Purdue @ Northwestern preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 8, 2019 ) Northwestern 44, Purdue 58

Purdue looks to post its first road win since Dec. 17 when it faces Northwestern on Saturday in Big Ten play. The Boilermakers have dropped four straight road games, including a 70-63 setback to No. 25 Rutgers on Tuesday, to tumble into the bottom half of the conference standings, and they hope to avoid falling to .500 in the month of February for the first time since 2013.

“There are things that go against you on the road at times but you have to be able to overcome some of that,” Purdue coach Matt Painter told reporters. “You just try to grab a silver lining and try win the next one but we have a very competitive league.” Northwestern is left to pick up the pieces after suffering a 79-50 defeat to No. 14 Michigan State on Wednesday. The Wildcats have lost five consecutive games by an average margin of 14 points, to remain in last place in the Big Ten standings, and hope to stop the bleeding by knocking off the Boilermakers for the first time since March 9, 2014. “Sometimes you forget where they’re at in their careers and you want them to be ahead of schedule,” Northwestern coach Chris Collins told reporters. “This can be a real learning experience if you handle it the right way so that’s what we have to do.”

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

ABOUT PURDUE (11-10, 4-6 Big Ten): Jahaad Proctor scored a game-high 19 points to go along with four assists and a pair of steals, but the Boilermakers were doomed by 18 turnovers in the loss to Rutgers. Trevion Williams added 17 points and 13 rebounds to register his fifth double-double of the season while Evan Boudreaux finished with nine points and six rebounds against the Scarlet Knights. Eric Hunter Jr. had seven points and six boards while Sasha Stefanovic, who is averaging 9.2 points this season, was held scoreless on 0-of-5 shooting from the field.

ABOUT NORTHWESTERN (6-14, 1-9): Pat Spencer was the lone Wildcat to finish in double figures as he led the team in scoring for the sixth time with 11 points in the loss to Michigan State. Ryan Young and Robbie Beran each tallied eight points while Miller Kopp, who is averaging a team-leading 13.3 points per game this season, was limited to seven points on 1-of-9 shooting from the floor against the Spartans. “For most of my team this was the first time they ever played in this building,” Collins told reporters. “Some nights you run into teams like this who are really good and old and tough and they let you know where you need to go.”

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Purdue has won seven straight meetings with Northwestern.

2. The Wildcats have dropped 20 of their last 22 Big Ten games.

3. Stefanovic is 6-of-30 from 3-point range in his last five Big Ten road games.

PREDICTION: Purdue 75, Northwestern 69