Purdue Basketball Game 13 Preview: Florida A&M

Off to a 12-0 start and ranked No. 1 nationally, Purdue closes out both its non-conference season and the 2022 calendar year Thursday evening by hosting Florida A&M. Here’s our comprehensive preview of the Boilermakers’ meeting with the Rattlers.

Where: Mackey Arena (West Lafayette)

When: Thursday, Dec. 29, 5 p.m. ET

TV: BTN

Radio: Purdue Sports Network (WAZY locally)

In-game updates: GoldandBlack.com | Twitter @brianneubert

ABOUT THE TEAMS

Purdue: Roster | Schedule | Stats

Florida A&M: Roster | Schedule | Stats

NUMBERS AND SUCH

Team	AP	Coaches	NET	KenPom	KenPom Win%
Purdue	1	1	4	7	99.9%
Florida A&M	—	—	359	357	0.01%

ON PURDUE (12-0, 2-0 B1G)

• Purdue is looking to push its non-conference winning streak to two dozen games. The Boilermakers would be 11-0 this season against non-Big Ten competition.

• Several members of Purdue’s team, as well as Coach Matt Painter, have battled the flu in recent weeks. Zach Edey missed the New Orleans game, but is fine now. Caleb Furst almost missed the New Orleans game, but is fine now. Ethan Morton is among those who’s been under the weather lately also, but he practiced on Wednesday.

PROJECTED PURDUE LINEUPS

Starters

Center — 15 Zach Edey (7-4, 290, Junior)

Edey’s enjoying an all-time great season at Purdue and has arguably been the best and most influential player in college basketball.

Forward— 1 Caleb Furst (6-10, 230, Sophomore)

Furst battled through the flu against New Orleans. He’s good now. His three-point shooting may come into the picture more when Big Ten play starts. In the meantime, his activity around the rim is his calling card.

Guard — 3 Braden Smith (6-0, 180, Freshman)

Smith and classmate Fletcher Loyer are at that point in the season when the legs can get a bit weary. They’ve logged so many minutes, played so much and played so well as freshmen.

Guard — 2 Fletcher Loyer (6-4, 185, Freshman)

Loyer’s going to have one of those four- or five-three games before long, and that would be especially important heading into Big Ten play to make sure he has game-planners’ respect.

Guard/Forward — 25 Ethan Morton (6-7, 215, Junior)

Morton has done a nice job defensively this season as Purdue’s primary wing stopper and has been one of the faces of the excellent job the Boilermakers have done taking care of the ball. He doesn’t score much, but that doesn’t matter all that much, though he’d love to see more threes go down.

Rotational Reserves

Forward — 0 Mason Gillis (6-6, 230, Junior)

Gillis will presumably come off the bench again after Furst started three games in his absence earlier. Gillis really looked like he was trying to spark Edey-less Purdue to open the New Orleans game, as he was very aggressive off the dribble.

Guard — 5 Brandon Newman (6-5, 200, Junior)

Newman’s done a solid job defensively this season, and a great job rebounding, but will want to up his three-point clip.

Forward/Center — 4 Trey Kaufman-Renn (6-9, 225, Redshirt Freshman)

The game was never in doubt, but Kaufman-Renn buoyed Purdue offensively against New Orleans with Edey sidelined. This wasn’t some random guy playing the game of his life off the bench. That 24-point game was the sort of thing Purdue would get from him regularly if he got the same opportunities every time out.

Guard/Forward — 11 Brian Waddell (6-8, 195, Redshirt Freshman)

Waddell has a spot in his Purdue’s rotation, but the extent of that spot has shifted game to game. He already seems to have Matt Painter’s trust, but he’s not been as productive of late as he was to start the season.

Guard — 14 David Jenkins Jr. (6-1, 200, Senior)

Purdue’s No. 2 point guard even though he’s more of a scoring guard, Jenkins might be a good example of what Painter always says about scorers having a hard time finding rhythm in limited minutes. To Jenkins’ credit, he seems all in with his new team and its success thus far.

Guard/Forward — 23 Camden Heide (6-7, 205, Freshman)

Heide seems to be set to redshirt this season.

Note: Freshman center Will Berg will redshirt this season.

ON FLORIDA A&M (2-8)

• A&M’s losses this season: Oregon, Portland, Oregon State, Miami, Florida, Georgia, Louisville and Kentucky, all on the road, obviously.

• The Rattlers are 358th nationally in offensive efficiency, per KenPom, and turn the ball over on 26 percent of their possessions. Not good.

FLORIDA A&M LINEUPS

Forward —5 Jaylen Bates (6-7, 215, Junior)

Bates averages a team-best 10.9 points and 6.9 rebounds and makes better than 41 percent from three.

Guard — 23 Jordan Tillmon (6-2, 180, Junior)

Guard — 1 Byron Smith (6-2, 185, Junior)

Forward — 10 Chase Barrs (6-9, 210, Senior)

Guard — 2 Jordan Chatman (6-5, 208, Sophomore)

Bench

Guard— 4 Hantz Louis-Jeune (6-6, 180, Junior)

Forward — 3 Peyton Williams (6-7, 205, R-Sophomore)

Guard — 0 Dimingus Stevens (6-6, 180, Junior)

LIGHTNING-ROUND TAKES

• Half Purdue’s team has battled the flu the past few weeks and the Boilermakers are coming off break. Don’t expect perfection.

THREE KEYS FOR PURDUE

be engaged	dominate inside	transition
Hard to get excited for this one, and with the flu bug having taken its toll, there may be some lethargy to plow through. Hey, we have to write about something.	The Boilermakers ought to run rampant on the glass and around the rim.	Purdue isn’t the highest-pressure defense in college basketball, but should be able to turn A&M over and get some easy baskets.

PREDICTION: PURDUE 91, FLORIDA A&M 60

This is Purdue’s final warm-up prior to the resumption of Big Ten play, but shouldn’t be much of a test, truth be told. These are the sorts of games that can test teams’ internal drive and maturity, though. Neither of those things has been an issue for the Boilermakers thus far.