Purdue Basketball Game 15 Preview: @ No. 24 Ohio State

For the first time this season, Purdue finds itself needing to bounce back from a loss, following Monday night’s loss to Rutgers. It won’t be easy, as the top-ranked Boilermakers visit 24th-ranked Ohio State.

Where: Value City Arena (Columbus, Ohio)

When: Thursday, Jan. 5, 7 p.m. ET

TV: FS1

Radio: Purdue Sports Network (WAZY locally)

In-game updates: GoldandBlack.com | Twitter @brianneubert

ABOUT THE TEAMS

Purdue: Roster | Schedule | Stats

Ohio State: Roster | Schedule | Stats

NUMBERS AND SUCH

Team	AP	Coaches	NET	KenPom	KenPom Win%
Purdue	1	1	7	7	43%
Ohio State	24	23	9	11	57%

ON #1 PURDUE (13-1, 2-1 B1G)

• Purdue’s coming off a narrow 65-64 home loss to Rutgers, the Boilermakers’ first taste of defeat this season.

PROJECTED PURDUE LINEUPS

Starters

Center — 15 Zach Edey (7-4, 290, Junior)

Edey battled his first foul trouble of the season and a top-shelf defensive team at once against Rutgers, which was effective crowding him in the post, fighting him for position and gumming up the lane to take him away in pick-and-roll. Nevertheless, he still gets 19 points and 11 rebounds. He’ll loom especially large against Ohio State in his matchup with Zed Key but also in keeping the Buckeyes off the offensive glass. It would really help him if Purdue shot the ball better around him, but that’s not a new dynamic.

Forward— 1 Caleb Furst (6-10, 230, Sophomore)

Purdue’s going to need its 4 men to really assert themselves on the glass and in doubling the post on Key, most likely, but also it would really help the Boilermakers to make threes in ball-screen offense as well.

Guard — 3 Braden Smith (6-0, 180, Freshman)

Smith struggled against Rutgers. His response will probably loom large in this outcome, one way or another.

Guard — 2 Fletcher Loyer (6-4, 185, Freshman)

Rutgers’ physicality and clear awareness of Loyer made things difficult for the freshman, who also seemed affected at times. Didn’t stop him for making the shot that very nearly stood as the game-winner. It was erased by the final score, but maybe that shot was a turning point for Loyer in that area.

Guard/Forward — 25 Ethan Morton (6-7, 215, Junior)

Morton’s done a good job this season as a head-to-head defender and will get chances to guard a variety of different looks against Ohio State. His threes just aren’t going down, but Purdue needs him to stay confident and keep shooting wide-open ones, while continuing to make great decisions.

Rotational Reserves

Forward — 0 Mason Gillis (6-6, 230, Junior)

Gillis was probably the one guy who really matched Rutgers’ energy and physicality, asserting himself on the offensive glass for a few putbacks that really loomed large in those moments. Again, Purdue could use more threes from its 4s.

Guard — 5 Brandon Newman (6-5, 200, Junior)

It was an up-and-down game for Newman against Rutgers, but he made some big shots. If he can keep doing that while cutting out come of the turnovers and forced jumpers, Purdue immediately becomes a better team.

Forward/Center — 4 Trey Kaufman-Renn (6-9, 225, Redshirt Freshman)

With Edey in some measure of foul trouble, Kaufman-Renn got extended opportunity again, but finished 0-for-6 from the floor against the physical Rutgers front. Purdue’s young guards aren’t the only young players who’ll probably take some lessons from that game.

Guard — 14 David Jenkins Jr. (6-1, 200, Senior)

Jenkins just isn’t making shots and has to be careful to not press. He’s playing a very different role than he has in the past, when he could always just shoot his way out of slumps due to the volume he was carrying. That’s not the case at Purdue. Purdue has a bunch of players who are better shooters than their percentages, and Jenkins is certainly one of them.

