No. 5 Virginia (7-0) vs. Purdue (4-3)
Mackey Arena, West Lafayette, Indiana; Wednesday, 7:15 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: No. 5 Virginia presents a tough challenge for Purdue. Purdue has . Virginia has moved up to No. 5 in the latest AP rankings following a win over Maine last week.
VETERAN LEADERSHIP: Virginia's Mamadi Diakite, Jay Huff and Braxton Key have collectively accounted for 60 percent of the team's scoring this season, including 58 percent of all Cavaliers points over the last five games.DOMINANT DIAKITE: Diakite has connected on 50 percent of the 16 3-pointers he's attempted and has made 7 of 13 over the last five games. He's also made 68.8 percent of his free throws this season.
ASSIST RATIOS: The Boilermakers have recently used assists to create baskets more often than the Cavaliers. Purdue has an assist on 40 of 70 field goals (57.1 percent) across its previous three matchups while Virginia has assists on 22 of 57 field goals (38.6 percent) during its past three games.
DID YOU KNOW: The Purdue defense has allowed only 58.4 points per game to opponents this season, ranking the Boilermakers 16th among Division I teams. The Virginia offense has averaged 55.1 points through seven games (ranked 255th, nationally).
