If last season was any indication, Sunday’s matchup between Northwestern and No. 20 Purdue in West Lafayette, Ind., should be plenty competitive.
Both the Wildcats (10-4, 1-2 Big Ten) and the Boilermakers (10-4, 2-1) lost their biggest star from a year ago but retained multiple players who had a hand in the teams’ two overtime battles last winter.
Without Boo Buie, Northwestern has counted on Brooks Barnhizer and Ty Berry to lead the backcourt and complement the production of forward Nick Martinelli. And while Purdue is no longer anchored by two-time player of the year Zach Edey, the Boilermakers still boast a veteran core led by guards Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer along with forward Trey Kaufman-Renn.
The Wildcats stunned the top-ranked Boilermakers 92-88 in Evanston, Ill., to open league play in December 2023 before Purdue drew even with a 105-96 home win as the nation’s second-ranked team in late January.
Berry is averaging just 7.8 points per game this season after netting 11.6 a year ago, but the fifth-year guard has burned the Boilermakers in the past. He scored 21 points in Northwestern’s home upset last year and followed up with 25 in the Wildcats’ unsuccessful bid for a season sweep.
Edey dominated both games for Purdue, though Loyer chipped in 32 total points and Smith added 23.
Kaufman-Renn played a limited role against Northwestern last season but has replaced Edey as the Boilermakers’ go-to scorer this year, averaging 18.2 points per game to go along with his team-best 6.4 rebounding average.
Smith is Purdue’s second scoring option (14.9 ppg) and perhaps the team’s most valuable weapon.
He can score when the Boilermakers need him to but also excels at setting up his teammates to keep the offense humming. His 8.7 assists per game are the third-most in the nation entering Saturday.
Smith’s versatility was on display at Minnesota on Thursday, when he bundled 20 points with 10 assists and six rebounds in Purdue’s 81-61 win.
“He has the ball in his hands a lot, and we need the balance of that,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. “We need him to score the basketball, we need him to (make plays) for our team to be successful.”
Loyer poured in a season-high 24 points on 8-of-10 shooting against the Golden Gophers and has drilled four 3-pointers in two straight games.
Martinelli and Barnhizer spearhead the Wildcats’ offense with 20.1 points per game apiece,
Barnhizer appeared to tie Thursday’s game at Penn State with a putback in the final seconds, but a phantom whistle on a suspected goaltend against the Nittany Lions just before wiped away the basket.
Northwestern ultimately turned it over on its final possession and Penn State hit two free throws to seal the 84-80 win.
The Wildcats were victimized by that wacky sequence, but they could have avoided it altogether if they hadn’t given the Nittany Lions 45 free-throw attempts throughout the game.
Penn State hit 36 of their foul shots, while Northwestern made 18 on just 21 tries.
Despite the free-throw discrepancy, Wildcats coach Chris Collins hinted his team will continue to play aggressive defense.
“We’re a physical team,” he said. “We just gotta be smarter. There’s a way to play physical without fouling as much as we did (Thursday).”
–Field Level Media
