The Purdue Boilermakers (12-4, 2-1) look to find a winning formula on the road when they visit the Minnesota Golden Gophers (12-4, 0-3) on Sunday evening at Williams Arena.
Purdue should be focused after suffering their first Big Ten loss, a 20-point stinker at Penn State on Thursday. The Boilers need to find a way to take their signature pressure defense on the road with them, as they have struggled to make opposing offenses uncomfortable outside of Mackey Arena.
Robbie Hummel continues to make the Boilermakers go with 16.4 points per game, but to win Purdue always needs another player or two to step up and support Hummel. Guards Ryne Smith and Lewis Jackson are usually the candidates which often depends on three-point shooting.
The Gophers are desperate for a Big Ten win after dropping a tough, two-point loss to Iowa on Wednesday that kept Minnesota winless in league play at 0-3. Junior guard Julian Welch has been a consistent option for the Gophers as they continue trying to make up for the loss of Trevor Mbakwe. Welch is averaging 13 points per game in Big Ten play.
Ralph Sampson III has been up and down for Minnesota flashing the ability to be a positive force. Sampson should have an advantage over Purdue's front court and his ability to deliver down low could be the difference in this game.
The game tips off at 5:00 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.
For more on the Minnesota Golden Gophers, check out Hammer and Rails. For an opposing view, check out The Daily Gopher. You can also head over to SB Nation's main NCAA Basketball hub at SBNation.com/NCAA-Basketball.
No comments:
Post a Comment