaging 7.3 boards, and a three-point threat.
C - 33 Nick Muszynski (6-11, 235, R-Fr.)
The redshirt freshman big man has been a high-impact addition for the Bruins, averaging 14.1 points on 58-percent shooting through the first 10 games on his college career. Most of his scoring comes around the rim, but he can shoot threes, too.
G - 2 Grayson Murphy (6-2, 175, R-Fr.)
Another redshirt freshman, Belmont's point guard produces all across the board, averaging a dozen points, nearly seven assists, with a 3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio, five rebounds and 41-plus-percent shooting from three.
G - 11 Kevin McClain (6-3, 190, Sr.)
McClain averages 12-and-a-half points.
KEY PLAYERS
G - 24 Michael Benkert (6-4, 200, Jr.)
The Center Grove High School product gives Belmont versatility and another three-point threat off the bench.
C - 50 Seth Adelsperger (6-11, 230, Jr.)
The Peru native gives the Bruins a Big Ten-type body in the post, making Belmont one of the few mid-majors out there to possess depth when it comes to size in the post.
G - 14 Nick Hopkins (6-0, 175, Jr.)
PREDICTION: PURDUE 82, BELMONT 78
A lot's going to have to go right for the Boilermakers in this one, but Mackey Arena may be a difference-maker for Purdue in what might be a really high-scoring game.
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