Coming off an excruciating two-game losing streak, No. 8 Purdue looks to close strong and do right by its seniors on Saturday, as Indiana visits for the regular season finale, the Boilermakers hoping for a split with the Hoosiers.

Date: Saturday, March 4, 2022

Time: 2 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN

Radio: Purdue Radio Network (96.5 WAZY locally)

• Purdue was eliminated from Big Ten regular season title contention after losing at Michigan State and Wisconsin on buzzer-beaters.

• The Boilermakers will recognize seniors Sasha Stefanovic, Trevion Williams, Eric Hunter and Jared Wulbrun, among other members of the program, after the game.

• Purdue had won 10 in a row over Indiana prior to a 68-65 loss in Bloomington on Jan. 20, a strange game in which the Boilermakers were done in by turnovers, missed free throws and a heroic performance by Rob Phinisee, whose game-winning three was the difference.

It was the second of four games Purdue's lost this season on shots made in the final 16 seconds of a game.

STARTERS

C — 15 Zach Edey (7-4, 295, So.)

14.9 PPG • 67.5% FG • 7.5 REB • 1.1 BLK

Edey was a real handful of Indiana in the first meeting, but IU was bailed out by him missing five of his seven free throws. As with every other game, fouls will matter. His foul trouble at Wisconsin really mattered and with him and Trayce Jackson-Davis going at one another, that becomes a relevant concern for both players.

F — 0 Mason Gillis (6-6, 230, So.)

6.6 PPG • 4.5 REB • 51.8% FG • 45.2% 3-PT • 85.7% FT

Gillis has been excellent for Purdue this season, but the problem has been keeping him on the floor. His rough-and-tumble style has made him victim of some pretty tough calls and limited his minutes the past few games.

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

11.2 PPG • 40% 3-PT • 3.3 AST

Playing his last game in Mackey Arena, Stefanovic would love to enjoy one of the shooting surges that have sort of defined his career. He's playing with both a dislocated and broken finger, though, and that might be something to monitor.

G — 2 Eric Hunter (6-4, 175, Sr.)

5.7 PPG • 1.9 AST • 47.7% FG • 43.4% 3-PT

Hunter was outstanding on defense at Wisconsin, taking on the Johnny Davis assignment. If Purdue gets that sort of effort at the defensive end from Hunter, they're going to be really hard to beat, and maybe that energy becomes infectious.

G —23 Jaden Ivey (6-4, 195, So.)

17.4 PPG • 46.7% FG • 37.1% 3-PT • 4.8 RPG • 3.0 AST

Nearly a hero at Wisconsin, Ivey's closing out an All-America-level regular season. While he won't be recognized on senior day, this will surely be his last game in Mackey Arena, so fans get one more chance to see one the program's most gifted players ever live.

ROTATION

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

11.7 PPG • 54.6% FG • 7.3 REB • 3.1 AST

It's been an up and down past few games for Williams during the losses at Michigan State and Wisconsin, but he'll be recognized on Saturday for a great career at Purdue.

G —11 Isaiah Thompson (6-1, 160, Jr.)

4.8 PPG • 43.2% 3-PT

Thompson's gone the past two games without getting a shot off, but his minutes were limited in both the Michigan State and especially the Wisconsin games. Whoever's in the game at point guard is going to have to keep Xavier Johnson contained best they can.

G — 25 Ethan Morton (6-6, 215, So.)

2.5 PPG • 1.5 AST • 49.1% FG • 44.4% 3-PT

Morton gave Purdue good minutes at Wisconsin, but this may be a game where he's unlikely to see minutes at the 4 as he has the past two games.

F — 3 Caleb Furst (6-10, 230, Fr.)

4.1 PPG • 3.4 RPG • 57.9% FG • 40.9% 3-PT

Furst's doing fine in his role — next year, things change — but Purdue does need Mason Gillis on the floor as much as it can have him out there. That's a credit to Gillis more than anything.

G — 5 Brandon Newman (6-5, 200, So.)

5.0 PPG • 32.5% 3-PT • 85% FT

Newman hasn't played meaningful minutes since Jan. 23.

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

• Indiana's squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble, maybe on the wrong side of it at the moment. The Hoosiers' average projected seeding right now as part of BracketMatrix.com's aggregation is 11.55 and IU is ESPN's Joe Lunardi's first team out at the moment and among CBS' first four out.

