College Basketball Knowledge
Dayton won 66-58 at Duquesne Jan 2, despite going 3-25 on arc; Flyers won five of last six series games, winning by 16-26 points in last couple played here. Dayton won its last seven games, covering five of last six- they're 3-2 as A-14 home favorite. Dukes won five of last seven games, but they're 0-3 as road underdogs. Four of their five A-14 losses are by 11+ points. A-14 double digit home favorites are 12-9 vs spread.
Miami is 5-0 at home in ACC, with all five wins by 9+ points; visitors won both their ACC games with Pitt- 'canes won 67-63 here LY, after losing 59-55 in OT at Miami in '14. Panthers are 3-4 in last seven games; they're 2-2 as ACC road dogs- their road wins are by 2-4. Miami is 5-0 as an ACC home favorite, with home wins by 13-13-14-11-9. ACC home favorites of 9 or less points are 12-15 vs spread.
West Virginia outscored Kansas 33-13 on foul line in 74-63 home win vs Jayhawks Jan 12, despite Kansas making 10-20 on arc. WVa is 0-3 in its Big X visit to Lawrence, losing by 26-14-7 points. Mountaineers are 8-2 vs spread in Big X, 2-0 as road dogs- they won last four games. Kansas won four of last five games; they're 2-3 as a home favorite. Big X home favorites of 7 or less points are 7-5 vs spread.
Michigan State won its last seven games with Purdue, winning last three visits here, by 14-13-15 points. Spartans won last four games, with last three all by 16+ points- they're 4-2 on road, losing at Iowa, Wisconsin. Purdue split its last four games, losing to Iowa/Maryland; they're 3-2 as Big 14 home favorite. Big 14 home teams are 4-8 vs spread in tilts with spread of three or less points. MSU is 47 of last 80 behind the arc.
Cincinnati is 5-0 vs Central Florida in AAC games, winning 77-49/56-46 in two visits here. Bearcats won four of last five games, but are 0-3 as a road favorite, with only road wins in five tries by 1-3 points. UCF lost four of its last five games; they're 1-2 as home underdog, losing last three home games by 11-26-2 points/ AAC double digit underdogs are 9-12 against the spread this season, 2-3 at home.
Buffalo won 73-68 at Toledo Jan 30, Bulls' 7th win in last nine games in series; Rockets won 92-88 at Buffalo LY, its first win in last four visits here. Buffalo won its last four games, scoring 79.8 ppg; they're 3-0 as a home favorite, winning home games by 13-12-10 points. Toledo is 3-1 as a road underdog; they're 1-0 as a MAC dog. MAC home favorites of 4 or less points are 9-5 against the spread.
Tennessee lost 83-77 at Auburn Jan 2, in game they led at half by hoop; it was Tigers' first loss in last nine series games. Auburn lost last seven visits to Knoxville, where Pearl had his best success, with last six losses all by 8+ points. Vols are favored for first time in 11 SEC games; they're 3-2 at home in SEC. Auburn is depleted by injury/suspension; they are 0-4-1 as a road dog. SEC home favorites of 9+ points are 9-7 vs spread.
Virginia got upset 70-68 at Virginia Tech Jan 4; Hokies made 9-17 on arc in their first series win in last eight games. Tech lost last three visits to UVa by 18-20-12 points. Tech is 9-2 vs spread in ACC, 3-2 as a dog on road; their road losses are by 24-2-9-8 points. Cavaliers won their last six games, but failed to cover last three home games. ACC home faves of 15+ points are 4-3 against the spread.
Creighton is 3-2 vs Xavier in Big East play; road team won both series games LY- underdogs are 4-1 vs spread in series. Musketeers are 3-1 as a road favorite but covred only two of last six games overall. Creighton is 3-3 at home in conferemce; they lost three of last four overall, with only win over DePaul. Big East home squads are 4-6 against the spread in games with spread of 4 or less points.
