Virginia @ Purdue preview
Mackey Arena
Last Meeting ( Mar 30, 2019 ) Purdue 75, Virginia 80
No. 2 Virginia puts its perfect record on the line when it visits Purdue as part of the Atlantic Coast Conference/Big Ten Challenge on Wednesday. The Cavaliers have held seven straight opponents to 55 points or less, including a defensive masterpiece against Maine (46-26), which matched a program record for the fewest amount of points allowed, and they hope to keep rolling by extending their winning streak against Big Ten foes to 13 games.
"Our defense has been our anchor … and we take great pride in that," Virginia forward Jay Huff told reporters. "Whether or not we're making shots we'll be hopefully getting stops." Purdue saw its three-game winning streak come to an end following a 63-60 overtime loss to 19th-ranked Florida State in the championship game of the Emerald Coast Classic on Saturday. The Boilermakers earned a trip to the final after knocking off VCU 59-56, but were held to two points in overtime against the Seminoles, and hope to get over the disappointment by avenging a heartbreaking 80-75 overtime loss to Virginia in the Elite 8 of last year's NCAA Tournament. "This is why you come to Purdue," Boilermakers coach Matt Painter told reporters. "We want to play in games like this against great teams."
TV: 7:15 p.m. ET, ESPN2
ABOUT VIRGINIA (7-0): Mamadi Diakite scored a game-high 15 points and pulled down seven rebounds, and the Cavaliers held Maine to 18.6 percent shooting from the field. Huff added 13 points and five boards in his first start of the season in place of Braxton Key, who underwent wrist surgery after suffering the injury in the championship game of the Air Force Reserve Tip-Off against Arizona State on Nov. 24. Kihei Clark drained a career-high three 3-pointers en route to nine points to go along with five assists and three steals against the Black Bears. Kody Stattmann is nearing a return after missing the last four games with an illness.
ABOUT PURDUE (4-3): Matt Haarms went 6-of-6 from the floor en route to a team-high 16 points to go along with eight rebounds against Florida State, but it wasn't enough as the Boilermakers were doomed by a 33.9 percent shooting performance from the field. Jahaad Proctor added 12 points to finish in double figures for the 23rd straight game dating back to last season and Eric Hunter Jr. tallied 10 against the Seminoles. Aaron Wheeler and Evan Boudreaux combined for six points on 2-of-18 shooting, including 0-for-8 from 3-point range, as Purdue missed seven of its eight attempts from the floor and had five turnovers in overtime.
TIP-INS
1. Virginia has held three opponents to fewer than 40 points this season.
2. Purdue is 10-8 in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
3. The Cavaliers have won seven straight road games dating back to last season.
PREDICTION: Virginia 67, Purdue 61