Jacksonville St. @ Purdue preview

Purdue looks to win back-to-back games for the first time this season when it hosts Jacksonville State as part of the campus portion of the Emerald Coast Classic on Saturday. The Boilermakers have stumbled out of the starting blocks, dropping two of their last three games, including a 70-66 setback to No. 22 Texas on Nov. 9 to see their 18-game home winning streak come to an end, and they hope to build on their 93-49 win over Chicago State while climbing over .500 in the process.

"A lot of people think when you are struggling you've got to change," Purdue coach Matt Painter told reporters. "But I think that's where a lot of people get in trouble because they do that." The Boilermakers have won eight consecutive games against Ohio Valley Conference opponents under Painter, and aim to continue their dominance in their first meeting with Jacksonville State. Purdue has won 24 games by 30 or more points since 2015-16, which is the second-best total in the country during that span, and can improve to 18-4 in in-season tournament games with another victory. The Gamecocks suffered a 93-65 defeat to No. 19 VCU on Sunday to fall below .500, and hope to get back on track by knocking off a Big Ten team for the first time in program history.

TV: 9 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network

ABOUT JACKSONVILLE STATE (1-2): Sophomore guard De'Torrion Ware led the way with 16 points and a career-high nine rebounds in the loss to VCU, but the Gamecocks were undone by 21 turnovers. Derek St. Hilaire added 13 points, five rebounds and a pair of steals, while Jacara Cross finished with 11 points and seven boards as Jacksonville State was held to 38.1 percent shooting from the floor. "I felt like we panicked and didn't take care of the ball, but VCU is a very good basketball team," Jacksonville State coach Ray Harper told reporters. "Now we have to get ready for Purdue."

ABOUT PURDUE (2-2): Isaiah Thompson matched a freshman single-game record with five 3-pointers en route to a team-high 17 points to help the Boilermakers register a 47-point victory, which was their biggest since Dec. 21, 2017. "It was good to see the ball go in," Thompson told reporters. "Everybody on this team tells me to shoot and be aggressive so I'm going to stay confident." Evan Boudreaux added 14 points and five rebounds to help Purdue win the battle of the boards 48-22, while sophomore Aaron Wheeler finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds in only 18 minutes to register the first double-double of his career.

TIP-INS

1. Purdue is 65-5 at home since the start of the 2015-16 season.

2. Boilermakers C Matt Haarms has 165 career blocked shots and needs one more to take sole possession of fifth place on the program's all-time list.

3. Purdue has won 99 consecutive games when scoring 90 or more points.

PREDICTION: Purdue 91, Jacksonville State 67