Kentucky won its last four games with Georgia, winning last five here, by 8-6-30-25-11 points. Wildcats won four of last five games, are 4-1 as home favorite, with four five SEC home wins by 19+ points. Georgia is also 4-1 in its last five games; they're 2-1 as road dog, with road losses by 14-1-4 points. Dawgs are 1-4 on SEC road, with losses by 14-1-4-10 points. SEC double digit home favorites are 7-6 against the spread.
Arkansas made 16-24 on arc in 82-68 home win over Mississippi State Jan 9, is fifth series win in row; Hogs won last two visits here, by four points each. Arkansas lost four of last six games, dropping last three on road by total of nine points. Bulldogs are 1-3 at home; all four games were decided by 6 or less points. SEC home teams are 7-11 against the spread in games with spread of 3 or less points.
Florida made 11-20 on arc in 80-71 win at Ole Miss Jan 16, Gators' first win in last five series games. Rebels' 62-61 win here LY was their first in last six visits to Swamp. Florida won five of last seven games; they are 3-2 as home favorite, with home wins by 14-6-3-32-4 points. Rebels won three of last four games, are 0-3 as a road dog. SEC home favorites of 5 or less points are 8-4 against the spread.
New Mexico shot 57% inside arc, beat Utah State 77-59 at home Jan 9; Lobos are 5-0 vs Aggies in Mountain West games, winning 78-65/66-60 in two visits here. New Mexico won four of last five games, is 3-2 on MW road, losing at UNLV/San Diego State. Aggies lost last five games (1-4 vs spread); three of those five losses were by 12+ points. Home underdogs of 4 or less points are 2-6 vs spread in Mountain West.
Armadillosports.com
NCAAB: Streaks, Tips, Notes
Sportspic.com
West Virginia at Kansas
Kansas Jayhawks (19-4, 13-8 ATS) and West Virginia Mountaineers (19-4, 13-7 ATS) collide in Lawrence Tuesday night. Kansas has one of the better teams in the country on offense, where Jayhawks feature four double digit scorers dropping 83.3 points/game on 48.8% shooting including a deadly 42.2% from long range. Defensively, Jayhawks are allowing opponents 68.9 points/game on 40.7 from the field, 33.4% from outside.
Mountaineers with four of its own players in double digits are no slouches at putting the ball in the hoop. Mountaineers hit 46.1% from the field, 31.7% from outside in netting 81.0 per/contest. Defense the moniker for Mountaineers with its relentless press are giving up 65.4 per/contest on 41.7% from the field, 29.7% from long range.
Life on the road in college basketball is never easy especially at Allen Fieldhouse where Jayhawks have a 35-0 stretch going with a 20-10-2 record in lined games. However, hard to leave +5.5 points on the table. Jayhawks do not respond against the betting line vs a defensive minded team. In the past eighteen netting =< 70.0 points Jayhawks are 4-13-1 ATS. Jayhawks are also 3-7 ATS as chalk of six or less points. Wouldn't surprise if Mountaineers moved the mark to 4-0 SU/ATS last four vs Jayhawks.
Tuesday's Top 25 Trends
VegasInsider.com
Pittsburgh at Miami, FL
The Hurricanes have won all five home games inside ACC play, while coming off a 75-68 victory at Georgia Tech on Sunday as three-point favorites. Miami owns a 4-0-1 ATS record against conference foes at the Bank United Center, as each of the past two meetings with Pittsburgh have been decided by exactly four points each. The Panthers have alternated wins and losses in each of their last eight games, as Pitt fell short at home to Virginia on Saturday as 1½-point underdogs, 64-50. Pitt has split four road ACC contests, while posting a solid 8-1 ATS record this season off an ATS loss.
Michigan State at Purdue
Both these Big 10 squads own identical 7-4 conference marks, as the Spartans have suddenly won four straight following a three-game losing streak. The last three victories have come by double-digits, including an 89-73 blowout of rival Michigan as 4½-point favorites to improve to 4-1 on the road inside the Big 10. Purdue fell short at Maryland on Saturday, 72-61 as 5½-point road underdogs, as the Boilermakers dropped to 1-4 ATS the past five contests. The Boilermakers have lost seven straight matchups with the Spartans since 2011, including a six-point defeat in East Lansing last season.
