Ohio St. @ Purdue preview
Mackey Arena
Last Meeting ( Feb 15, 2020 ) Purdue 52, Ohio St. 68
No. 20 Ohio State and Purdue feel like their most recent games will help when they open Big Ten play on Wednesday in West Lafayette, Ind.
The Buckeyes (5-0) struggled with the physical play of Cleveland State in a 67-61 win on Sunday but coach Chris Holtmann said it's a style that can be expected from Purdue (4-2) and other conference opponents.
"They play differently than Purdue in one sense because they don't really care if they foul," Holtmann said of Cleveland State's 27 fouls. "I thought they brought a real physicality and we're clearly the more aggressive team.
"Purdue, while they might not foul as much, applies that type of pressure. We've got to handle that better."
Boilermakers coach Matt Painter was unhappy with recent performances and kept Trevion Williams, the team's most experienced player, and Aaron Wheeler on the bench at the start of the Indiana State game on Saturday.
The strategy paid off in the 80-68 win when Williams had 30 points and 11 rebounds in 29 minutes.
"It was an eye opener," Williams said. "I need to play harder. It makes me better. Obviously it worked."
Wheeler contributed 10 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks in 23 minutes.
"Those are the types of games those guys have to have consistently, especially on the rebound," Painter said. "You don't expect somebody to score 30 points every night. Maybe you don't expect someone to get four blocks every night but you can rebound every single night out.
"That was a great sign that both those guys responded the way they did."
Purdue held a 40-23 rebounding advantage and will try to exploit the absence of E.J. Liddell, who leads Ohio State in points (15.5 per game) and rebounds (7.5).
The school announced Friday that Liddell will be out an indefinite period for an undisclosed non-COVID-19 illness.
While Justin Ahrens started for Liddell, reserve freshman forward Zed Key was the one who picked up the slack against Cleveland State. He had career highs with 19 points and 12 rebounds and added three assists, two blocks and a steal in 21 minutes.
"He creates space for people to drive," teammate C.J. Walker said. "He also can finish around the basket. Defensive rebounding. He had a couple blocks we needed. He's just really good for us. He's a good backup for E.J. He plays hard and gives us energy."
Holtmann praised Key's all-around game.
"Zed was great," he said. "He protected the rim and impacted shots. That was maybe his biggest impact. And then, he also just brought a physicality tonight. He was tremendous, and he certainly earned this moment."
The Boilermakers will have to take better care of the ball than they did against Indiana State.
"We're not going to beat teams consistently having 19 turnovers in a game," Painter said. "The light's got to come on for some guys. That's the best way to put it. You've got to compete, lay it on the line but you've got to be functional."
--Field Level Media