MBB Hosts Purdue Thursday
Feb 10 | Men's Basketball
| Purdue at Rutgers | |
| Date | Thursday, February 12, 2015 |
| Time | 7:00 p.m. ET |
| Location | Piscataway, N.J. | The RAC |
| Television | ESPNU Adam Amin and Craig Robinson |
| Radio | Rutgers IMG Radio Network - WOR (710) and WCTC (1450AM) Chris Carlin & Dick Lloyd Rutgers Student Radio - WRSU (88.7 FM) |
| Game Notes | Rutgers | Purdue |
| Statistics | Rutgers | Purdue | Big Ten Conference |
| Tickets | Buy Tickets |
| Social Media | @RutgersMBB  | #RHoops | Facebook/RutgersMBB  |
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Rutgers (10-15, 2-10) hosts its second consecutive Big Ten game, when it welcomes Purdue (15-9, 7-4) to the RAC on Thursday for a 7 p.m. tip-off. RU is seeking a return to the win column, while the Boilermakers are looking for their fifth win in six games. The Scarlet Knights' schedule is currently rated No. 14 nationally in the ESPN Daily RPI. Purdue is currently No. 71 overall in the NCAA RPI.
Hall of Fame wrestler Sergeant Slaughter will sign autographs for an hour prior to tip-off. One of the most recognizable names in wrestling history, the former U.S. Marine became a WWE Champion and United States Champion before being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2004.
Thursday's game will be televised live nationally on ESPNU with Adam Amin calling the action and Craig Robinson providing the analysis. On the radio, the contest will be broadcast live on the Rutgers IMG Sports Network, WOR 710 AM in New York and WCTC 1450 AM in New Brunswick, as well as on Sirius and XM channel 84. Chris Carlin will serve as play-by-play announcer and Dick Lloyd will provide commentary. WRSU (88.7 FM) will also broadcast the game.
The contest will mark the sixth match-up on the collegiate hardwood between RU and Purdue dating back to 1953, with the Boilermakers holding a 4-1 advantage. Purdue won the last meeting on its home court, 79-67, on Dec. 10, 1994 in the championship game of the Boilermaker Invitational, as Charles Jones scored 17 points for RU. In the lone game at Rutgers, the Boilermakers captured a 77-57 victory at the College Ave Gymnasium on Dec. 3, 1954. RU defeated Purdue 81-73 at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 4, 1975 during the team's 31-0 start en route to the Final Four. Senior forward Phil Sellers had 31 points and junior point guard Eddie Jordan had 17 in the victory.
Junior guard Bishop Daniels scored 17 points and sophomore forward Junior Etou muscled a double-double, but it was not enough, as Rutgers dropped a 79-60 decision to No. 20 Ohio State on Sunday night at the RAC. The Scarlet Knights forced 15 OSU turnovers before a sellout crowd of 8,003. Etou scored 12 points and secured 11 rebounds, while Daniels added five assists. Forwards Kadeem Jack and D.J. Foreman each contributed nine points. The Buckeyes shot 51 percent (30-of-59) from the floor and out-rebounded RU, 48-40, to earn the victory.
Purdue, under the leadership of ninth-year head coach Matt Painter, suffered a 62-58 loss at Minnesota on Saturday to snap a five game winning streak. The Gophers established a 29-11 advantage in points-off-turnovers to earn the victory as the Boilermakers had 23 miscues. Junior center A.J. Hammons and junior guard Raphael Davis share the team lead in scoring with 10.8 points-per-game. Hammons ranks 10th nationally in blocks (2.96) and the team is fifth nationally (5.6) in the category.
