No. 7 Purdue aims to keep its momentum going when Southern California comes to West Lafayette, Ind., for a Big Ten matchup on Friday.
The Boilermakers (18-5, 10-2 Big Ten) have won three games in a row and 10 of their last 11, including a 90-81 victory over Iowa on Tuesday. Purdue scored 54 points in the second half of that game. Braden Smith and Trey Kaufman-Renn each had big games, scoring 31 and 25 points, respectively.
Kaufman-Renn and Smith have been key to Purdue’s success all season with their inside-outside combination. Kaufman-Renn leads the team with an average of 18.7 points per game, while Smith averages 16.4 points and ranks third in Division I with 8.6 assists per game, even though he had a season-low four assists in the Iowa game.
“My job as the point guard is to get us into offense,” Smith said after the game. “Go get mine or go get someone else a shot and help them.”
Purdue’s win at Iowa and Michigan State’s loss to UCLA on Tuesday have allowed the Boilermakers to sit alone at the top of the Big Ten heading into Friday’s game.
On Feb. 11, Purdue will begin a stretch of three straight games against ranked Big Ten teams, starting with a home game against Wisconsin, followed by road games at Michigan and Michigan State. However, the Boilermakers can’t overlook USC, a team that has won its last two games against ranked opponents.
The Trojans (13-9, 5-6) defeated No. 13 Illinois 82-72 on Jan. 11 and beat Michigan State 70-64 last Saturday, handing the Spartans their first Big Ten loss.
A key player in both victories has been Desmond Claude, who scored 31 points against Illinois and finished with 19 points and six rebounds against Michigan State. However, he hurt his knee in that game and did not play in USC’s loss to Northwestern on Tuesday.
The Trojans trailed by as many as 15 points in the second half against Northwestern, but Clark Slajchert helped spark a comeback with a season-high 24 points, including a four-point play that tied the game at 75-75 with 29 seconds left.
“We recruited him because of his offensive ability,” said USC coach Eric Musselman. “He scored 20 points against us at Arkansas when he was a freshman, and he had a huge game against Kentucky last season. We showed our team his highlights before the game to help build his confidence, not only in himself but also in the team.”
With Claude out, USC will likely need another strong performance from Slajchert, who will need to fill the gap left by Claude’s 16.2 points per game.
The Trojans will also need a better showing from Saint Thomas, who had eight assists but only scored four points and committed four turnovers against Northwestern, well below his season average of 10.6 points.
In addition, USC will need to improve its rebounding after being out-rebounded 43-27 by Northwestern. Purdue comes into the game allowing just 31.5 rebounds per game, the 32nd-lowest rate among all Division I teams.
