How to watch No. 1 Arizona basketball face No. 3 Purdue
Dec 16, 2023, 5:09 AM
Arizona guard Pelle Larsson (3) and guard Caleb Love (2) box out Southern University guard Jordan Mitchell (9) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Monday, Nov. 13, 2023, in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
The No. 1 Arizona Wildcats visit Indianapolis to face the No. 3 Purdue Boilermakers at 2:30 p.m. MST Saturday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Technically a neutral site game in the Indy Classic, the Indianapolis showdown of top-three teams is just down the road from the Boilermaker’s home in West Lafayette, Indiana.
How will you be able to watch the showdown?
What channel can I watch Arizona-Purdue on?
Watch: Peacock
The game will air on NBC-owned Peacock, which has rights to Big Ten games.
Arizona-Purdue will follow the Indy Classic opener including Ball State against Indiana State at 11:45 a.m. MST on Peacock.
Both games will be called by play-by-play man Noah Eagle, analyst and former Purdue star Robbie Hummel, plus Caroline Pineda on the sideline.
Arizona will have representation in a 1:45 p.m. MST show bridging the two games. Ahmed Fareed, Jordan Cornette and former Wildcats walk-on and assistant coach Josh Pastner will host the B1G College Countdown studio show before the Arizona-Purdue game.
Both teams have momentum
Arizona (8-0) hasn’t been No. 1 in the AP Top 25 since an eight-week stint that ended in January 2014 under former coach Sean Miller. Current coach Tommy Lloyd is in his third season after a long run as an assistant at Gonzaga, and his first two teams each spent multiple weeks inside the top five.
Beating Wisconsin on Saturday, 98-73, was Arizona’s biggest margin of victory against a nationally ranked opponent since beating Western Kentucky by 39 in 2002.
Purdue (9-1) has won two in a row after suffering its only loss, a 92-88 defeat against Northwestern.
The Boilermakers beat Iowa, 87-68, on Dec. 4 and then Alabama, 92-86, this past Saturday.
Best wins for both teams
Each team has a trio of wins over ranked squads so far this season.
Arizona defeated Duke (No. 2), Michigan State (No. 21) and Wisconsin (No. 23) so far this year.
Purdue strung together three straight wins at the Maui Invitational over ranked squads Gonzaga (No. 11), Tennessee (No. 7) and Marquette (No. 4).
Who are the Wildcats’ and Boilermakers’ best players?
Purdue is rolling behind 2022-23 Naismith Player of the Year Zach Edey.
The 7-foot-4, 300-pound center leads the nation averaging 24.8 points per game on 63% shooting to go with 10.8 rebounds and 2.6 blocks.
Wildcats center Oumar Ballo and his 260-pound listing is the biggest body to throw at Edey, though 7-foot-2 backup Motiejus Krivas could also have a shot at the Purdue big man.
Behind Edey, Purdue has a trio of perimeter double-digit scorers in Braden Smith, Lance Jones and Fletcher Loyer.
Smith, the team’s second-leading scorer, is fifth in the nation averaging 7.2 assists per game. He and his teammates’ shooting is a big part of Purdue’s attack around Edey, as five rotation players hit 44% or better from deep.
North Carolina transfer Caleb Love leads a more balanced Arizona attack at 14.1 points per game. He is sharing the ball at a career-high clip (4.5 assists per game).
Lead guard Kylan Boswell, wing Pelle Larsson, forward Keshad Johnson and Ballo all average between 12-13 points per game.
Purdue-Arizona KenPom ratings
The Wildcats rank No. 2 in the widely used KenPom metric behind Houston, with a No. 5 adjusted offensive rating and No. 2 adjusted defensive rating.
Right behind Arizona is Purdue, which comes in at No. 3 offensively and No. 9 defensively. No other teams are in the top-10 of both offense and defense.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
