The Michigan Wolverines (10-4, 1-2 Big Ten) are coming off a loss at Michigan State on Sunday, and will look to bounce back tonight against the Purdue Boilermakers (9-6, 2-2 Big Ten). The Wolverines have now lost four of their last five games against high-major opponents. Needless to say, there's a high level of importance on this game, and for U-M to hold serve at home in the very deep Big Ten.
We caught up with Brian Neubert of GoldAndBlack.com to get some insight on Purdue. Purdue is coming off a Sunday loss at Illinois, 63-37. The Boilermakers have been inconsistent this season, but have shown the ability to knock off good teams, like then-No. 5 Virginia in early December.
The Basics
Date: Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Venue: Crisler Center (Ann Arbor, Mich.)
TV: FS1
RELATED: Videos: Juwan Howard, Players Talk Before Purdue Game
Purdue Boilermakers (9-6, 2-2 Big Ten) — Results
vs. Green Bay (W, 79-57)
vs. Texas (L, 77-60)
at Marquette (L, 65-55)
vs. Chicago State (W, 93-49)
vs. Jacksonville (W, 81-49)
vs. VCU (W, 59-56)
vs. Virginia (W, 69-40)
vs. Northwestern (W, 58-44)
at Nebraska (L, 70-56)
at Ohio (W, 69-51)
vs. Butler (L, 70-61)
vs. Central Michigan (W, 97-62)
vs. Minnesota (W, 83-78)
at Illinois (L, 63-37)
Purdue Boilermakers — Projected Starting Five
No. 55 - Sophomore guard Sasha Stefanovic (6-4, 195 pounds) — He averages 9.8 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game, and shoots 42.5 percent from the field and 45 percent from long range.
No. 2 - Sophomore guard Eric Hunter Jr. (6-4, 175 pounds) — Hunter Jr. averages 10.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. He shoots 42.9 percent from the field and 41.8 percent from three.
No. 20 - Junior guard Nojel Eastern (6-7, 225 pounds) — He is averaging 4.1 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game, while shooting 37.8 percent from the field and is 0-for-3 on three-point attempts.
No. 50 - Sophomore forward Trevion Williams (6-9, 270 pounds) — Williams averages 9.5 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game, while shooting 60 percent from the floor.
No. 32 - Junior center Matt Haarms (7-3, 250 pounds) — Haarms leads the Boilermakers in scoring, with 11.5 points per game. He also adds 5.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists per contest. He shoots 57.4 percent from the field and has hit on seven of his 20 three-point attempts.
Off The Bench
No. 3 - Senior guard Jahad Proctor (6-3, 205 pounds) — The High Point graduate transfer is the Boilermakers' second leading scorer, and started every game this season except for the team's last game at Illinois. He averages 11.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game, while shooting 37.9 percent from the field and 27.8 percent from three.
No. 1 - Sophomore forward Aaron Wheeler (6-9, 205 pounds) — He's averaging 4.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game in 22.6 minutes. He shoots 24.2 percent from the floor and 23.8 percent from three.
No. 11 - Freshman guard Isaiah Thompson (6-1, 165 pounds) — He averages 4.3 points and 1.3 rebounds per game in 17.5 minutes, while shooting 29.9 percent from the field and 32.7 percent from three.
Matchup To Watch: Jon Teske vs. Purdue's Tandem Down Low
Haarms and Williams will likely split the duties of guarding senior center Jon Teske, Michigan's leading scorer (14.4 PPG), and going up against him on offense. Despite having productive seasons so far, Haarms and Williams combined for just 11 points on Sunday night against the Illini.
"Teske's really good and both big men are coming off rough games at Illinois," Neubert said. "They're way better than they showed the other night, for whatever reason. Purdue needs their best, or else it's not gonna have much of a chance. Not just at Michigan, but in many of the top-tier games it plays in the Big Ten."
Comparison: Team Statistics
Kenpom Prediction
Kenpom has predicted Michigan to top Purdue, 65-61. The site gives the Wolverines a 66 percent chance to beat the Boilermakers.
Comparison: Kenpom Ratings
How Purdue Differs From Last Season
"Purdue has improved defensively in some ways over last year's team, in part because it has a couple of the Big Ten's best individual defenders, but also because it's just better defensively in the backcourt all across the board," Neubert said. "But, this Purdue team has some real limitations offensively, as well, in part because it lost so much scoring and playmaking punch from last year's backcourt, but also because it's not getting productivity from a few pieces it came into the season counting on."
