No. 3 Purdue looks for 19th straight against Rutgers (Feb 02, 2018)
PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Purdue takes its school-record and nation-best 18-game win streak to Rutgers on Saturday, a school the No. 3 Boilermakers have enjoyed recent success against.
The Boilermakers haven't lost since Nov. 23, when they dropped a 77-73 decision to Western Kentucky. Purdue has scored at least 70 points in 16 straight games.
Purdue (22-2, 11-0 Big Ten) leads the series with Rutgers (12-12, 2-9) 9-1, having won seven games in a row. Purdue is 5-0 against the Scarlet Knights as members of the Big Ten Conference and has won all five games by at least seven points, including three straight by an average of 33.3 points.
A win Saturday would give Purdue eight straight wins against Rutgers, which would be the third-longest win streak against an active opponent.
Three Boilermakers are within reach of scoring milestones. Isaac Haas needs three points for 1,400 in his career. Vincent Edwards needs three points for 1,500 and Dakota Mathias is 10 points short of 1,000 for his career. He would be the 52nd Purdue player to achieve that mark.
Edwards and Haas combine to average 30.2 points and 13.2 rebounds per game.
"It's a lot of fun to see him (Haas) get double-teamed and see my man leave me and I'm literally right there standing at the basket," Edwards told the Journal and Courier. "That's the best part."
"This year it's more understanding they're not going to take the ball from me, because as soon as I see it I'm just going to put the clamps on it and they're not going to take it from me," Haas said.
"They're either going to foul me, or I'm going to find the open guy or I'm going to dribble away from it and then find the open guy -- drag them a little bit further away. It's understanding as long as I become patient and don't get rushed by the trap I should be fine."
Rutgers will be without sophomore forward Eugene Omoruyi, who suffered a patella injury during Tuesday's loss to Illinois.
"You won't see him for a while," Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell said. "He has a bad injury. Just more adversity. You can't control injuries. Obviously, you feel awful for Eugene. He was playing well and was a big part of what we're doing, but someone else will have to step up now."
Pikiell said senior forward Candido Sa, who suffered a scratched cornea at Illinois but should play, could see increased minutes.
"I'm pretty sure he's going to be fine," Pikiell said.
The 6-foot-9, 235-pound Sa averages just 2.0 points and 3.1 rebounds in 11 minutes.
"He can defend multiple positions, he's very mature, he's been great in practice," Pikiell said of Sa. "He's really taken on some added (leadership) responsibilities with Mike (Williams) out. So he's an important guy, especially since Purdue is so big. We need all the big bodies that we can in a game like this."
Rutgers is 14th nationally in scoring defense (63.2), 17th in offensive rebounding (13.43), 22nd in field-goal percentage defense (39.9), 27th in rebounding (39,.71) and 30th in turnover margin (3.4). The Scarlet Knights have the second most difficult conference schedule in the Big Ten and are 17th nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency, according to KenPom analysis.
Saturday's contest will mark the second home sellout this season at the Rutgers Athletic Center, after drawing 8,318 fans on Dec. 16 in the 71-65 defeat of then-No. 15 Seton Hall. It signals the first time Rutgers men's basketball has enjoyed multiple home sell-outs in the same campaign since 2011.
