University of Minnesota Athletics

Thursday, February 15
West Lafayette, IN
7:30 PM

University of Minnesota

at

Purdue

Next Event

Purdue
L, 76-84

Feb 15 (Thu)

7:30 PM

Players Mentioned

Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Fox Parker
Photo by: Brad Rempel

Gophers Back on Road to Face No. 2 Purdue

2/12/2024 4:06:00 PM | Men's Basketball

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Broadcast: BTN (Brandon Gaudin, pbp), Robbie Hummel (color)
Tip Time: 7:37 p.m. CT 
Radio: Radio: KFAN 100.3 FM (Mike Grimm, Al Nolen)
Sirius: SiriusXM 382 and on the SiriusXM App

SERIES INFORMATION*
182nd Meeting (Minnesota trails Purdue, 81-100)
Record at Purdue: 25-65
Last Meeting: Jan. 19, 2023 (at Williams Arena, L, 61-39)
Gophers All-Time vs. Big Ten: 793-906
* - excludes vacated games

STARTING FIVE
• For the first time this season, Minnesota is on the road for its second straight game when the Golden Gophers travel to the No. 2 Purdue Boilermakers on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. CT. The game will be televised on Big Ten Network and KFAN 100.3 FM. It's the first and only meeting between the two teams this season. Minnesota went 0-2 against the reigning Big Ten champions last year. 
• Minnesota is 81-100 all time against the Boilermakers and looking for its first win against Purdue since 2021, which came at Williams Arena in a 71-68 victory. The Gophers are 25-65 on Purdue's home court and looking for its first win in Mackey Arena since 2017 when the Gophers won a New Year's Day game in 91-82 overtime fashion. 
• Two alums are coaching their alma maters in this game in Minnesota's Ben Johnson and Purdue's Matt Painter. Johnson is in his third year as head coach of his alma mater Minnesota. Matt Painter is in his 19th season as head coach of Purdue. After a year at Southern Illinois, Painter started at Purdue in 2005-06. Purdue went 9-19 that season and since then, has gone 426-181 after his first year. Johnson and Painter are two of four coaches in the Big Ten that coach at their alma mater. The other two are Mike Woodson (Indiana) and Juwan Howard (Michigan). 
• Minnesota split action last week and are now 6-6 in league play. The Gophers defeated Michigan State on Tuesday, Feb. 6 at Williams Arena, 59-56. Minnesota, however, dropped a 90-85 decision at Iowa Sunday. Cam Christie had 19 points in the win over Michigan State and added another 15 against Iowa. Dawson Garcia scored 10 against MSU and scored 18 against Iowa, despite leaving the game early due to injury. 
Cam Christie has four straight double-digit games heading into the Purdue game Thursday.  At Penn State, Christie had 17 points, followed by 15 against Northwestern. He added 19 against Michigan State last week and another 15 against Iowa Sunday. The true freshman averages 11.3 ppg and ranks second on the team in scoring. He ranks second on the team in three-pointers, trailing Mike Mitchell Jr., by one at 47. Christie averages 28.2 minutes, and shooting 45.1 from the field and 41 percent from beyond the arc. 

HAWKINS SETTING IT UP
Elijah Hawkins tops the nation in assists per game (7.6) and ranks fifth nationally in total assists at 168. Against Michigan State, Hawkins also established his 500th career assist. The junior transfer from Howard has had three double-double point/assist games. Hawkins also has had games in which he had double-digit points, including three against Big Ten opponents. The Washington, D.C., native also has five double-digit assist games this season. He also ranks fourth in the Big Ten and 33rd nationally in assist/turnover ratio at 2.80. 

WHERE THEY RANK
•  Take a look at where the Gophers rank in the Big Ten nationally: 

Gophers Rank    Big Ten    Nationally
Assists Per Game    1    6
Assist/Turnover Ratio    5    36
Bench Points    3    131
Effective FG %    3    83
FG %        5    146
3-Ptrs Per Game    2    19
3-Pt %        3    43

ABOUT PURDUE
• No. 2 Purdue enters the game with a 22-2 overall record and 11-2 in Big Ten play. The Boilermakers have won eight straight and unblemished at home at 12-0. Purdue is coming off a 79-59 win Saturday vs. Indiana. 
•  Purdue is led by All-American and 2023 Player of the Year Zach Edey, who averages 23.3 points and 11.7 rebounds. Transfer Lance Jones and Braden Smith follow behind averaging 12.8 and 12.7 points, while Fletcher Loyer averages 11.0. Smith also holds a team-best 171 assists and 39 steals, while Jones has a team-best 52 threes.  
•  As a team, Purdue is scoring a Big Ten-best 85.1 points, while allowing just 69.5. Purdue is shooting a Big Ten best 49.1 from the field and 40 as a team from three-point range. The Boilermakers average 41.3 rebounds per game and drawn 488 fouls this season as the team holds a 71.5 free throw mark. 

ON THE DOCKET
•  Minnesota returns to Williams Arena on Sunday, Feb. 18 when it hosts Rutgers at 5:30 p.m on Big Ten Network. 
•  Mike Grimm and Al Nolen will provide the radio broadcast on KFAN 100.3 FM. 


 
Highlights: Gophers 80, NDSU 54
Thursday, October 16
Behind the Scenes: B1G Media Day
Monday, October 13
2025 Super Block Party
Monday, October 13
Asuma & Crocker-Johnson at B1G Media Day
Thursday, October 09