Rutgers looks to knock off No. 1 Purdue

Published Dec. 7, 2021 9:02 p.m. ET

Associated Press

No. 1 Purdue (8-0, 1-0) vs. Rutgers (4-4, 0-1)

Jersey Mike's Arena, Piscataway, New Jersey; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: No. 1 Purdue looks to give Rutgers its ninth straight loss to ranked opponents. Rutgers' last win vs a ranked opponent came against the then-No. 13 Illinois Fighting Illini 91-88 on Dec. 20, 2020. Purdue has moved up to No. 1 in the latest AP rankings following wins over Florida State and Iowa last week.

TEAM LEADERSHIP: Ron Harper Jr. has put up 14.8 points and 8.4 rebounds to lead the way for the Scarlet Knights. Clifford Omoruyi is also a primary contributor, putting up 11.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. The Boilermakers are led by Jaden Ivey, who is averaging 15.9 points and 5.8 rebounds.JUMPING FOR JADEN: Ivey has connected on 40 percent of the 35 3-pointers he's attempted and has made 7 of 13 over the last three games. He's also made 72.4 percent of his foul shots this season.

ASSIST RATIOS: The Scarlet Knights have recently used assists to create buckets more often than the Boilermakers. Rutgers has 54 assists on 81 field goals (66.7 percent) over its past three matchups while Purdue has assists on 56 of 90 field goals (62.2 percent) during its past three games.

DID YOU KNOW: The Purdue offense has scored 90.5 points per game, the fourth-highest figure in Division I. Rutgers has only averaged 65.6 points per game, which ranks 214th nationally.

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