The Purdue Boilermakers and Cincinnati Bearcats will battle in Louisville, KY, tonight and hope to earn a spot in the next round. Unfortunately, the winner will more than likely face the No. 1 overall seed - the Kentucky Wildcats.
Purdue (21-12) had a successful year in the Big 10 with a 12-6 conference record and finished the season strong until they unraveled in the second half against Wisconsin in their final game. The Boilermakers went 10-5 in their final 15 games and notched wins over No. 25 ranked Iowa, No. 22 Indiana and No.20 Ohio State. They lost by a combined 10 points to Ohio State and Michigan State in their final two road games as well.
Big man A.J. Hammons has been the top performer for Purdue, having averaged 11.8 points per game, 6.5 rebounds per game and 2.9 blocks per game, all of which lead the team. Guard Jon Octeus provides a balanced game in averaging 9.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.0 steals per game. Purdue has one of the better offenses in the NCAA, but they'll be going up against one of the best defenses.
Cincinnati (22-10) gives up only 55.3 points per game, which is good for sixth-best in the nation, and averages 5.4 blocks per contest (13th in NCAA). They faced Ole Miss, San Diego State, VCU and NC State in the beginning of the year and went 2-2 in those matchups on top of defeating SMU twice. The Bearcats finished with a 13-5 record in the American Athletic Conference and were 6-3 against Top 50 RPI opponents.
Forward Octavius Ellis leads the team in points (10.0), rebounds (7.3) and blocks (2.1) per game and guard Troy Caupain isn't too far behind with 9.5 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.2 steals per contest. They'll look to lead the Bearcats to a victory in the 2015 NCAA Tournament after first-round exits at the hands of Harvard and Creighton in each of the past two events.
Here are some notable statistics to know about each team before tonight's matchup at 7:10 p.m. ET.
Purdue | Cincinnati |
RPI - .5659 (53rd overall) | RPI - .5784 (41st overall) |
SOS - 68 | SOS - 56 |
PPG - 70.0 (99th overall) | PPG - 62.4 (294th overall) |
FG% - .453 (84th overall) | FG% - .453 (85th overall) |
Points Allowed Per Game - 64.5 (123rd overall) | Points Allowed Per Game - 55.3 (6th overall) |
Turnovers Per Game - 13.1 (231st overall) | Turnovers Per Game - 12.8 (201st overall) |
Season Rank - 55 | Season Rank - 37 |
Check out the live stream for the Purdue vs. Cincinnati game here as well as the live radio broadcast here. The matchup will be televised on CBS.