West Virginia at Kansas
West Virginia leads the Big 12 race at 8-2, as the Mountaineers go for the season sweep of the Jayhawks after knocking off Kansas at home last month, 74-63. The Mountaineers bounced back from an ugly loss at Florida to beat Iowa State and Baylor the last two games, while beating the Bears by 11 points on Saturday for their 10th home win. The Jayhawks have yet to lose a game at Allen Fieldhouse this season, posting an 11-0 record, but are 1-3 ATS at home against Big 12 foes. Since an 0-5 ATS run in January, KU has won and covered three consecutive games.
Duquesne at Dayton
Dayton is seeking its 20th victory of the season and 10th inside Atlantic 10 play. The Flyers have won seven straight since a shocking loss at La Salle in early January, while going 5-2 ATS during this hot streak. Dayton squeezed past Duquesne in its first matchup last month in Pittsburgh, 66-58 to cash as seven-point road favorites. The Dukes saw their three-game winning streak come to an end in Saturday’s 93-82 home setback to Davidson. Duquesne allowed at least 90 points for the third time in A-10 play, while flying ‘over’ the total for the seventh time in the past eight contests.
Wichita State at Drake
Wichita State is in bounce-back mode after suffering its first MVC loss of the season at Illinois State on Saturday, 58-53 as 12½-point favorites. The Shockers had covered eight straight games prior to that defeat, while all eight of those victories came by double-digits. Wichita State closed out 2015 with a 67-47 triumph in the MVC opener over Drake, the eighth consecutive victory in the series. Drake has lost 11 of 12 conference games with the lone win coming against Bradley, who owns a 2-10 record in the MVC. The Bulldogs have been a solid ‘over’ team of late, cashing the ‘over’ in seven of the past eight games.
Virginia Tech at Virginia
The hottest ATS team in the ACC resides in Blacksburg, as Virginia Tech has cashed in nine of 11 conference games. One of those covers came as a home underdog in a 70-68 upset of rival Virginia in early January, one of four ATS victories in conference play as a double-digit ‘dog. Virginia is coming off its sixth consecutive victory, while holding its third straight opponent to below 50 points in Saturday’s win at Pittsburgh. The Cavaliers are 0-3 ATS in their past three opportunities as a double-digit home favorite, while posting an 0-4 ATS mark in its previous four matchups against Virginia Tech.
North Carolina at Boston College
The Tar Heels look to snap a two-game skid following an 8-0 ACC start, facing a Boston College club that has yet to win a conference game in 10 tries. UNC fell short in a pair of road games at Louisville and Notre Dame as their ATS record dropped to 1-5 in the past six games. The Tar Heels pulled away from the Eagles two weeks ago in Chapel Hill, 89-62 to barely cash as 26½-point favorites. BC continues to be the punching bag of the ACC after losing its 10th straight game by double-digits, while scoring 47 points in each of their past two losses.
Xavier at Creighton
Xavier is hot on Villanova’s heels atop the Big East, owning a solid 9-2 conference mark. The Musketeers are 9-1 away from the Cintas Center this season, while coming off a pair of non-covers at home against St. John’s and Marquette. Creighton snapped a three-game losing streak in Saturday’s 88-66 rout of DePaul as 11½-point favorites to improve to 3-4 in home conference play. Xavier and Creighton split a pair of matchups last season as the Bluejays managed covers in the underdog role both times.
Villanova at DePaul
Villanova sits atop both the AP and Coaches Poll for the first time in school history, looking for its 11th conference win in 12 tries. The Wildcats avenged its only Big East loss by dominating Providence, 72-60 as 4 ½-point road favorites on Saturday to improve to 2-5 ATS the last seven games. Villanova is facing DePaul for the first time this season, as the Wildcats have won and covered in the last three visits to Allstate Arena. DePaul has won just twice in Big East play, but did register a victory in their last home game by beating Providence as eight-point underdogs last week, 77-70.
