Feb. 4, 2013

Purdue game notes

Tip: 7:06 p.m. ET
Television: BTN (Revsine/Jackson).
Radio: Purdue Sports Network (Clisby/Blackman/Scott).
Satellite Radio: Sirius 128; XM 192.
Rankings: Purdue - NR/NR; Penn State - NR/NR.
Live Stats: Live stats are available via purduesports.com.

GAME STORYLINES
» Purdue will look to end a two-game skid and get back to .500 in Big Ten play when it visits Penn State for an early-week showdown on Tuesday.

» Tuesday's contest is the last in a stretch that will see the Boilermakers play five games in 13 days, three of which are on the road; the Jan. 30 game against Indiana wrapped up Purdue's second three-game/seven-day stretch of the month-old Big Ten season.

» Despite stumbling in University Park last season, the Boilers have won eight of the last 10 in the series with Penn State; Purdue earned a 60-42 win over PSU at Mackey Arena on Jan. 5 behind A.J. Hammons' first-career double-double.

» Since opening his Purdue head coaching career with 17-consecutive road losses, Matt Painter has guided the Boilermakers to a 35-28 (.556) record in their last 63 games on opponents' home floors.

» The Boilermakers head into Tuesday's game as the top rebounding team in the Big Ten in conference action, grabbing an average of 38.9 per game; Purdue's average of 14.4 offensive boards per game in league play is also the best in the Big Ten.

» Freshman center A.J. Hammons ranks second in the league in offensive rebounds per game (3.2) and fourth in total rebounds per game (7.8) in Big Ten action.

» Hammons was a force on both ends of the floor last week, averaging 24.5 points, 9.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks against Indiana and Northwestern; Hammons and Kentucky's Nerlens Noel are the only two freshmen in the power six conferences averaging at least 10 points, six rebounds and two blocks per game.

» Hammons leads the Big Ten lead with an average of 2.9 blocks per game in conference action, piling up 26 in nine games; his effort has propelled the Boilers to an average of 5.8 blocks per B1G game, good for second in the league.

» With Hammons as the focal point, the Boilers have scored 716 of their 1,441 points (49.7 percent) this season in the paint; Purdue is averaging 32.5 points per game in the paint and outscoring opponents by an average of 6.9 points per game on the block.

» Senior wing D.J. Byrd leads the Big Ten with an average of 2.8 three-point field goals per game in Big Ten play; since the calendar flipped to 2013, Byrd has averaged 11.3 points per game and shot 44.6 percent from beyond the arc.

» Freshman guard Ronnie Johnson is averaging 10.1 points and 4.1 assists per game in Big Ten play; his assist average in league contests is tied for fifth in the league and his 2.1 assist-to-turnover ratio is also good for fifth.

» Playmaking brothers Terone and Ronnie Johnson account for 32.7 percent of Purdue's scoring and 46.5 percent of the team's assits on the season.