The Big South takes on the Big Ten in a Midwest Region showdown in Providence, Rhode Island on Thursday at 12:40 p.m to help kick off the full day of the NCAA Tournament.

The two teams couldn't be coming into the tournament with more different pasts.

#4 seed Purdue is coming off a trip to the national title game last season when Purdue inevitably fell to back to back national champs, UConn.

#13 High Point on the other hand has never competed in the NCAA Tournament.

High Point guard Bobby Pettiford said this was part of his goal for the team when he transferred to High Point from East Carolina after spending his first two seasons at Kansas. Pettiford is one of a few High Point players that started at a high major program.

Still, this is new air for a program that comes into the Tournament having one its regular season conference, its conference tournament, and the last 14 games.

"This is something that, you know, in our visits we talked about since day one in the summer," Pettiford said. "Coming here, we wanted to make history."

Purdue isn't that far removed from making a different kind of history. Two tournaments ago, Purdue went into the tournament as a #1 seed and was just the second ever 1 seed to lose to a #16 seed.

Purdue comes into this tournament with its 8th straight 4 seed or higher, the longest mark in the country, but has also lost 6 of its last 9 games to end the season.

High Point isn't your average mid-major school. It boasts a top-30 offense that attacks teams in a way that Purdue has been vulnerable to all season.

High Point is making over 57% of its shots from two, a top-15 mark in the country. High Point has a collection of guards and wings whose aggressiveness with the ball gets them to the rim.

Purdue's defense has been one of the worst in the country at protecting the paint and defending the rim. It's been one of Matt Painter's biggest focuses all season, but on the court Purdue's execution has been inconsistent. Purdue's defense has slipped back into the 60's in terms of overall efficiency according to Kenpom. A 12 game streak where Purdue won 11 of 12 games had Purdue looking like a top-25 defense, but the team has fallen nearly forty spots in the final nine games.

Kezza Giffa is High Point's leading scorer and lead guard, but High Point plays ten deep and all are capable scorers. High Point has also shot the three at a solid clip this season, making 36.6% of its attempts.

But Purdue deserves mentioning any time high octane offenses are being brought up. Behind first-team All-American Braden Smith and big man Trey Kaufman-Renn, Purdue brings the seventh most efficienct offense in the country.

Smith is the Big Ten leader in assists this season and the player of the year while Kaufman-Renn is averaging over 20 points a game. Purdue is the 10th best team from three and is one of the best passing teams in the country.

Another staple for Purdue's focus on the court is to win the rebound battle. High Point's Juslin Bodo Bodo will give Purdue a run for its money on the glass. Bodo Bodo is the best offensive rebounder in the country according to offensive rebound percentage and has the 9th highest rate on the defensive end.

Bodo Bodo is averaging 8.4 rebounds a game in just over 20 minutes a night.

Bodo Bodo will likely draw the Kaufman-Renn assignment at times in the game. Kaufman-Renn's ability to get after Bodo Bodo in the post could go a long way in limiting Bodo Bodo's impact on the glass. Kaufman-Renn has excelled in tandem with Smith in the short roll on pick and rolls while remaining one of the most efficient post scorers in the country.

It'll be the most fascinating matchup of the game.

Purdue's been here before and needs this lesson less than most. It won't overlook a team just because it has double-digits in front of its name.

"High Point is a very good team," Matt Painter said at his press conference Wednesday. "They're well-coached. I've been in his practices when he was at prep school. He coached one of our guys, Rapheal Davis. My assistant was on the Creighton staff with us. Any time you can dominate your league and win your tournament and 14 straight games, that's respect, man. That's a hard thing to do. That's a very difficult thing to do in any league that you're in."

Painter hammered the point across, "So our guys understand that and a handful of them understand that the hard way."

Purdue has plenty to play hard for. It finished the season losing 6 of 9, and didn't bring home a Big Ten title for the first time in three seasons.

Leaders on the floor Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer, and Trey Kaufman-Renn have tasted the sweetest March Madness has to offer and the heartbreak. A focused group talked to media and it was all business.

"It's not just me understanding how to handle certain situations," Braden Smith said on Wednesday. "They understand it, as well, because they experienced it and we have a great head coach that's been through everything, as well."

Purdue won't want to look too far ahead, but it's two games away from playing in the Sweet 16 back in Indiana as it looks to make back to back trips to the Final Four.

That journey starts tomorrow against High Point.