Georgia at Kentucky
Kentucky rebounded from a pair of road losses at Kansas and Tennessee to dominate Florida on Saturday, 80-61 as seven-point home favorites. The Wildcats improved to 5-0 SU and 4-1 ATS at Rupp Arena in SEC play, while holding four of five opponents to 61 points or below in this stretch. Georgia continues to hold its own in conference action, coming off home victories over South Carolina and Auburn, while posting an 8-2 ATS record in the past 10 games overall. The Bulldogs have dropped four straight meetings with the Wildcats, but covered as 18½-point ‘dogs in an 11-point loss at Rupp last season.
Tuesday's Tip Sheet
By Brian Edwards
VegasInsider.com
Michigan State at Purdue
These teams are in a three-way tie for fourth place in the Big Ten standings. Purdue and Michigan St. have 7-4 league records along with Michigan. This trio of schools trails league-leading Iowa by three games. The Westgate SuperBook opened this game as a pick ‘em, while The Wynn in Las Vegas sent out Purdue (19-5 straight up, 12-8 against the spread) as a one-point home favorite.
Matt Painter’s squad has won 13 of 14 home games while posting a 7-3 spread record.
Michigan State (20-4 SU, 14-9 ATS) might have played its best games of the season Saturday in Ann Arbor, where it destroyed arch-rival Michigan 89-73 in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score indicated. The Spartans led by 16 at halftime and by more than 20 for a decent chunk of the second half. They dominated the boards with a 35-18 advantage and also drained 14-of-22 from 3-point land (63.6%). Bryn Forbes splashed the nets eight times from downtown in only 10 attempts en route to scoring a game-high 29 points. Denzel Valentine tallied 21 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Matt Costello added 14 points, eight rebounds, two assists, two steals and one blocked shot.
Tom Izzo’s team has won five of its seven road contests, going 4-3 ATS.
When MSU lost three in a row, Izzo dubbed the span a “mid-life crisis” for this team. Since then, the Spartans have won four in a row both SU and ATS. As usual, Izzo has fixed his what was ailing his squad and has it playing its best basketball at the right time.
Valentine averages team-bests in scoring (18.6 points per game), assists (6.7 APG) and steals (0.9 SPG). The senior slasher pulls down 7.8 RPG and is shooting at a 44.0 percent clip from 3-point range.
Costello, Sparty’s senior center (9.8 PPG), averages a team-high 8.3 RPG and also has 29 blocked shots and 16 steals.
Purdue is mired in a 1-4 ATS slump after dropping a 72-61 decision Saturday at Maryland as a 5.5-point underdog. Senior center A.J. Hammons scored 18 points and pulled down 10 rebounds in the losing effort.
Hammons averages team-highs in scoring (14.5 PPG), field-goal percentage (60.0%) and blocked shots (2.4 BPG). He also collects 8.0 RPG.
Purdue is 16th in the country in scoring defense (63.0 PPG), 11th in field-goal percentage defense (38.2%) and 24th at defending the 3-point line (30.6%).
Michigan St. has won seven in a row over Purdue, producing a 6-1 spread record during that stretch. This is the first meeting this season.
The ‘under’ is 13-10 overall for the Spartans, but the ‘over’ is 4-3 in their road assignments. -- The ‘under’ is 11-9 overall for the Boilermakers, 5-5 in their home outings.
The ‘over’ has cashed in six straight head-to-head meetings between these Big Ten adversaries.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Eastern on ESPN.
West Virginia at Kansas
The Westgate SuperBook opened Kansas (19-4 SU, 13-8 ATS) as a seven-point favorite.
Bill Self’s squad is unbeaten in 12 home games, going 6-4 ATS.
