Heading into tonight’s contest for Purdue against Big Ten foe Northwestern, don’t expect Matt Painter to have to say much to fire up his team.
The Boilermakers (19-2, 7-2) know just how dangerous Northwestern (15-5, 6-3) can be, as the Wildcats have knocked Purdue off the last two times they’ve met.
Most recently, Northwestern defeated Purdue, 92-88, in December in the Big Ten opener for both programs. In the win, Boo Buie scored 31 points, seven of which came in overtime. In addition to the points, Buie came through with nine assists and four rebounds.
“He’s magical when he gets it going. We’ve seen that back to back games. You have to make it difficult for him. He’s got shotmakers with him. He is no doubt the leader of that group,” Painter said of Buie.
Ty Berry scored 21 and Ryan Langborg scored 20 for Northwestern. In the loss, Purdue turned the ball over 17 times, shot 26 percent from behind the arc and turned the Wildcats over only three times. Zach Edey scored 35 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and swatted three shots in the loss.
Painter said Purdue has to be solid with the basketball tonight when it hosts Northwestern.
“First and foremost for us, especially coming off the last game we played. We were fortunate to win the game with that many turnovers. I think that’s where it starts for us, getting quality shots and getting quality possessions and not turning the ball over. Give credit to Northwestern and their defense,” Painter said.
The Wildcats enter tonight having knocked off Ohio State and Illinois the last two times out.
“They’ve got a good team, team that can play on both ends, they can make shots, they can disrupt you. It’s going to be a tough game,” Painter said.
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