Big Ten Basketball Preview: A Look at Northwestern-Purdue

Northwestern Wildcats at Purdue Boilermakers, Mackey Arena, West Lafayette, IN
Friday, December 31, 2010, 12:00 pm Eastern, TV: ESPN2
Opening Line: Purdue -11
Current Line: Purdue -11
Opening Total: 134 1/2
Current Total: 136
Money Line: Purdue -700 / Northwestern +550

E'twaun Moore and the Purdue Boilermakers take on the Northwestern Wildcats in Big Ten action Friday. Purdue is an 11 point favorite at home

The Northwestern Wildcats are 9-1 on the season. They open Big Ten play at the 11th ranked 12-1 Purdue Boilermakers. Purdue has already started conference play with an 80-57 win at Michigan on Tuesday. Northwestern has a loss at St. John’s last week on the season. They have a win over Georgia Tech but the schedule has been pretty soft so far other than those two games. Northwestern is trying to make the NCAA tournament for the first time in history. The Wildcats are the only major conference team to have never made the tournament. This year the Big Ten is so touch that 10-8 or 9-9 in conference will probably get you in the Big Dance. Purdue has a loss to Richmond in a tournament in Chicago on the season. The Purdue schedule hasn’t been that demanding either but they do have wins over Virginia Tech and Alabama on the season. Northwestern could be without leading scorer John Shurna who sprained his ankle December 23 in the Wildcats victory over Mt. St. Mary’s. He was helped off the court in the second half of the 70-47 Wildcat blowout victory. Northwestern has games coming up against Michigan St and Illinois and might hold Shurna out to make sure he is 100% healthy. He is listed as probable, but keep an eye on the situation, of course. Purdue is on a 7 game winning streak since the loss to Richmond. Purdue won the last meeting between the schools 69-61 in the Big Ten tournament.

Northwestern is outscoring opponents 79-64 on the season. They are shooting 49.2% from the field and 40.1% from 3 point range. Wildcat opponents shoot 44.1% from the field. The Wildcats shoot 69.3% from the free throw line. Shurna leads the team in scoring with 23.3 ppg. He also averages 5.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.6 steals a game. Shurna is shooting 62.3% from 3 point range. Drew Crawford is averaging 15.5 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2.7 apg, and 1.1 steals a game. Michael Thompson leads the team in assists with 4.8 a game and 1.6 steals, which is tied with Shurna for the team lead. He also scores 14.8 ppg. Luka Mirkovic leads the team in rebounds with 7.4 a game. Northwestern is averaging 32.7 rebounds a game and has a rebounding margin of +0.6. The Wildcats average 18.9 assists and 11.1 turnovers a game. They force 15.3 turnovers a game on defense. Northwestern averages 8.3 steals and 2.9 blocks a game.

Purdue is outscoring opponents 75-56 on the season. The Boilermakers are shooting 45.3% from the field and 38.1% from 3 point range. Purdue opponents are shooting 38.2% from the field. They shoot 68.7% from the free throw line. The Boilermakers are led the dynamic duo of JaJuan Johnson and E’Twaun Moore. The two lead the Boilermakers in every statistical category except assists. The two are offsetting the loss of forward/center Robbie Hummell who is out for the season with a torn ACL. Johnson is leading Purdue in points with 20 a game, rebounds with 7.9 a game. and blocks with 2.3 a game. Moore is scoring 19.5 a game and leads the team in steals with 1.8 a game. He also averages 6 rebounds a game and 2.8 assists a game. Point guard Lewis Jackson leads the team in assists with 4.2 a game. Purdue averages 37.7 rebounds a game and has a rebounding margin of +3.9. They average 17.8 assists and 11.6 turnovers a game. Purdue forces 17.8 turnovers a game on defense. The Boilermakers average 7.1 steals and 4 blocks a game.

Bettors should keep an eye on the Shurna situation for Northwestern. He will probably play but we don’t know how effective he will be. I am sure the trainers will tape it up very tightly and see what happens. Both of these teams are very similar. They both are comfortable playing in the 60’s or low 70’s. They are very good on defense and rebound decently but not great. Neither are that great at free throw shooting. I think Purdue simply has too much for Northwestern to handle especially if Shurna doesn’t play for the Wildcats or is ineffective.