Time: 7 p.m.

Date: Friday, Dec. 22

Place: Mackey Arena (capacity 14,123)

TV/Internet: None

Radio: Purdue Radio Network (play-by-play Larry Clisby, color commentary Ralph Taylor); the flagship station is WLFF-FM "The Wolf" 95.3 in Lafayette

Series: This will be the first meeting.

Did You Know?: Purdue is 7-0 at home this season.

Perhaps Coach Matt Painter is pulling a Lou Holtz in some of his comments about his team's opponent tonight — Texas A&M Corpus Christi.

"A lot of people in the Midwest do not know about them. They've been an independent for a couple of years and now have gone into a conference. They've won 20 games the past two years, which is a great challenge in college basketball, especially as an independent," said Painter, whose team is 9-2 following a 95-56 home victory Tuesday over Wagner.

"They have a good mix of athletes. They have a transfer from Texas Tech, who leads them in scoring, Josh Washington, who is a very good player. They have a 7-foot kid (Chris Daniels), who is tough to handle down low, and they have a great mix of quickness and athleticism that really puts you in a bind.

"Ronnie Arrow is a very good coach. He was a very successful junior college coach and very successful at South Alabama, getting them into the NCAA Tournament twice in his tenure there," Painter added. "He mixes it up with man, zone, press and they're very efficient in their sets. It's going to be a tough game for us and everybody in the arena will know that after the first TV timeout."

Or perhaps Painter's comments have a lot of validity.

Texas A&M Corpus Christi has won its last two games to improve to 6-3, including a 98-82 win over Norfolk State Tuesday in the Duel in the Desert tournament in Las Vegas.

One night earlier TAMCC beat South Florida, which was 7-1 at the time, and of course features Purdue transfer Melvin Buckley (he had 14 points in the losing effort).

• In the Wagner game, no Purdue starter had a turnover, tying an NCAA record.

• Also, Purdue's 95 points against Wagner were its most since beating San Diego, 95-65, Dec. 7, 2002.

• Painter has gone with the same starting five for eight straight games.

• Following the game, the Boilermakers will break for Christmas. The players will return to campus Christmas night for a 7-10 p.m. practice as they'll begin preparation for facing Indiana State Thursday in Terre Haute.

• The last time the Boilermakers won 10 games before Christmas was in the 1998-99 season.

• Purdue's students are on Christmas break so there are more than 6,000 tickets remaining for tonight's game.

• Purdue has won 14 straight home nonconference games.

• TAMCC's other losses are to UNLV Dec. 17, 67-57, Mississippi State Dec. 2, 96-72, and Oklahoma State Nov. 29, 95-73.

• Texas A&M Corpus Christi is located on Ward Island on the south shore of Texas. There are more than 8,500 students on its campus.

• The Sporting News picked Texas A&M Corpus Christi to finish second (out of six) in the West Division in the Southland Conference this season. It is the Islanders first season in the conference.

• F: 14 Carl Landry — 6-8, 235, Sr. (5)

• F: 1 Gordon Watt — 6-6, 225, So.

• G: 2 David Teague — 6-5, 195, Sr. (5)

• G: 4 Chris Lutz — 6-2, 190, So.

• G: 12 Tarrance Crump — 6-1, 181, Jr.

• F/C: 21 Manuel Johnson — 6-7, 240, Jr.

• F: 23 Kevin Menifee — 6-5, 190, Sr.

• G: 2 Josh Washington — 6-3, 200, Sr.

• G: 12 Josh Ervin — 6-1, 185, Sr.

• G: 33 Taurean Mitchell — 6-1, 190, Sr.

• Teague needs four more three-pointers to pass current Boilermaker assistant coach Cuonzo Martin on the list and into third place. Teague currently has 176 three-pointers in his career.

• Freshman guard Chris Kramer continues to come off the bench and provide the Boilermakers with a huge spark.

Kramer had six steals against Wagner, the most by a Purdue player since Jaraan Cornell had six Jan. 19, 2000, at Minnesota.

Currently, Kramer is tied for seventh on the school's freshmen steals list with 23 this season. With two more, he'll move into fifth place. Brian Cardinal holds the record with 51 set in 1997.

• Washington leads the team in scoring, averaging 14.8 points per game.

Washington had 23 points against Norfolk State, 21 of which came via the three-point shot as he tied the school record with seven triples.

• Daniels' 7-foot, 265-pound frame will be a challenge for the Boilermakers inside.

It would be quite a Christmas gift for Painter if his team got the W, meaning the Boilermakers would surpass their win total last season in just 12 games this season.

• Will the Boilermakers fall into the trap that many coaches fear in get-away games … taking this one for granted?

• How will Purdue's thin front line handle Daniels, who TSN has as the preseason Southland Conference Player-of-the-Year?

• Will the Boilermakers' play please Painter, particularly in the first half (remember the Purdue coach was upset with the way his team played in the opening 20 minutes against Wagner and how his team continues to struggle to stop the dribble)?

Don't expect Purdue to roll over TAMCC like it did over Wagner. The Islanders have a RPI of 64, are coming off of consecutive 20-win seasons and return five players who started 14 or more games last season.

It may not be a walk in the park for the Boilermakers, but Purdue is playing with too much confidence, too good of defense and has too many weapons for the Islanders to stay within single digits.

NOTE: GoldandBlack.com's pick for the Wagner game was: Purdue, 96-58 (actual score was Purdue, 95-56).

NOTE: Be sure to check GoldandBlack.com this evening for a full report on the game.

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