Northwestern University Athletics
'Cats and Boilermakers Clash at Welsh-Ryan Saturday
1/30/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
| Northwestern (10-10, 1-6) vs. Purdue (13-8, 5-3) |
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| Date | Saturday, Jan. 31 | 5 p.m. |
| Location | Welsh-Ryan Arena | Evanston, Ill. |
| Watch | ESPNU and WatchESPN (Clay Matvick and Sean Harrington) |
| Listen | 720 WGN and wgnradio.com (Dave Eanet and Joey Meyer) |
| Live Stats | Gametracker |
| Social Media | @NUMensBball  | Facebook  | @numensbball  |
| Game Notes | Northwestern | Purdue |
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern looks to turn its solid play of late into a victory Saturday as it hosts Purdue at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m.
Northwestern's 1-6 Big Ten record doesn't accurately reflect how well the team has played over the last three weeks. The largest margin of defeat over the team's last five games was by seven points in overtime at Michigan State. NU's average margin of defeat over the five-game span is just 3.4 points with each being a one-possession game with less than two seconds remaining in regulation. The last three losses have been decided by a total of five points.
The Wildcats' most recent heart-breaker came on Sunday as it fell 68-67 at then-No. 13/8 Maryland. Northwestern led by as many as 14, including by 11 at the final media timeout, but the host Terrapins mounted a furious comeback and it got the game-winning basket from Dez Wells on a putback with 1.4 seconds remaining. Bryant McIntosh knocked down 10 of 14 field goal attempts in scoring a team-high 21 points.
Saturday's matchup features two of the top centers in the Big Ten. Northwestern's Alex Olah is averaging 11.1 points, 7.0 rebounds (third in the Big Ten) and 1.7 blocked shots per game (sixth in the Big Ten) while Purdue's A.J. Hammons is averaging 10.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.8 blocked shots per game (first in the Big Ten).
Northwestern swept the season series from Purdue a year ago. The Wildcats posted a 63-60 in double overtime in Evanston on Jan. 21 as Tre Demps and Drew Crawford scored 19 points apiece. NU then earned a 74-65 victory in the regular-season finale in West Lafayette March 9 behind Crawford's 27-point performance.
The teams have split the last 22 meetings in the series going back to the 2001-02 season.
Scouting Purdue
• The Boilermakers rolled to an 83-67 home victory over in-state rival and 22nd-ranked Indiana on Wednesday. Rapheal Davis led Purdue with 19 points while A.J. Hammons contributed 11 points and 8 blocked shots as the Boilermakers shot 58.7 percent from the field.
• Hammons paces the team with averages of 10.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and a Big Ten-leading 2.8 blocked shots per game. Davis contributes 10.6 points per contest. Purdue's average of 5.6 blocks per game leads the conference while also ranking first in league play with a .383 opponents' field goal percentage.
• Matt Painter has a 204-120 record in 10 seasons as the head coach at his alma mater and a 229-125 career mark as a head coach.
UP NEXT...
The 'Cats hit the road for their next two contests, beginning with a matchup at Nebraska next Tuesday, Feb. 3. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. Northwestern returns home Feb. 10 when it takes on Michigan State at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Tickets are available at NUsports.com or by calling 888-GO-PURPLE.
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