The 411: #2 Purdue vs. Florida State

Purdue hosts its Big Ten/ACC Challenge game this year, as Florida State visits West Lafayette for the third meeting between these two schools in the past four seasons.

Date: Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2021

Time: 7:30 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN

Radio: Purdue Radio Network (96.5 WAZY locally)

Schedule | Roster | Stats

• Purdue's 0-3 against FSU under Matt Painter, with this being the Seminoles' first visit to West Lafayette in that time frame. The past two meetings have been nail-biters, with Florida State rallying to steal a 73-72 win in Tallahassee In 2018 — Purdue led by eight with 3:43 left — and then outlasting Purdue 63-60 in overtime in 2019 as part of the Emerald Coast Classic in Florida.

• The Boilermakers rank No. 2 nationally in offensive efficiency, according to KenPom, and No. 1 nationally in points per possession (1.122), according to Synergy Sports.

• Purdue is seventh nationally in three-point shooting percentage at 43.5 percent.

• After Eric Hunter started the Omaha game due to Isaiah Thompson missing practice time after sustaining a facial injury, Thompson will return to the starting five vs. Florida State.

• Purdue is 11-9 all-time in the Challenge. It holds the top winning percentage among Big Ten teams at 55 percent.

STARTERS

C — 15 Zach Edey (7-4, 295, So.)

17.7 PPG • 75% FG • 7.7 REB • 18.5 MIN

Florida State is one of the best tests Purdue could ask for from the perspective of being challenged physically, no matter how short-handed the Seminoles might be. This will be a game unlike the past two meetings between these schools, because the Boilermakers will be the bigger, stronger, more formidable team physically and they'll want to leverage it to the max, starting with Edey.

F — 3 Caleb Furst (6-10, 230, Fr.)

9.2 PPG • 7.7 RPG • 62.5% FG • 40% 3-PT

Purdue couldn't have realistically asked much more of the lone first-year player it's playing than what it's gotten from Furst, who's been rock-steady and unflappable as a freshman. Florida State's athleticism and intensity will be a challenge, but Furst has been up to every challenge he's faced thus far.

G —23 Jaden Ivey (6-4, 195, So.)

15.0 PPG • 6.3 REB • 4.2 AST • 9 STL

Another reversal from past meetings with Florida State: Purdue will have the best athlete in the gym. Beyond that, Ivey's decision-making and passing this season have taken the Boilermakers to a whole different level offensively, and that says nothing of his scoring ability.

G — 55 Sasha Stefanovic (6-5, 205, Sr.)

13.2 PPG • 47.5% 3-PT • 4.3 AST

Stefanovic has opened the season on a shooting tear, but Florida State will be aware of that and do everything in its power — with interchangeable and long athletes to throw at him — to take him away. This will be one of the game's best chess matches.

G —11 Isaiah Thompson (6-1, 160, Jr.)

6.7 PPG • 57.1% 3-PT • 3 TO

Thompson's been almost an ideal fit for this offensive mix, as he's taken care of the basketball and made open shots as the fourth or fifth option around some really potent offensive players. Purdue's guards are going to have to be really strong with the ball, as Florida State will play really aggressive man-to-man D and likely apply full-court pressure.

ROTATION

C — 50 Trevion Williams (6-10, 255, Sr.)

13.0 PPG • 66% FG • 7.7 REB • 2.3 AST • 8 STL

Again, Purdue will want to be the physical aggressor against the Seminoles, and Williams is obviously well suited for that role.

G — 5 Brandon Newman (6-5, 200, So.)

9.3 PPG • 43.8% 3-PT

Newman's shooting a great percentage from three this season and coming off a season-high 16 points vs. Omaha, but against North Carolina and Villanova in Connecticut, he struggled in limited opportunities. This game will be closer to that level in terms of level of competition.

G — 25 Ethan Morton (6-6, 215, So.)

2.4 PPG • 2.2 REB • 7 STL

Morton's offensive savvy, effort on defense and versatility have been real pluses for Purdue this season, though very little of what he provides will show up in the box score. He's looked good on catch-and-shoot threes, and if he can make those consistently, look out.