A five-game losing streak during the back half of the Big Ten season knocked IU from what looked like a comfortable position. Indiana's now lost six of its last eight games, with the wins coming over bottom-feeders Maryland and Minnesota.

Indiana has really struggled to close out games. This Big Ten season, it essentially had Wisconsin beat twice, as well as Ohio State, only to go on to see all those games slip away.

IU just lost at home on a three by Ron Harper Jr. in the final seconds.

• IU's third in the Big Ten in scoring defense, allowing just 67.1 points per game, and first in field goal percentage defense, at 41.4 percent.

The Hoosiers are 24th nationally in defensive efficiency, per KenPom.

• Indiana makes fewer threes per game than any other team in the Big Ten, averaging just 5.8 on 32.4-percent shooting.

STARTERS

C - 23 Trayce Jackson-Davis (6-9, 245, Jr.)

17.5 PPG • 8.2 RPG • 57.8% FG • 2.4 BLK

The focal point of both Purdue's defensive game plan and IU's offensive structure, Jackson-Davis will command extra attention from the Boilermakers, who'll want to crowd him, making him finish over size and keep him off the foul line. He draws a lot of whistles.

F - 25 Race Thompson (6-8, 235, Sr.)

11.9 PPG • 7.7 RPG • 55.8% FG

Purdue's got to keep Thompson off the offensive boards but also away from the rim in pick-and-roll. He'll post up at the 4 and though he's not a great shooter, he shoots with confidence from long range.

F - 12 Miller Kopp (6-7, 220, Sr.)

6.0 PPG • 34.9% 3-PT

When Indiana brought Kopp in from Northwestern it probably hoped for more of an offensive bump than he's actually provided, averaging just six points per game. He will stretch the floor, but also can represent some favorable matchups at the defensive end for more athletic wings.

G - 45 Parker Stewart (6-5, 202, Sr.)

6.8 PPG • 41.1% 3-PT

Stewart is Indiana's best shooter, but like Kopp hasn't added as much from a scoring perspective as IU might have hoped.

G - 0 Xavier Johnson (6-3, 200, Sr.)

11.6 PPG • 3.6 RPG • 4.5 AST • 39% 3-PT

The transfer point guard can be streaky, but he's been on a tear lately, averaging 19.3 points over the last four games and 9-of-13 from three the past three games. He gave Purdue problems off the dribble in the first meeting and scored 19 points.

KEY RESERVES

G - 32 Trey Galloway (6-4, 200, So.) (Q)

6.1 PPG

Galloway may miss the game due to a groin injury. He gave IU a defensive spark in the first meeting with the Boilermakers.

F - 22 Jordan Geronimo (6-6, 225, So.)

4.0 PPG • 3.6 RPG • 51.7% FG • 28.6% 3-PT

Purdue's going to want to make sure they keep Geronimo off the offensive boards, for one thing. When things are working for him, he can make a real impact with his energy.

G - 1 Rob Phinisee (6-1, 187, Sr.)

5.1 PPG • 2.4 RPG

A 30-percent three-point shooter, Phinisee looked more like Ray Allen in the first game with Purdue, the random hero of that game for the Hoosiers. He's been banged up and missed games since then, but he's back now.

G - 53 Tamar Bates (6-5, 193, Fr.)

4.2 PPG

Bates has been really up and down for the Hoosiers, making big shots at times, but also shooting a mere 34 percent from the floor for the season. It's hard being a freshman in the Big Ten.

C - 2 Michael Durr (7-0, 250, Sr.)

1.6 PPG • 1.1 RPG

The big man's minutes come and go, but it stands to reason to suggest Indiana will at least need his five fouls against Zach Edey and Trevion Williams.

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.

The first Indiana result was really fluky, with Purdue missing a ton of free throws, Jaden Ivey playing hurt and Rob Phinisee playing the game of his life after Trayce Jackson-Davis' foul trouble actually helped Indiana.

The matchups should mostly favor Purdue here, and the Boilermakers have historically done a good job on Jackson-Davis. It's the guards — Xavier Johnson, notably — who might be just as big a concern.

But the Boilermakers have trended well defensively to end the regular season and that should matter against the Hoosiers.

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