This contest is an intriguing acid test for two of the best teams in the country. It should be a fun watch with both sides top-10 in adjusted offense.
Venue: Legacy Arena -- Birmingham, Ala.
Time: 4:30 p.m. ET Saturday
TV: ESPN
Streaming: Fubo (try for free)
The Boilermakers have the fourth-hardest strength of schedule thus far, and the Tigers are first in KenPom rating. If there's any relief for Purdue here, it lies on the right shoulder of Auburn's Johni Broome; the clubhouse leader for National Player of the Year sustained an injury on Tuesday, and his status isn't yet clear for Saturday's game.
Matt Painter and company have a pair of stately wins over Alabama and Ole Miss, and they've suffered two ranked losses to Marquette and Texas A&M. All three of this team's defeats came outside the confines of Mackey Arena.
In Broome's potential absence, 6-foot-9 forward Trey Kaufman-Renn will be expected to produce mightily for Purdue. He made 39 starts as a sophomore during the Boilermakers' national runner-up campaign but only averaged 17 minutes of playing time. He's up to 30.6 minutes this season, yielding a team-best 18.2 points per game on 57 percent from the floor. He's scoring almost 20 per win but only 14 in losses.
A win on Saturday would be massive for the Boilermakers, who are still fine-tuning their small-ball identity in a post-Zach Edey world. But Auburn may also be eager to prove something without its best player as it chases the top poll spot. It fields five capable scorers aside from Broome, four of which are hitting at least 1.5 3-pointers per game. Chad Baker-Mazara leads the regulars in offensive rating -- he's fifth in minutes but second in scoring. And Denver Jones hit 4-of-5 tries from deep in last weekend's dismantling of Ohio State.
From The Athletic's CJ Moore: "How good has Auburn been? After running previously Top 25 Ohio State off the floor in a 91-53 win in Atlanta on Saturday, Auburn now has an efficiency margin of 35.01 at KenPom. KenPom has this fun sorting tool that allows you to see the ratings at any point in the season dating back to the 2011-12 season. Turns out, Auburn is his database's best team on Dec. 15 in the last 14 seasons -- by a lot."
Memorable matchup: On March 14, 1985, the Tigers eked out a first-round NCAA Tournament victory, 59-58. Chuck Person had 20 points and eight boards for Auburn. Troy Lewis scored 19 for Purdue.
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