Twice, Ohio State has taken its shot at Purdue. Twice, it has fallen just short.
The Buckeyes traveled to West Lafayette in December without E.J. Liddell, who missed the game with mononucleosis, and fell, 67-60. Just a little over a month later, they welcomed the Boilermakers to Columbus and watched as freshman guard Jaden Ivey drilled a 3 with five seconds left to sink them, 67-65.
Matt Painter’s Purdue team, after earning the distinction as the only team to sweep Ohio State in two regular season games, will try to take out Chris Holtmann’s bunch a third time on Friday afternoon when they meet at 2 p.m. in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament.
| Who | Where | When | TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purdue (18-8, 13-6) | Indianapolis, Indiana (Lucas Oil Stadium) | 2 p.m. (approx.) | BTN |
“It was a couple close games, particularly the one at our place where their freshman Ivey made a great play,” Holtmann said after Ohio State’s win against Minnesota on Thursday. “It's going to be a physical game, as it always is.”
The winner of the Ohio State-Purdue game will go on to face the winner of Michigan-Maryland the following day in the semifinals with a spot in the Big Ten title game on the line.
For the Buckeyes to get to that point, they’ll have to exorcise their demons. It’s no secret in their locker room that the Boilermakers gave them trouble earlier in the season.
“Purdue's a really good team,” CJ Walker said. “We've lost to them twice this year. So we just want to go out there, obviously that revenge kind of thing, and just get them back and just win the game.”
Justice Sueing added: “They swept us in the regular season, so this game, it means a little bit more. We want to definitely make another statement and survive and advance, more importantly, just to continue our Big Ten tournament play.”
Three Things To Watch
The Plan In The Paint
So much of what the Buckeyes did successfully on the offensive end in the 79-75 win against Minnesota came back to the paint. They attacked the rim, threw down dunks and alley oops, finished through contact and ran everything off of their ability to get to the rack. In the end, they had accumulated 44 points in the paint.
Facing a Purdue team with first-team All-Big Ten power forward Trevion Williams (6-foot-10, 265 pounds) and Big Ten All-Freshman center Zach Edey (7-foot-4, 285 pounds) manning the frontcourt of a team that packs the paint, Ohio State needs to again bring that physicality into Friday’s game. In the last game between these two teams, the Buckeyes lived then eventually died due to their over-reliance on 3-pointers (14-of-35) while managing just eight points in the paint and six made 2-pointers in the 40-minute game.
“Purdue plays you a little different defensively than Minnesota, but both teams can make it difficult for you,” Holtmann said.
This is one of those days where Ohio State requires everything it can possibly get from E.J. Liddell, Kyle Young and Zed Key.
Liddell, in his only game against Purdue, was under his yearly average with 11 points, adding seven boards. Young, who scored in double figures on Friday for the first time in over a month, had a combined 13 points in his first two games versus the Boilermakers. Zed Key had eight points in those two games. Ohio State will need a bit more from that trio in the paint on Friday against one of the bigger frontlines in the Big Ten.
Who’s Clutch?
For a majority of the regular season, Ohio State didn’t have nearly as many late-game offensive issues pop us as have of late. As this team has learned all too well, though, those moments can alter outcomes of games.
Ivey taught them that lesson on Jan. 19 with his game-winning 3. The Big Ten All-Freshman guard, who puts up 10 points a game, is one of four guards who have proven at times to be challenging, including in late-game situations. Purdue also relies on Sasha Stefanovic (9.7 points, 41.5 percent from 3), Eric Hunter Jr. (9 points, 2.8 assists) and Brandon Newman (8.4 points, 38.1 percent from 3).
If this is another game that comes down to the final minute, will those Purdue guards get the better of Ohio State again? Or can the Buckeyes turn to Duane Washington Jr., Liddell and others to get the job done? It's an unavoidable question.
Second Chances
Across the first two Ohio State-Purdue games, each team has racked up 18 offensive rebounds apiece. In other words, that statistic wasn’t a major factor in determining the outcome of either game. It could, however, come into play on Friday if the Buckeyes aren’t careful.
The Boilermakers rank third in Big Ten play in offensive-rebounding rate (31 percent), giving their offense much-needed second-chance opportunities. Williams, who averages 15.2 points and 8.8 rebounds per game, has the eight-best individual offensive-rebounding rate in college basketball (16.2 percent). Edey, with 8.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, is right behind him at 14.8 percent.
“Trevion is a tremendous player, as is the big fella,” Holtmann said. “Should be a great challenge for us here tomorrow.”
That’s especially true given what happened on Thursday. The Golden Gophers, without their starting center Liam Robbins, managed to have a 16-6 edge in offensive rebounds and 20-4 advantage in second-chance points.
Purdue will try to replicate Minnesota’s success on the offensive glass.
Prediction: Purdue 70, Ohio State 67
