Good Afternoon, Ladies and Gentleman. Today, the Purdue Boilermakers take on the North Carolina State Wolfpack in the Basketball Hall of Fame Invitational from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Scheduled tip is for around 2:00 (Eastern) with television coverage on the Big Ten Network. Purdue is 8-1 and coming off its first loss of the season having been upset Thursday evening @ Rutgers. NC State is 7-2, coming off a home victory over Bethune-Cookman.
North Carolina State leads the all-time series with Purdue, 4-1. Purdue's lone victory was in the last meeting back in 2014 - 66-61 in the Big Ten ACC challenge.
The Wolfpack is led by Dereon Seabron in the backcourt. Seabron, a junior, has scored 25 percent of the team's points this season and is averaging 19.4 over his last five games. He is joined by forward Jericole Hellems, contributing 15 points and 4.1 rebounds per contest. I would expect Jaden Ivey and Trevion Williams to pace Purdue, and it will be interesting to see if Zach Edey and Sasha Stefanovic can have a more potent impact than against Rutgers, although Zach Edey was limited to 16 minutes and still had 13 points and six rebounds.
How will the Boilers respond in wake of TH's disappointment? It's the same recipe - they need a focused, concentrated dose of intensity and need to get better production on the defensive end of the floor. Turnovers have improved a little, but there are still too many at key moments - when some uncertainty/hesitation has seemed to creep into the game play.
There may be a little less pressure for the Boilers as they will fall from the top spot in the rankings come tomorrow. A loss was inevitable, and naturally a conference defeat is more stinging, but if they learn from it and don't let it linger to affect future efforts, it could be a blessing in disguise. Can/will the Boilers get back on track? We shall see shortly.
Boiler Up, my friends.
North Carolina State leads the all-time series with Purdue, 4-1. Purdue's lone victory was in the last meeting back in 2014 - 66-61 in the Big Ten ACC challenge.
The Wolfpack is led by Dereon Seabron in the backcourt. Seabron, a junior, has scored 25 percent of the team's points this season and is averaging 19.4 over his last five games. He is joined by forward Jericole Hellems, contributing 15 points and 4.1 rebounds per contest. I would expect Jaden Ivey and Trevion Williams to pace Purdue, and it will be interesting to see if Zach Edey and Sasha Stefanovic can have a more potent impact than against Rutgers, although Zach Edey was limited to 16 minutes and still had 13 points and six rebounds.
How will the Boilers respond in wake of TH's disappointment? It's the same recipe - they need a focused, concentrated dose of intensity and need to get better production on the defensive end of the floor. Turnovers have improved a little, but there are still too many at key moments - when some uncertainty/hesitation has seemed to creep into the game play.
There may be a little less pressure for the Boilers as they will fall from the top spot in the rankings come tomorrow. A loss was inevitable, and naturally a conference defeat is more stinging, but if they learn from it and don't let it linger to affect future efforts, it could be a blessing in disguise. Can/will the Boilers get back on track? We shall see shortly.
Boiler Up, my friends.
