Last season, in their first meeting since the consolation game of the 1981 NIT, Purdue extended its undefeated start by handing West Virginia its first loss.
Coach Bob Huggins and the Mountaineers are looking for redemption and first win in the matchup as it shifts to Morgantown.
The eighth-ranked Boilermakers try to rebound from their first loss since late November on Sunday when West Virginia goes for its season-high fourth straight victory.
Looking to cap an undefeated non-conference schedule, then-No. 4 Purdue improved to 13-0 with a 77-62 victory at Mackey Arena over then-sixth-ranked West Virginia on Jan. 1, 2010.
Along with watching his big men get "destroyed" by forward JaJuan Johnson, who finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds, Huggins has other not-so-fond memories the game that also prevented his team from opening 12-0 for the first time since 1957-58.
"It was noon last year and it was so cold, so snowy, and so ugly in West Lafayette," Huggins told the school's official website. "All of our guys from (former Mountaineer forward) Da'Sean (Butler) on down said it was the greatest crowd … the most enthusiastic and the most intimidating crowd that they ever played against.
"They never sat down and they were beating the hell out of us and they still never sat down."
Huggins also had a front row seat in the Boilermakers' only previous visit to WVU Coliseum. Then a reserve guard on West Virginia, Huggins scored eight points as Purdue posted a 90-79 victory on Dec. 6, 1975.
The Boilermakers (15-2) will try to become the first non-conference opponent to leave Morgantown with a victory since LSU won 71-68 in overtime on Nov. 26, 2005.
Purdue is looking to avoid back-to-back losses for the first time since a three-game skid from Jan. 9-16, 2010, after its 10-game run ended Thursday with a 70-67 loss at Minnesota. Coach Matt Painter's team shot 38.3 percent from the field and did not make a basket following E'Twaun Moore's layup with 9:21 left.
"I don't think we had great, great understanding of what was going on,'' Painter said following his team's first loss after falling 65-54 to Richmond on Nov. 27. "JaJuan Johnson needs to touch the ball more inside late in the game.''
Johnson, a senior, finished with 29 points and 11 rebounds, but Moore continued to struggle with his shot, missing 12 of 14 and scoring just five points.
"I had some shots. They just didn't go down,'' said Moore, shooting 9 for 39 from the field and averaging 6.7 points in the last three games. "The same shots I've had before.''
He scored 15 points last season against West Virginia.
John Flowers had just two points in seven minutes during that loss, but could play a much bigger role Sunday.
The senior forward scored a career-high 24 points and added six rebounds, five assists and five blocks as West Virginia (11-4) won a season high-tying third in a row on Thursday, 93-63 over Providence. Flowers also limited Friars forward Marshon Brooks to 13 points - more than 10 below his season average.
"John Flowers was as good as he's been in his career here and he was as good as a lot of people here today," Huggins said.
Flowers and junior forward Kevin Jones, who scored 19 points with 13 rebounds, will have to be better on the boards after Providence grabbed 25 on the offensive end.
Purdue is third in the Big Ten with 38.3 rebounds per game.
The Boilermakers are 5-0 all-time versus the Mountaineers.