Since losing at Iowa St. on Jan. 25, KU has won three in a row both SU and ATS, including a 75-56 win Saturday at TCU as a 13-point road favorite. Perry Ellis led the way with 23 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots. Ellis made 11-of-14 shots from the field and his only free-throw attempt. Devonte Graham produced 15 points, four rebounds, two steals and three assists without a turnover. Graham knocked down 3-of-6 from beyond the arc. Frank Mason added 12 points, six assists and four boards.
Ellis, KU’s senior power forward, averages 16.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. He has three double-doubles and has scored in double figures in 23 of his team’s 24 games. Ellis is shooting at a 52.2 percent clip from the field and a 47.4 rate from 3-point range.
KU’s Wayne Seldon Jr. is averaging 14.5 PPG, draining 44.6 percent of his attempts from long distance. Mason (13.0 PPG) pulls down 4.8 RPG and has a 109-49 assists-to-turnovers ratio. Graham (10.7 PPG) is also scoring in double figures, burying 42.2 percent of his shots from 3-point range.
KU is sixth in the nation in 3-point shooting, making 42.2 percent of its attempts. The Jayhawks are 14th in scoring (83.3 PPG) and 15th in field-goal percentage (48.8%).
Kansas is a No. 2 seed in the West Region of Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology report at ESPN.com. KU is No. 5 in the RPI Rankings, sporting a 4-3 record against the Top 25, a 7-3 ledger versus the Top 50 and an 11-3 mark against the Top 100. The Jayhawks owns quality wins at home over Kentucky, Baylor, Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas State and Oregon State. They have road wins at San Diego State. and at Texas Tech, in addition to neutral-court scalps of UCLA and Vanderbilt.
West Virginia (19-4 SU, 13-7 ATS) is atop the Big 12 standings with an 8-2 record in league play. The Mountaineers lead Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas by one game (though Texas and OU play each other Monday night).
WVU has been an underdog four times, compiling a 3-1 spread record with two outright victories at Iowa St. and vs. Kansas.
Bob Huggins’s team has won five of its seven road games, going 4-3 ATS.
WVU is 13th in the nation in defending the 3-point line, forcing foes into making only 29.7 percent of their launches from downtown. The Mountaineers rank No. 39 in the country in scoring defense (65.4 PPG).
West Virginia is No. 10 in the RPI, going 6-4 against Top-50 foes and 8-4 versus the Top 100. The Mountaineers have wins at Kansas State, at Iowa State and at Texas Tech, in addition to victories over San Diego State and James Madison on a neutral floor. They have home triumphs over Kansas, Kansas State and Baylor.
After getting smashed 88-71 at Florida two Saturdays ago, WVU responded with back-to-back win at Iowa State (81-76) and vs. Baylor (80-69). Huggins’s club knocked off the Bears by 11 Saturday in Morgantown, hooking up its betting backers as a six-point home ‘chalk.’ Daxter Miles Jr. scored 20 points thanks to hitting 4-of-5 shots from 3-point range. Jaysean Paige scored 17 points, while Devin Williams added 16 points and seven boards. Nathan Adrian contributed 11 points and nine rebounds.
West Virginia has won three of the last four head-to-head meetings against KU. The Mountaineers have taken the cash in all four of those encounters, including a 74-63 win on Jan. 12 as one-point home underdogs. Paige scored a game-high 26 points and also had five steals and four rebounds. Williams added 17 points, 12 rebounds, two steals, one assist and one blocked shot.
The ‘under’ is 13-7 overall for KU, 6-4 in its home games. The Jayhawks have seen the ‘under’ go 7-2 in their last nine outings.
The ‘under’ is 10-9-1 overall for WVU, but the ‘over’ is 5-1-1 in its seven road assignments.
ESPN2 will have telecast at 7:00 p.m. Eastern.
