Men's Basketball to Host No. 7/8 Michigan

PURDUE PRESS RELEASE

GAME STORYLINES» The Boilermakers will look to down their second-consecutive ranked opponent and even the season series with Michigan when they take on the No. 7/8 Wolverines at 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday.

» Purdue held a one-point halftime lead at Crisler Center on Jan. 24 before falling by a score of 68-53; junior Terone Johnson scored 14 points and freshman Rapheal Davisgrabbed a season-high eight rebounds in the loss.

» Purdue is coming off a 69-56 win over No. 17/16 Wisconsin at the Kohl Center in its road finale; senior D.J. Byrddrilled six three-pointers en route to a game-high 22 points in leading the Boilers to just the 14th win by an unranked BCS conference team on a ranked opponent's home floor this season.

» Byrd leads the Big Ten with an average of 2.6 three-point field goals per game in conference play; his 68 triples on the year are two shy of tying Chad Austin and E'Twaun Moorefor 10th on the school's single-season list.

» The win in Madison was the 199th of Matt Painter'shead coaching career; his 174 wins at Purdue are two shy of tying Ray Eddy for third on the program's all-time chart.

» The Boilermakers head into the week as the second-ranked rebounding team in the Big Ten in league action, grabbing an average of 37.9 per game; Purdue's average of 13.0 offensive boards per game in B1G play also ranks second.

» The Boilers are also ranked second in the Big Ten with an average of 4.7 blocks per game in B1G play; freshman A.J. Hammonsleads the B1G with an average of 2.3 blocks per game in conference action, piling up 37 in 16 games.

» Hammons ranks in the top four among B1G freshmen in points, total rebounds, offensive rebounds defensive rebounds and blocks per game (both overall and conference); he is the only active freshman in the power six conferences averaging at least 10 points, six rebounds and two blocks per game.

» With Hammons as the focal point, the Boilers have scored 924 of their 1,869 points (49.4 percent) this season in the paint; Purdue is averaging 31.9 points per game in the paint and outscoring opponents by an average of 5.9 points per game on the block.

» Playmaking brothers Ronnie and Terone Johnsonaccount for 34.2 percent of Purdue's scoring and 49.0 percent of the team's assists on the season; they combine to average 23.6 points and 6.9 assists per game in Big Ten play.

» Ronnie Johnsonhas been stellar with the ball in his hands in Big Ten play, ranking second in the league in assists per game (4.4) and sixth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.7) in B1G games; he is also averaging 10.4 points per game in league.

» The rookie quartet of Davis, Hammons, Johnson and Donnie Hale are combining to average 29.6 points per game this season, which translates into 46.0 percent of the Boilermakers' scoring on the year.