Guard/Forward — 11 Brian Waddell (6-8, 195, Redshirt Freshman)

Waddell didn’t play against Rutgers, not surprisingly given the Knights’ physicality and some of his recent struggles. He can re-appear at any time, but there may also be more games this Big Ten season he spends on the periphery of the rotation. His off-season setbacks seem more apparent now than they did to start the season.

Guard/Forward — 23 Camden Heide (6-7, 205, Freshman)

Heide is redshirting this season.

Note: Freshman center Will Berg will redshirt this season.

ON #24 OHIO STATE (10-3, 2-0 B1G)

• The Buckeyes are 2-0 in the Big Ten but got away with one in December, as officiating errors at the end of their home game against Rutgers that were acknowledged by the Big Ten shaped that outcome.

• Ohio State is No. 2 nationally, per KenPom, in offensive efficiency, thanks in part to four 90-plus-point scoring games against low-major opponents. The Buckeyes are every as effective an offensive rebounding team as Purdue, with an offensive rebounding percentage of better than 37 percent.

• By percentage, this is the best three-point shooting high-major opponent Purdue has met to this point, as the Buckeyes shoot nearly 38 percent collectively. Among all opponents Purdue has met this season, only New Orleans shoots a higher percentage.

OHIO STATE LINEUPS

Forward — 10 Brice Sensabaugh (6-6, 235, Freshman)

The Big Ten’s reigning freshman of the week is becoming Ohio State’s focal point, averaging a team-best 15.9 points. The multi-faceted forward scores inside and out, where he’s a 47-percent three-point shooter on high volume.

Guard — 4 Sean McNeil (6-4, 205, Grad)

The West Virginia transfer is a capable three-point shooter, operating at a 37-percent clip to this point.

Forward — 14 Justice Sueing (6-6, 210, R-Senior)

Healthy again after his last season was marred by injury, Sueing’s averaging 13-and-a-half points and gives the Buckeyes another long and versatile defensive piece in the frontcourt.

Center — 23 Zed Key (6-8, 255, Junior)

A really good big man overshadowed by a league full of great ones, Key is Ohio State’s low-post presence. He’s historically had a hard time with Zach Edey, but he’s an upperclassman now. He went for 22 and 14 rebounds in the “win” over Rutgers.

Guard — 2 Bruce Thornton (6-2 215, Freshman)

The Ohio State representative in this meeting between true freshman point guards, Thornton’s a physical and tough PG who can shoot the three (46 percent) and facilitate.

Bench

Guard— 0 Tanner Holden (6-6, 200, Senior)

Guard —3 Eugene Brown III (6-7, 195, Junior)

Guard — 13 Isaac Likeleke (6-5, 215, Grad)

Center — 34 Felix Okpara (6-11, 220, Freshman)

LIGHTNING-ROUND TAKES

• Don’t make more of it than it is. That’s the key for Purdue after the Rutgers loss. It’s amazing it took until 2023 for the Boilermakers to lose a game.

THREE KEYS FOR PURDUE

dominate the interior	Poise	make early threes
Purdue’s got to get back to what it does well, and that’s playing through Zach Edey, even if defenses are selling out to stop him. Zed Key has had a hard time with him in the past, but will have plenty of help. The other side of this matchup is not letting Key A) get loose as a scorer or B) pin fouls on Edey.	You don’t just decide whether or not to have poise. You either just have it or you grow into it. Having been through the Rutgers experience now, here’s guessing Purdue’s better off next time it’s really pushed, and it will be pushed at Ohio State.	Again, the Boilermakers aren’t just choosing to miss shots, but it would matter so much for Purdue to just open a game really well shooting threes. Defenses are allowing such opportunities, but Purdue isn’t cashing in, and that’s making things more difficult for Edey.

PREDICTION: PURDUE 72, OHIO STATE 69

Every game from here on out, but especially the roadies, will be a chore, and there are some matchup dynamics here that should be of grave concern for Purdue, but the Boilermakers are no different a team today than they were Sunday night before losing a game. They still get some benefit of the doubt here.