NFL Tickets
TV Schedule: Tuesday, Dec. 1, 8:00 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Stadium: Petersen Events Center
The Purdue Boilermakers are off to a wicked fast 6-0 start, and they have been awarded the No. 11 ranking in college basketball as a result. The Boilermakers will take their perfect record and fancy ranking with them on the road when they take on the Pittsburgh Panthers next. The Panthers are also undefeated (4-0).
The Panthers might be undefeated, but they don’t have any signature wins on the good old-fashioned resume just yet. Of course, knocking off Purdue would give them that signature win.
As for Purdue, it already knocked off the Florida Gators … by 15 points. That win would look a whole lot better in the Billy Donovan era, but the Gators have plenty of talent under new head coach Michael White.
With the addition of Caleb Swanigan in the recruiting department this offseason, Purdue became Big Ten title contenders overnight. It doesn’t hurt that the Boilermakers have a 7-foot-2 player in Isaac Haas, and another player who has gotten plenty of attention from NBA scouts in A.J. Hammons.
Early on in the season (you know, before conference play gets underway), talented teams tend to score at a high rate — because they typically play less talented teams. That has certainly been the case for these two squads as they are both putting up more than 80 points per game. Heck, Pittsburgh has two guys who are averaging 15+ PPG at the moment.
However, in this Big Ten/ACC Challenge matchup, give me Purdue. Here is the main reason why: The Boilermakers are only allowing 57.3 points per game.
Nonetheless, this should be an intriguing challenge between two uber-talented conferences.
PREDICTION: Boilermakers 65, Panthers 57
Trevor Lowry is a Content Associate at www.RantSports.com. If you’re a tweeter feel free to follow him @TheTrevorLowry, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
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