B.E.’s Bonus Nuggets
Auburn point guard Kareem Canty (18.3 PPG, 5.3 APG) was suspended indefinitely prior to his team’s loss Saturday at Georgia. Canty leads the Tigers in scoring and is fourth in the SEC. Bruce Pearl implied that Canty would only return to the team this year if he improved his attitude. AU is an 11-point underdog tonight at Tennessee.
Harvard has lost five in a row both SU and ATS to fall to 1-5 in Ivy League play. Tommy Amaker’s team has failed to cover in its last six lined outings. The Crimson has lost by double-digit margins in four of the five recent defeats. They clearly won’t be making the NCAA Tournament after four consecutive trips, including a pair of Round of 32 appearances. Harvard fans knew it could be a rough year when Siyani Chambers went down with a season-ending injury before the team’s first game. Things grew worse Saturday when center Zena Edoswmwan was lost indefinitely to a high injury.
Monmouth (15-7 ATS) is back in action tonight at Marist. The Hawks have won 10 of their last 11 games while going 8-3 ATS. They were favored by 11.5 early this morning.
Clemson was on a 9-2 ATS run going into Monday’s home showdown vs. Notre Dame. However, the Fighting Irish handed the Tigers their first home loss against an ACC opponent in an 89-83 win as a one-point road underdog.
Georgia was a 12-point underdog at Kentucky early this a.m. The Bulldogs are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games. They covered in their only previous game as a double-digit underdog at Baylor. UGA needs a signature win and has the talent to win this game if J.J. Frazier, Kenny Gaines and Charles Mann produce big performances.
MSU visits Purdue
By Sportsbook.ag
MICHIGAN ST. SPARTANS (20-4, 7-4 Big 10) at PURDUE BOILERMAKERS (19-5, 7-4 Big 10)
Sportsbook.ag Line: Purdue -1.5 Total: 143
No. 8 Michigan State seeks its fifth straight victory on Tuesday night when it visits No. 18 Purdue.
The Spartans (14-9 ATS overall) have won four in a row (SU and ATS) by a hefty margin of +22.5 PPG, which includes an 89-73 romp at rival Michigan on Saturday. They are now 10-2 SU (7-5 ATS) away from home this season where they are averaging 81.7 PPG on 51% FG.
The Boilermakers (12-8 ATS) are just 1-4 ATS in their past five games, which includes a pair of double-digit SU defeats to Iowa on Jan. 24 (83-71) and at Maryland on Saturday (72-61). But the Hawkeyes are the only team that has won in West Lafayette this season, as the Boilers are a near-perfect 13-1 SU (7-3 ATS) at home where they are putting up 82.5 PPG on 48% FG.
Michigan State has dominated this series recently with seven straight SU wins and the only ATS defeat coming in the most recent meeting last March when it was favored by 6.5 points and won by six, 72-66. Purdue's series drought includes losing three straight home games in this series, all by at least 13 points (76-62, 78-65 and 94-79).
There are plenty of reasons to for bettors to take either side on Tuesday, as the Spartans are 23-9 ATS versus bad pressure teams (forcing 12 or fewer TO per game) in the past three seasons, and are 10-1 ATS on the road after a double-digit Big Ten win in this same span.
However, the Boilermakers are 17-5 ATS at home under head coach Matt Painter when the line is +3 to -3, and are a perfect 7-0 ATS at home in the past three seasons versus great shooting teams (48%+ FG).
Michigan State's offense averages 79.4 PPG this season (41st in nation) on strong percentages of 48.4% FG (20th in D-I) and 42.4% threes (4th in D-I). The team has racked up the most assists in the nation at 20.3 APG and commits 12.3 turnovers per game for a stellar 1.66 assist-to-turnover ratio (4th in D-I).
The defense is also elite, as it limits opponents to 62.9 PPG (14th in nation) on 37.0% FG (4th in D-I) and 28.2% threes (4th in nation). These numbers are largely due to the team's NCAA-best +12.8 RPG margin, and the Spartans' only glaring weakness is their mere 9.3 forced TOPG, which is the third-fewest in the nation.
