Purdue and Minnesota meet for their lone regular season contest of the season, as the fourth-ranked Boilermakers visit Williams Arena as a heavy favorite.

Date: Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022

Place: Williams Arena (Minneapolis, Minn.)

Time: 7 p.m. ET

TV: BTN

Radio: Purdue Radio Network (96.5 WAZY locally)

Schedule | Roster | Stats

• The Boilermakers have won three games in a row and remain a game back in the loss column in the Big Ten race.

• Matt Painter said that Jaden Ivey would return to the starting five at Minnesota, and that Eric Hunter would remain, meaning that Isaiah Thompson will come off the bench for the second time this season and first time for reasons unrelated to injury.

STARTERS

C — 15 Zach Edey (7-4, 295, So.)

15.0 PPG • 70.8% FG • 7.3 REB

The big man's coming off a dominant game against Ohio State in which he scored 20 points and drew 10 fouls, the lone blemish being some uneven foul shooting again. He's shooting 51 percent from the line in Big Ten play. Again, those first few minutes and the physical tone he can set, that'll be critical once again at Minnesota, which won't be able to match up with him one on one. Expect a good deal of zone.

F — 0 Mason Gillis (6-6, 230, So.)

7.1 PPG • 4.0 REB • 56.5% FG • 51.2% 3-PT • 88% FT

Gillis was arguably Purdue's MVP against Ohio State as his offensive rebounding during the game's final minutes led to seven of the Boilermakers' final 13 points. He is becoming Purdue's heart and soul, if he's not already. He also did a good job guarding E.J. Liddell most of the game and now gets another key assignment against Jamison Battle.

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

12.1 PPG • 41.7% 3-PT • 3.6 AST

Minnesota's probably going to play a lot of zone, and this Gopher team in its current form doesn't have background dealing with Stefanovic defensively. This could set up well for him.

G — 2 Eric Hunter (6-4, 175, Sr.)

4.0 PPG • 1.8 AST • 36.7% 3-PT

Hunter sticks in the starting five after a run of games that have represented his best basketball of the season and some of the best of his career. His play hasn't been defined by scoring, but shooting 60 percent from three-point range in Big Ten play is better than the alternative. He draws Payton Willis defensively. Best on best.

G —23 Jaden Ivey (6-4, 195, So.) (?)

16.8 PPG • 48.5% FG • 44.2% 3-PT • 4.9 REB • 3.0 AST

Purdue's All-America candidate — shoo-in, probably — didn't play a perfect game against Ohio State, but he made the biggest shot of the season, perhaps the whole Big Ten season, to date, and did a little of everything. His ability to finish around the basket through contact was especially impressive.

ROTATION

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

12.5 PPG • 56.1% FG • 8.5 REB • 3.0 AST

Williams seems to be past his little two-game slump, but Purdue does need him to take better care with the ball, as his ability to make high-degree-of-difficulty passes out of the post sometimes gets the best of him. He could be set up for a big-time rebounding game.

G —11 Isaiah Thompson (6-1, 160, Jr.)

6.0 PPG • 41.9% 3-PT

Thompson will come off the bench at Minnesota after a scoreless game against Ohio State in which the Buckeyes' Interchangeable personnel put him in some defensive binds in switches. He may be able to get some open looks from three if the Gophers run a lot of zone.

G — 25 Ethan Morton (6-6, 215, So.)

2.7 PPG • 2.1 AST • 44.4% 3-PT

Morton's given Purdue so much this season, but his ability to make spot-up threes has been a really pleasant development. He looks good doing it. Against zone, Purdue wants the ball in the middle of the floor, often in its 4 man's hands. Maybe he gets some run there, but that would also mean matching up with Jamison Battle.

F — 3 Caleb Furst (6-10, 230, Fr.)

5.0 PPG • 4.3 RPG • 58.1% FG • 41.2% 3-PT

Furst's numbers sort of come and go, but Purdue doesn't need much from him from a statistical perspective. He's giving Purdue rock-solid minutes now that he seems to be recovered from his mid-season bout with COVID.

G — 5 Brandon Newman (6-5, 200, So.)

