Purdue at Iowa - Game Preview

In Purdue's first rematch of the year, the Boilers will have to travel to Iowa City under winter advisory warnings to take on the Iowa Hawkeyes who are on a three-game win streak.

Iowa and Purdue played nearly two months ago on December 4th, and Purdue handled the Hawkeyes 87-68 behind a 25 point Zach Edey performance that saw the big man go 9 for 10 from the field and grab 12 rebounds. He was assisted by a second half burst from Lance Jones who scored 17 points.

It was a game that was over before the half with Purdue's lead jumping to over 30 in the second half at Mackey Arena. Matt Painter was able to empty his bench halfway through the second half and didn't look back. Edey led the way with 25 minutes with no starter playing more than that. Ten Boilers were able to play double-digit minutes.

It wasn't even a particularly good shooting night for Purdue, the Boilers made just 8 of 25 from three, but Iowa had no answer for Purdue inside with Edey scoring in the post and Lance Jones driving to the hoop. The two combined to go 13 of 15 from inside the arc.

Iowa's offense, normally a reliable weapon, was barely over 40% from the floor with the Boilers holding Iowa to 19 of 47 shooting including a 6 of 18 mark from three.

Iowa has had a history of success in the past by pressing and forcing Purdue into turnovers including in some big time second half comebacks, but Braden Smith and Lance Jones handled the press and used it to their advantage. Purdue turned the ball over just 8 times while having 24 assists as a team. Smith led the way with 8 assists while Ethan Morton had 5 assists off the bench.

Fran McCaffery picked up an early technical foul in the first half, as Fran McCaffery tends to do.

Iowa is 11-6 on the season and 3-3 in the Big Ten while #2 Purdue is 16-2 on the season and in second place in the Big Ten with a 5-2 record. Both of Purdue's losses have come on the road in the Big Ten.

Iowa is 0-5 against top-20 teams in Kenpom and doesn't have a win against a top-50 team this season. It is probably on the wrong side of the bubble if the season ended today and could use a signature win against the second best team in the country.

Purdue has the best resume in the country, but is trailing Wisconsin by one game in the Big Ten. It can't afford to give back the game Wisconsin gave up on the road to Penn State this week.

McCaffery has missed two of his last three games. He missed Iowa's win over Rutgers at home with an illness before returning for Iowa's 94-76 win over Nebraska at home. Then McCaffery sat out Iowa's win on the road at Minnesota on Monday night.

It's unclear whether McCaffery will be available for Coach Fran McCaffery against the Boilermakers on Saturday.

McCaffery has been one of Iowa's most reliable weapons, a do it all forward that's struggled from the three-point line this season, but is still averaging 9.9 points a game.

Iowa's resume is not one built off good wins. It had a couple tests in the non-conference going up against Creighton on the road and Oklahoma on a neutral floor and lost both. It did pick up a win against Seton Hall that looked more impressive earlier in the season, but Iowa has dropped every match up against a team ranked better than them on Kenpom.

It is on a three-game win streak though with a good win at home against Nebraska, a Rutgers home win, and going to a somewhat dangerous looking Minnesota team.

Iowa has also been dealt one of the toughest road schedules in the Big Ten to start its season. Iowa went into Mackey Arena for its first road game, getting smacked 87-68, but was competitive at Wisconsin on January 2nd, losing 83-72 against Wisconsin.

Its road schedule doesn't lighten up much though having to also go to Illinois, Michigan State, Indiana, and Northwestern.

That all said, it needs to take care of business at home and needs good wins to get NCAA Tournament worthy. Purdue is one of the few teams in the Big Ten that offers a resume making win at home. Iowa has plenty of incentive to try and knock off the #2 Boilers.

Purdue has shown itself susceptible on the road. It's the only blemish on Purdue's resume, losing to Northwestern to start the season and then getting jumped by Nebraska on January 9th, just three games ago.

Purdue just picked up its first win on the road in three years at Assembly Hall on Tuesday, rocking the Hoosiers 87-66.

Does Purdue bring that same energy to Iowa City? The weather is looking similar it did to when Purdue went into Lincoln during a blizzard warning and it looked like a team caught up in the cold. Purdue's offense struggled, its defense couldn't get stops, and it came away with its only double-digit loss of the season.

That said, Nebraska plays Purdue tough at home. This Iowa team, which historically has given Purdue turnover problems, didn't have any answer for Edey, Jones, or Smith in its first contest. But at home, Iowa will expect and hope to be a new team. Can Purdue match it coming off the emotional high of a rivalry game?

While Zach Edey was dominant in a way that will need to be better addressed than in the first match up - he was 9 of 10 from the floor for 25 points in 25 minutes - it might be more concerning to Iowa how Braden Smith was able to dissect Iowa's defense in this year's game and last year's.

The pressure that Iowa usually applies to Purdue's guards didn't get to Smith in the December game.

Instead, it allowed Smith to get into a play maker mode. Smith took just two shots on the game, scoring an early reverse lay up before going into distributor mode. It's a mode he prefers playing and he set up his teammates to the tune of 8 assists, and even more if you consider the looks at the line he created for his bigs.

He had just 1 turnover in his 25 minutes.

Iowa didn't have a good answer. Tony Perkins couldn't stick with him, and Dasonte Bowen and Brock Harding aren't great answers for a guard like Smith who has really only struggled against lengthy defenders since taking over for Matt Painter as Purdue's lead point guard as a true freshman last season.

Purdue's success is driven by Zach Edey down low, but Edey to some extent, and the rest of the team, relies on Smith to create open threes, rolls to the rim, and just to get the ball into the paint. When Smith is rolling, Purdue is unbeatable. In the few Purdue losses spread out over the last two seasons, a common thread has been Smith struggling with turning it over. It's a team wide issue that tends to display on the point guards stat line.

Against Iowa this season it wasn't the case. Interesting to note that last year, Smith beat Iowa with his scoring. He did turn the ball over 4 times against the Hawkeyes, but dropped 24 points on a shooting night that saw him go 4 of 5 from inside the arc , 4 of 5 at the three point line, and 4 of 4 from the free throw line.

When Smith is free to attack at all three levels, teams have no chance against a Purdue squad that is firing on all cylinders on offense this season. Purdue's now up to the 6th best mark from three in the country, knocking down 39.6% of its looks while being one of the most assist centric offenses, with 64% of its baskets coming off an assist.

Iowa might not be able to slow Edey down, but it definitely can't win if Edey and Smith are both dealing.