Free Live Odds - Scores and Odds - Sports News - Sports Information - Live Scores - Sports Statistics - Sports Articles - Sports Standings - Live Scor

GAME NOTES: A pair of Big Ten teams currently ranked in the top-10 meet in Columbus tonight, as the fourth-ranked Purdue Boilermakers come calling on the ninth-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes.

Purdue is riding a seven-game win streak, which has improved its season record to 21-3 and its conference mark to 9-3. As a result, the Boilermakers are right in the thick of things in the race for the Big Ten title, sitting just a half game back of first-place squads at Michigan State and Ohio State, which have identical 10-3 league ledgers. Purdue, which is 5-2 in true road games this season, has won its last three away from home, the most impressive of those being a 76-64 triumph at Michigan State on February 9th. The team's most recent outing took place at home this past Saturday, and the Iowa Hawkeyes were no match for coach Matt Painter's club, as they scored a mere 40 points in a 23-point loss to the Boilermakers.

As for Ohio State, it is in the midst of a six-game win streak, and the Buckeyes are a perfect 15-0 at home in 2009-10. Their last two games, however, took place outside of Columbus, the most recent of which resulted in a 72-53 shellacking of Illinois on Sunday. OSU is 20-6 on the season, and as mentioned above, tied for first place in the Big Ten coming into tonight's conference showdown with the Boilermakers.

These two teams locked horns a little over a month ago, with Ohio State handing the Boilermakers just their second loss of the season in a 70-66 final in West Lafayette. The all-time series is knotted at 81-81, but Purdue hasn't won on OSU's home floor since February 7, 1998.

Purdue is a productive team at both ends of the floor, averaging 74.5 ppg on 46.1 percent field goal accuracy, while yielding 61.3 ppg on 39.7 percent shooting from the floor by its opponents. The team boasts three double-digit scorers in the form of E'Twaun Moore (17.3 ppg), Robbie Hummell (16.1 ppg) and JaJuan Johnson (14.9 ppg), the latter two spearheading PU's rebounding effort with 7.1 and 7.0 rpg, respectively. Johnson was a beast in the recent rout of Iowa, logging a double-double consisting of 21 points and 10 rebounds, while Moore turned in 11 points and Hummel finished with nine. Moore and Hummel went a combined 7-of-20 from the field and missed all four three-point tries between them. The Boilermakers shot 44.2 percent from the field, despite a dismal 2-of-12 performance from beyond the arc. Defensively, Purdue held Iowa to 29.8 percent field goal efficiency and took full advantage of 16 Hawkeye turnovers. A 15-5 edge in points from the foul line also helped the Boilermakers' cause.

The Buckeyes own a similar scoring margin to that of Purdue, netting 74.3 ppg while allowing 60.2 ppg to the opposition. Ohio State is hitting nearly 50 percent of its field goal attempts, which includes a 38.2 percent showing from three-point range, and coach Thad Matta's club enjoys marginal advantages in both rebounding (+1.5) and turnovers (+3.6). There is no denying that Evan Turner is one of the top players at the collegiate level, and despite missing half a dozen games with a back injury, the 6-7 junior is averaging 19.0 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. A 55.4 percent shooter, Turner also serves as the team's primary playmaker with his 116 assists. William Buford (13.9 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 83 assists), Jon Diebler (12.7 ppg) and David Lighty (12.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 43 steals) round out the unit's double-digit scorers. Ohio State whipped Illinois on Valentine's Day behind a three-point shooting barrage that saw the Buckeyes go 11-of-22 from long range and shoot 53.1 percent from the field overall. Diebler took all 11 of his field goal attempts from beyond the arc, hitting six of them to finish with a game-high 18 points, while Lighty tallied 17 points and Turner notched a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. OSU held the Illini to 34.3 percent shooting from the floor, which included a dismal 4-of-24 effort from three-point range.

This should be a wildly entertaining game between two teams looking to keep pace in the Big Ten title race. The Boilermakers have the firepower to win here, but Turner will be the best player on the court and will help the Buckeyes keep their perfect home record in tact.