Top-ranked Purdue began Big Ten play with a splash, beating Rutgers 81-65 on Tuesday.
Before diving back into conference play, the Boilermakers (8-0) have another marquee non-conference game on the docket for Saturday afternoon when they face No. 10 Iowa State (8-0) at West Lafayette, Ind.
It will be the third ranked non-conference matchup for Purdue, which aced the first two tests. The Boilermakers recorded an 87-80 win at then-No. 8 Alabama on Nov. 13 and thrashed then-No. 15 Texas Tech 86-56 in the Baha Mar Championship in The Bahamas on Nov. 21.
Purdue’s balanced roster has four players averaging between 15.6 and 11.3 points per game. Early this season, five different players have led the team in scoring in a game.
It was Trey Kaufman-Renn’s night on Tuesday. He posted a season-high-tying 19 points to go with 13 rebounds for his fourth double-double in six games this season.
“I think (our physicality) is one of our biggest advantages that we have,” Kaufman-Renn said.
In a game in which both teams shot over 44% from the field and turned the ball over less than 10 times, the Boilermakers won just their second Big Ten road opener in the last eight years on the glass. They had a 36-25 rebounding advantage and nearly twice as many offensive boards (11-6).
“When they rebound like that and play hard like that, it makes our lives so much easier and we’re so much better as a team,” Purdue guard Braden Smith said.
It wasn’t the best defensive performance for the Boilermakers, who allowed Rutgers to shoot 44.6% from the floor and 47.1% from 3-point range.
A similar showing would be difficult to overcome against an Iowa State team that has been shooting the lights out.
The Cyclones broke program records with 132 points and 22 made 3-pointers in Wednesday’s 132-68 demolition of Alcorn State.
Forward Milan Momcilovic led the charge with a scorching 8-of-9 shooting performance from 3-point range to raise his season percentage in that category to 54.8 (34 of 62). Jamarion Bateman was 7 of 10 from outside the arc for Iowa State, which finished the game 70.8% from the floor and 73.3% from 3-point range.
“We’re not necessarily in this to try and break records. We want to play to a standard and play the best we can every possession,” Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger said. “It’s great to see some of our guys with the confidence get going, shooting the ball the way they are.”
Iowa State enters Saturday’s game leading the nation in field-goal percentage (55.0) and is third in 3-point percentage (43.3) and fourth in scoring (96.3 points per game).
The Cyclones came out of the Players Era men’s championship in Las Vegas last month with a 3-0 record that included a one-point win over then-No. 14 St. John’s and runaway victories over Creighton and Syracuse by a combined 49 points. However, Iowa State did not play in the title game due to point differential.
Wednesday’s showing breathes even more confidence into Iowa State’s roster entering this weekend’s clash.
“I feel like everyone should feel great going into that game, feel confident in their shot and let it fly,” Cyclones guard Cade Kelderman said.
–Field Level Media
