Four numbers to know ahead of Iowa-Purdue WBB
After a nine-day Christmas break, the Iowa women’s basketball team will return to the hardwood on Sunday afternoon, hosting the Purdue Boilermakers at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. It will be the 80th all-time meeting between the two programs, with Purdue leading the series 40-39. The Hawkeyes have enjoyed recent success in the series, winning each of the last eight meetings. The Boilermakers enter the contest with a 7-5 record, but they do not have a win against a team ranked inside the NET top 125. All five of their losses have come against NET top 60 teams by an average of 27.2 points per game.
HawkeyeReport takes a look at some important numbers to know going into Sunday’s matchup between the Hawkeyes and Boilermakers.
5.5 – Purdue made three-pointers per game
Not quite the anti-Tennessee, but close enough, the Boilermakers rank 301st in three-point attempt rate (27.7%) and 236th in made threes per game (5.5). They’ve made five or fewer threes in seven of their 12 games and have not reached double-digit made triples in any game. Stephen F Austin transfer Destini Lombard (20), NAIA Marian transfer Ella Collier (16) and Sophie Swanson (15) have combined for 77.3% of the teams three-point makes. This will be a much different look for the Hawkeyes to go up against, as their opponent three-point rate is tenth highest in the country (42.5%) through 12 games.
18.9% – Purdue forced turnover rate
Iowa has had their struggles with turnovers this season, ranking 167th in the country in turnovers per game (16.8), but Purdue is one of the worst when it comes to forcing opponents into mistakes. They rank 327th in forced turnover rate (18.9%) and 317th in turnovers forced per game (13.83). Guard Destini Lombard has totaled a Big Ten-leading 30 steals, so she will be one to be wary of. If the Hawkeyes are able to take care of the basketball and get comfortable offensively, they have shot it well, ranking 25th in the country in effective field goal percentage (53.3%).
Top 10
- 1New
Desean Jackson
Finalizing deal to be college HC
- 2
Jim Larranaga
Miami HC set to step down
- 3Hot
CFP selection process
Urban Meyer predicts changes
- 4
National Championship odds
Updated odds are in
- 5
LaNorris Sellers
South Carolina QB signs NIL deal to return
Get the On3 Top 10 to your inbox every morning
By clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms, and use of my personal information described therein.
45.1% – Purdue opponent two-point percentage
This could very well go hand in hand with the Boilermakers inability to force turnovers. The Purdue defense ranks 156th in the country in opponent two-point percentage allowed (45.1%) and they will be going up against an Iowa team that is 13th in two-point shooting (55.8%). In seven of 12 games, the Boilers have allowed opponents to shoot better than 50.0% from two-point range. Kentucky (20/30) and South Carolina (35/63) both shot better than 55.0%.
21.3% and 65.0% – Purdue free throw rate and free throw percentage
When it comes to earning trips to the free throw line, Purdue has really struggled. They rank 329th in the country in free throw rate (21.3%), averaging just 13.08 free throws per game. That’s well below the NCAA average over 16.58 attempts per game. Even more concerning for the Boilermakers, when they do get to the line, they’ve had trouble converting, ranking 298th in the country in free throw percentage (65.0%).