G — 2 Eric Hunter (6-4, 175, Sr.)

2.5 PPG • 1.7 AST

Hunter will be starter-type minutes off the bench — very few Boilermakers are immune from time shares this season, maybe just Ivey and Stefanovic, really — and again, Purdue's going to have to be strong with the ball in the backcourt against these guys.

F — 0 Mason Gillis (6-6, 230, So.)

6.0 PPG • 3.0 REB (2 GAMES)

After easing back into things against Villanova, Gillis showed flashes of his old self vs. Omaha, knocking down a three, and finishing a physical and-one off an offensive rebound. This might be his type of game.

Freshmen Trey Kaufman-Renn and Brian Waddell will redshirt this season. Waddell will miss most of the season after tearing his ACL.

Schedule | Roster | Stats

• FSU announced on Monday that starting point guard RayQuan Evans will be unavailable while attending his brother's funeral in Montana.

Big men Tanor Ngom and Naheem McLeod have also been declared out due to injuries.

McLeod and Ngom are 7-foot-4 and 7-2, respectively, and though FSU has two more 7-footers on the roster, they'd have probably been the Seminoles' first options to guard Zach Edey and Trevion Williams at center.

• Florida State's won an NCAA-record 12 consecutive overtime games, including that Emerald Coast Classic meeting with Purdue two seasons ago.

• The Seminoles are 5-1 — they lost decisively at Florida and won decisively over Missouri in their two high-major games — but have struggled lately to get past Tulane and Boston University at home. The Boston game went to overtime, with FSU winning on a late putback.

• When at full strength, Florida State has 11 players averaging double-digit minutes, as Leonard Hamilton is known for using players in waves In hopes of having five players on the floor giving max effort at all times. Without Evans, Ngom and McLeod, though, that number falls to eight.

In another turnabout from the last meeting between these two teams, it's Purdue who can — and will — go 10 deep.

• Matt Cleveland is one of the better freshmen in college basketball and probably Florida State's next NBA first-rounder. He's averaging just under 11 points per game.

STARTERS

F - 10 Malik Osborne (6-9, 225, Sr.)

12.5 PPG • 7.7 REB • 63.9% FG • 64.3% 3-PT

G - 2 Anthony Polite (6-6, 214, Sr.)

9.3 PPG • 6.5 REB • 2.7 AST • 1.7 STL

G- 1 Jalen Warley (6-6, 200, Fr.)

2.3 PPG

G - 4 Caleb Mills (6-5, 180, Jr.)

10.5 PPG • 2.8 AST • 35.3% 3-PT

F - 22 John Butler (7-1, 190, Fr.)

5.0 PPG • 62% FG

KEY RESERVES

G - 35 Matthew Cleveland (6-7, 200, Fr.)

10.8 PPG • 5.0 REB • 51.8% FG

G - 21 Cam'Ron Fletcher (6-7, 215, So.)

7.5 PPG • 42.9% 3-PT

G - 31 Wyatt Wilkes (6-8, 220, Sr.)

3.7 PPG • 33.3% 3-PT

C - 15 Quincy Ballard (7-0, 240, So.)

OUT

C- 11 Tanor Ngom (7-2, 236, Sr.)

3.8 PPG • 78% FG

C -24 Naheem McLeod (7-4, 255, Jr.)

Stay dialed in to GoldandBlack.com during the game for our pre-game First Thoughts analysis. During the game, follow along with our game thread and follow @brianneubert on Twitter for additional insight.

Following the game, we'll have post-game press conference video, game coverage, analysis, our Wrap Video and Final Thoughts, plus a Gold and Black Radio podcast within a few hours of the end of the game.

Stay tuned.

Even if Florida State was full strength, so much about the dynamics between these two teams have flipped. It's now Purdue that's the bigger, more physical team. It's now Purdue that has the game's pre-eminent individual talent, and it's Purdue that'll roll 10 deep. Boilermaker teams not nearly as good as this one nearly beat FSU teams better than this one. This Purdue team ought to get the program over this hump, especially in Mackey Arena. It's not the Duke matchup everyone would have wanted, but this would be a really good win and valuable experience nonetheless.

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