WATCH: Purdue Coach Matt Painter Previews Game Against Iowa
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — No. 1 Purdue basketball tips off against Iowa on Thursday inside Mackey Arena, the last of three home games for the Boilermakers in their previous four matchups.
Ahead of the showdown, coach Matt Painter met with the media to break down the challenges the Hawkeyes will present, which includes a high-scoring offense led by junior forward Kris Murray.
"They have good pieces, they have a really good team," Painter said. "You've gotta be ready to score the basketball because you know they are. And that's our goal. Our goal is to slow them down. I don't know if you can ultimately stop them."
Purdue is coming off a 79-74 loss to rival Indiana on Saturday, but the team retained its place atop the college basketball rankings with a 22-2 overall record and an 11-2 mark in Big Ten play.
Iowa will play in front of the Mackey Arena crowd after a three-game homestand, and the team won all three of its matchups in that same span. However, the Hawkeyes are a combined 3-6 away from Carver-Hawkeye arena this season.
They defeated the Illinois Fighting Illini 81-79 on Saturday to improve to 15-8 and 7-5 in the conference. For the season, Iowa leads the Big Ten by scoring an average of 81.5 points but also gives up a league-high 73.5 points per game to opposing offenses.
"They've always been a team that can score a lot of points no matter who's on their roster," Painter said. "They really put you in binds the way they can attack you in transition with all the skill."
The game is scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m. ET and will be televised on ESPN2. It is the only meeting of the regular season between the two teams.
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D.J. Fezler is a staff writer for BoilermakersCountry.com. Hailing from The Region, he is from Cedar Lake in Northwest Indiana and has spent the last two years covering Purdue football and basketball.