Senior G Denzel Valentine is having an All-American season with 18.6 PPG, 7.9 RPG and 6.7 APG. He shoots 47% FG, 44% threes and 83% FT, and is coming off a huge performance on Saturday with 21 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. That gives Valentine at least 19 points, six rebounds and five assists in six straight games where he has drained 26-of-46 threes (57%). Valentine hit four threes in last year's win over Purdue, finishing with 17 points, six rebounds and two steals.
Senior F Matt Costello (9.8 PPG, 8.3 RPG) also had a big day against the Boilermakers last March with 13 points, seven rebounds, four blocks and two steals off the bench. This season, Costello has a team-high six double-doubles, has scored at least eight points in 13 of his past 14 contests and has grabbed at least seven rebounds in a dozen consecutive games.
Senior G Bryn Forbes (14.3 PPG) is the best long-range shooter on the team with 50.3% threes (3rd in nation), and he has been on fire during MSU's four-game win streak with 20.3 PPG on 59% FG and 68% threes (21-of-31). In Saturday's win at Michigan, Forbes pumped in a game-high 29 points thanks in big par to his 8-of-10 threes.
F Deyonta Davis (7.8 PPG, 5.7 RPG) continues to be a force down low with 2.0 blocks per game (3rd in Big Ten) and is also shooting 63% from the floor this season. The 6-foot-10 freshman has pulled down 9.0 RPG with eight blocks over his past three games.
Purdue has been beating up on opponents all season with a +15.3 PPG margin, good for 9th in the nation. The team produces a pedestrian 78.3 PPG (66th in D-I) on 46.3% FG (72nd in nation) and 34.9% threes (157th in D-I), but allows only 63.0 PPG (15th in nation) on 38.2% FG (11th in D-I) and 30.6% threes (24th in nation).
Like their Tuesday opponent, the Boilermakers are relentless on the glass with a +11.8 RPG margin (3rd in D-I) and 30.2 defensive RPG (2nd in nation behind Michigan State). Another similarity to the Spartans is their lack of turnovers (12.4 TOPG, 127th in D-I) and forced turnovers (10.4 TOPG, 330th in nation), and Purdue is also a great passing team with 18.0 APG (9th in D-I) and a 1.45 Ast/TO ratio (24th in nation).
Senior C A.J. Hammons (14.5 PPG, 8.0 RPG) is clearly the leader of this program with a 60% FG clip and 73% FT rate, and his 2.4 BPG ranks second in the Big Ten behind only Iowa's Jarrod Uthoff (2.9). Hammons has a current streak of five straight double-figure scoring games, and has piled up 50 points and 21 rebounds during a pair of double-doubles in the past two contests. But Hammons struggled offensively in East Lansing last season when he made only 3-of-12 shots and finished with seven points and eight rebounds.
Freshman F Caleb Swanigan (9.8 PPG, 9.0 RPG) leads the Big Ten in rebounding, and is tied with Wisconsin's Ethan Happ for the conference lead with seven double-doubles. But Swanigan has been shooting poorly in the past four games with a brutal 29% FG clip (10-of-34).
Sophomore F Vince Edwards (10.4 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 3.1 APG) has a high basketball IQ with a 2.0 Ast/TO ratio this season, but has also hit a cold spell offensively in the past two games with only 7.0 PPG on 6-of-23 shooting (26%) and 2-of-9 threes.
C Isaac Haas (10.2 PPG, 4.0 RPG) plays only 15.0 MPG this season, but provides instant offense with a 57% FG rate. In the past two games, Haas has 23 points in 27 minutes, making 10-of-16 shots. The 7-foot-2 sophomore scored nine points in 14 minutes off the bench against Michigan State last March.
Senior G Rapheal Davis (9.1 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 2.1 APG) has played well over his past three games with 11.7 PPG on 54% FG (4-of-10 threes) and 6.0 RPG. But Davis had an awful performance in East Lansing last season when he scored only two points (1-of-6 FG) in 32 minutes before fouling out.