College Basketball Game of the Week: Ohio State vs. Purdue

Story posted January 30, 2022 in CommRadio, Sports by Logan Bourandas

We have a big time matchup coming up in the Big Ten.

The No. 16 Ohio State Buckeyes travel to take on No. 6 Purdue in a game with heavy conference implications.

Ohio State has been rolling recently with three straight victories although those have come either against the bottom of the Big Ten or lesser out-of-conference opponents. That stretch started with a close five-point win at home against Penn State.

Following that game, the Buckeyes faced a struggling non-conference opponent in IUPUI and crushed them to the tune of a 83-37 victory. Then after a postponement of their next matchup against Nebraska, a well-rested Ohio State team managed to defeat Minnesota by double-digits.

During all three of those games and this entire season, it’s been E.J Liddell leading the charge for the Buckeyes.

After a really solid season last year, the junior forward has managed to take a step up this season by posting averages of 19.6 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.

Liddell even had two double-doubles during that three-game stretch with his best performance coming against Minnesota with 23 points and 15 rebounds in the win.

Taking a look at this Purdue squad, it had a slight hiccup last week in a close loss against Indiana but since then the Boilermakers have won back to back games. Both wins were by 10-points or more as the Boilermakers kicked off that run with a 80-60 win over Northwestern.

Then four days later, the Boilermakers followed that up with a 83-73 win over a really good Iowa team on the road.

What makes this two-game stretch impressive for the Boilermakers is that Jaden Ivey either did not play or came off the bench during both games. Ivey, like Liddell, has taken a big step up this season posting averages of 16.6 points and five rebounds per game.

The sophomore guard is surrounded by a very talented front court which features a 7-foot-4 giant in Zach Edey as well as senior forward Trevion Williams who has taken a slight step back with Edey in the lineup, but still averages 12.7 points and 8.5 rebounds a night.

With both squads still as talented as they were last season, that should make Sunday’s matchup very entertaining to watch.

Both teams are within the top five in the Big Ten standings and have a conference record separated by half a game.

With this being the only time these two squads meet up this season, this could be a preview of the later rounds of the Big Ten tournament where these schools can possibly meet again with bigger implications on the line.

Prediction: Purdue 74, Ohio State 68

 

Logan Bourandas is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email lxb5412@psu.edu.