Well Ladies and Gentleman, the Purdue Boilermakers finally return to Mackey arena for a conference game this afternoon. Due to the Nebraska postponement, the Boilers haven't had a home contest since Christmas. Today, the Penn State Nittany Lions come calling, and they haven't played since December 30 due to several postponements in their schedule.
Purdue is coming off an impressive outside shooting performance in Bloomington, taking down Indiana on Thursday. However, being back in Mackey Arena is no guarantee to victory, and I expect Penn State to give Purdue all it can handle. Penn State has been competitive this year with some good performances, so despite sitting at 0-3 and the conference without January games, the Boilers cannot afford to take this game lightly, even with Ohio State and Michigan looming on the schedule this week.
Izaiah Brockington is scoring 15+ a game and could be a problem for the Boilers in the backcourt, and Jamari Wheeler is a strong defender. I expect Purdue to try and establish more in the paint with Trevion Williams, who is rounding into the form that many thought before the season started. I also expect Jaden Ivey to get some more opportunities to exert an impact. The Boilers will need him on both ends of the floor in stretches. If the Boilers avoid the un-forced turnovers, and continue the good, selective shooting, they should be in good shape. However, Penn State is more than capable of pulling out a win despite the long lay-off.
Can the Boilers keep the momentum rolling? We shall see in a little less than an hour. Scheduled tip coming up @ 1:00 (Eastern time) on Big Ten Network.
Boiler Up, my friends.
Purdue is coming off an impressive outside shooting performance in Bloomington, taking down Indiana on Thursday. However, being back in Mackey Arena is no guarantee to victory, and I expect Penn State to give Purdue all it can handle. Penn State has been competitive this year with some good performances, so despite sitting at 0-3 and the conference without January games, the Boilers cannot afford to take this game lightly, even with Ohio State and Michigan looming on the schedule this week.
Izaiah Brockington is scoring 15+ a game and could be a problem for the Boilers in the backcourt, and Jamari Wheeler is a strong defender. I expect Purdue to try and establish more in the paint with Trevion Williams, who is rounding into the form that many thought before the season started. I also expect Jaden Ivey to get some more opportunities to exert an impact. The Boilers will need him on both ends of the floor in stretches. If the Boilers avoid the un-forced turnovers, and continue the good, selective shooting, they should be in good shape. However, Penn State is more than capable of pulling out a win despite the long lay-off.
Can the Boilers keep the momentum rolling? We shall see in a little less than an hour. Scheduled tip coming up @ 1:00 (Eastern time) on Big Ten Network.
Boiler Up, my friends.
