Northwestern @ Purdue preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 9, 2019 ) Purdue 70, Northwestern 57

Purdue looks to build off its best win of the season when it begins Big Ten play at home to Northwestern on Sunday. The Boilermakers knocked off No. 2 Virginia 69-40 as part of the Big Ten/Atlantic Coast Conference Challenge to record their largest margin of victory over a ranked opponent in program history, and the defending Co-Big Ten champions hope to continue their upward trajectory by beating the Wildcats for the seventh straight time in the rivalry.

"It was about testing ourselves and showing people that we have what it takes to be a really good team," Purdue center Matt Haarms told reporters. "It was a great win for us, but it can't end here, this has to be the start of something." Northwestern climbed back over .500 with an 82-64 win over Boston College on Tuesday. The Wildcats have won three of their last four games following a 1-2 start, and hope to put a disappointing November in the rearview mirror by taking down the Boilermakers for the first time since a 74-65 victory on Mar. 9, 2014. "There's no question when you get into the conference there's a different level of intensity," Northwestern coach Chris Collins told reporters. "We have to go into Mackey Arena which is one of the toughest environments in all of college basketball with a lot of young guys."

TV: 5 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network

ABOUT NORTHWESTERN (4-3): Boo Buie poured in a career-high 20 points on 8-of-9 shooting in the win against Boston College to become the first Wildcat player to score 20 points off the bench since Scottie Lindsay did it in 2017. Miller Kopp knocked down four 3-pointers en route to a season-high 20 points against the Eagles as Northwestern shot a season-best 58.2 percent from the floor. Ryan Young added 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field to finish in double figures for the fourth time this season while Anthony Gaines scored nine points and grabbed five rebounds.

ABOUT PURDUE (5-3): Sasha Stefanovic drilled six 3-pointers en route to a career-high 20 points to go along with four steals in his first start of the season to help the Boilermakers avenge an overtime loss to Virginia in last season's Elite 8. Jahaad Proctor added 16 points and four steals to finish in double figures for the 24th straight game dating back to last season as Purdue beat a top 5 opponent at home in non-conference play for the first time in program history. Haarms scored 11 points and pulled down five rebounds while Eric Hunter Jr. finished with 10 points and a team-high four assists.

TIP-INS

1. Purdue has won eight of the last 10 home meetings with Northwestern.

2. Northwestern is 3-16 on the road in Big Ten play since the start of the 2017-18 season.

3. The Boilermakers have held six consecutive opponents to 65 points or fewer.

PREDICTION: Purdue 76, Northwestern 63