6.3 PPG • 34.7% 3-PT • 85% FT

Newman has not played in either of Purdue's past two games. It was always possible with this team, given its depth, that someone could fall out of the rotation, and with all of Purdue's other guards playing well, there's not a lot of daylight there, especially in games that matter so much. No one's going to write Newman off, though.

Freshmen Trey Kaufman-Renn and Brian Waddell will redshirt this season. Waddell will miss most of the season after tearing his ACL and Kaufman-Renn is now sidelined up to six weeks after undergoing foot surgery.

Schedule | Roster | Stats

• In its first year under new coach Ben Johnson, Minnesota's fielding an almost entirely new team with a slew of transfers added this off-season.

The Gophers were one of college basketball's surprise teams early on, winning their first seven games and going 9-0 in non-conference play. But the Big Ten season has been difficult, as Minnesota's just 2-7 and has lost six of seven since Big Ten play resumed.

• In Big Ten play, Minnesota averages just 65.2 points, better than only Penn State and Rutgers. The Gophers allow 71.9, right behind Purdue in 10th place in the league.

• Defensively, opponents are shooting 47 percent against Minnesota in conference games, second to last in the league.

• By every measure, Minnesota has been the worst rebounding team in the Big Ten, being outrebounded by nearly 10 a game, and averaging the fewest offensive and defensive rebounds.

The Gophers are 354th nationally in offensive rebounding percentage, per KenPom.

• Minnesota's offense is based around isolation, as evidenced by the Gophers averaging a league-low 10.67 assists per game.

• Payton Willis and Jamison Battle are first (tie) and third in the Big Ten In minutes played: 37.4 and 36.9, respectively.

STARTERS

F - 10 Jamison Battle (6-7, 225, So.)

17.6 PPG • 6.5 REB • 46.2% FG • 36.7% 3-PT

Another game, another beast of a 4 man for Purdue to guard, from Trayce Jackson-Davis, to Keegan Murray, to E.J. Liddell, and now the George Washington transfer, who's averaging 17-and-a-half points and can stretch the Boilermakers out with his long-range shooting.

C - 1 Eric Curry (6-9, 240, Sr.)

8.7 PPG • 6.7 REB • 46.6% FG

Pretty much the only face you might remember from the Richard Pitino Era at Minnesota, Curry has finally and mostly been able to stay healthy this season and been a key player for the Gophers. He'll have his hands full against Edey and Williams.

G - 12 Luke Loewe (6-4, 185, Sr.)

7.3 PPG • 2.3 RPG • 2.4 AST

Loewe transferred to Minnesota from William & Mary, where he averaged 16 points last season. He scored 19 in Minnesota's win over Rutgers a few games back.

G - 0 Payton Willis (6-4, 200, Sr.)

16.3 PPG • 4.5 RPG • 3.9 AST • 41.8% 3-PT

You might remember Willis from his first stint with the Gophers, which preceded him spending last season at College of Charleston before transferring back to Minnesota. Willis started out at Vanderbilt, which took him over Carsen Edwards. Anyway, Willis is having a terrific season, one of the Big Ten's better outside scoring threats. He scored 32 and nailed eight threes on Rutgers on Jan. 22.

G - 20 Eylijah Stephens (6-3, 175, Sr.)

11.5 PPG • 3.5 RPG • 1.6 AST • 38.1% 3-PT • 1.3 STL

Stephens transferred to Minnesota from Louisiana-Lafayette.

KEY RESERVES

G - 24 Sean Sutherlin (6-5, 200, Sr.)

7.1 PPG • 3.1 RPG • 51.2% FG

F - 15 Charlie Daniels (6-9, 230, Sr.)

1.9 PPG • 2.2 REB

C - 42 Treyton Thompson (7-0, 210, Fr.)

2.4 PPG • 1.5 RPG

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.

If Purdue executes on offense anywhere near the level it did at Iowa in its last road game, it should be able to put up points. They've undoubtedly put in a good deal of time working on zone offense the past few days.

Minnesota's going to be really hard pressed to match Purdue's offensive firepower and presence on the glass, and provided the Boilermakers don't lose their poise and turn the ball over wholesale, their advantages should be really pronounced in this one.

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