| WEEKEND STREAMING GUIDE (all times ET) |
| Men's Basketball |
| Saturday / Noon / at Iowa / ESPN |
| Swimming & Diving |
| Saturday / 11 a.m. / at Indiana / BTN Plus |
| Wrestling |
| Friday / 7 p.m. / at Penn State / BTN Plus |
| Sunday / 1 p.m. / Illinois / BTN Plus |
By Tom Schott
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Let the good times roll.
No. 3 men's basketball (18-2, 7-0 B1G) takes a 14-game winning streak to Iowa (10-10, 1-6) on Saturday for a noon ET game on ESPN.
The Boilermakers have matched the 1987-88 team for the best 20-game start in school history (that squad opened 24-2), and they are unbeaten through at least seven conference games for the third time (8-0 in 1989-90 and 7-0 in 1987-88).
The 14-game winning streak is the longest currently in the country, tied for the longest under head coach Matt Painter (also 2009-10) and tied for the fifth-longest in Purdue annals.
Eleven of the Boilermakers' 18 victories have been by at least at least 25 points, the most in the country. In their last two games, they won at Minnesota 81-47 on Jan. 13 and defeated Wisconsin at home 78-50 on Jan. 16, marking the first time with back-to-back Big Ten wins by 28 or more points since March 4 and 8, 1969. Overall, Purdue is outscoring its opponents by 22.6 points per game (84.7-62.1).
Balanced offense and tenacious defense continues to be the formula for success. Four players average double figures in scoring: sophomore guard Carsen Edwards (17.0), senior forward Vincent Edwards (14.7), senior center Isaac Haas (14.2) and senior guard Dakota Mathias (12.7). Senior guard P.J. Thompson averages 8.7 points per game and is shooting 50 percent from three-point range (38 of 76) while committing merely 19 turnovers. Meanwhile, Purdue has held 11 straight opponents to fewer than 70 points.
At the Wisconsin game, Purdue welcomed the 10 millionth fan to Mackey Arena, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this season.
Purdue has five home games remaining, but tickets are available only for the Maryland contest Jan. 31. They can be purchased here.
Women's Basketball Winners of 3 Straight
Women's basketball (13-7, 4-2 B1G) has won three straight games - and six in a row at Mackey Arena - following Thursday's 63-60 victory over Northwestern. Sophomore guard Dominique Oden scored a career-high 26 points, including 5-of-5 shooting from three-point range, to go with five rebounds and three assists while playing all 40 minutes.
The first two wins in the surge came over ranked teams, No. 21 Rutgers (47-33 at home) and No. 18 Iowa (76-70 on the road).
The Boilermakers are idle until Jan. 24, when the play at Nebraska. Their next home game is Jan. 28 against Penn State. The first 2,000 fans will receive a Ukari Figgs bobblehead. Figgs was the point guard and co-captain for the 1999 NCAA championship team and was named the Women's Final Four Most Outstanding Player. Tickets are available here.
Swim-Dive Bloomington Bound
Two points in the Governor's Cup will be on the line Saturday when men's and women's swimming & diving compete against Indiana in Bloomington.
Purdue currently leads the all-sports competition by a 3.5 to 2.0 margin.
On Jan. 12, the Boilermakers celebrated Senior Day with a pair of convincing wins over Michigan State - 177-105 for the men and 188-105 for the women. They posted eight 1-2-3-4 finishes. The women won 14 of 16 events, while the men were victorious in 13 events.
Senior Kaersten Meitz and sophomore Nick McDowell both swept the distance freestyle events.
With the wins, the No. 23 women improved to 4-1 (2-0 B1G), while the men are 4-2 (1-1 B1G).
The Indiana men and women are ranked No. 3 and No. 7, respectively.
Sweet 16 for Track & Field
Men's and women's track & field combined to win 16 events at the Gene Edmonds Open on Jan. 13 at Lambert Fieldhouse.
Highlighting the meet was the women's 4x400-meter relay. Purdue's entries finished 1-2 with times of 3:37.31 and 3:40.14, which rank third and 11th in the country, respectively. The victorious quartet consisted of senior Symone Black, senior Carmiesha Cox, sophomore Chloe Abbott and senior Brionna Thomas. The second squad was made up of sophomore Samara Miller, senior Jahneya Mitchell, junior Kyelah Hodges and sophomore Myia Dorsey.
All told, Purdue athletes recorded 10 marks that rank among the top 25 nationally.
The Boilermakers compete at the Clemson Invitational on Friday and Saturday.
No. 1 Next for Wrestling
To be the best, you have to compete against the best.
No. 24 Wrestling (5-3, 0-2 B1G) visits No. 1 Penn State (7-0, 3-0) on Friday.
The Boilermakers then return home to Holloway Gymnasium to host No. 14 Illinois (3-3, 2-2) on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. Prior to the dual, there will be a youth clinic. The clinic is free and open to youth eighth grade and under. To register, email sportspromo@purdue.edu.
Purdue's top-ranked individuals are redshirt senior 125-pounder Luke Welch (20-4) and redshirt sophomore 174-pounder Dylan Lydy (23-8) - both No. 12. Redshirt freshman heavyweight Shawn Streck (21-9) is No. 15.
Sophomore Nate Limmex continues to have a breakout season, sporting an 18-9 record. On Jan. 12 at Nebraska, the 141-pounder defeated the ninth-ranked wrestler in country, the highest-ranked opponent he has beaten in his career.
Also against the Cornhuskers, senior Jacob Morrissey competed in his 100th career match. He boasts a 62-38 record.
Tennis Triple-Header Saturday
The Basham Courts in the Schwartz Tennis Center will be hopping Saturday with three matches.
The women's team (2-0) plays host to No. 23 Ole Miss (0-0) at 10 a.m. ET, while the men's squad (1-1) takes on Louisville (0-0) at 2 p.m. and Detroit Mercy (0-0) at 6 p.m.
Junior Silvia Ambrosio, ranked No. 86 nationally, won a pair of straight-set matches to lead the women's team to wins over Cincinnati and Butler on Jan. 13.
Redshirt senior Gergely Madarasz was a double winner for the men's squad, which defeated Western Kentucky and lost to DePaul on Jan. 15.
Cheer National Champions
Congratulations to head cheer coach Steve Solberg and the spirit squad on being winners of the Division I small co-ed category at the UCA College Cheerleading and Dance Team national championships.
It was the first national championship for a Purdue spirit team. The Boilermakers placed second in the competition in 2016 and 2017.
To read more about the triumph, click here.
In addition, four members of the All-Girl team have been selected to the United States National Cheer team and will compete at the International Cheerleading Union world championships in April.
Football Season Tickets On Sale
With an eye on growing the fan base while maximizing attendance and revenue, 2018 football season tickets went on sale Jan. 16.
Per-game ticket prices have been reduced for nearly 30 percent of Ross-Ade Stadium - in the Prime and Sideline sections - while the majority of the remaining sections have no increase in cost. All fans who purchase season tickets will save an average of 30 percent off single-game prices.
The Boilermakers boast an attractive seven-game home schedule with Big Ten Conference West Division foes Iowa, Northwestern and Wisconsin; defending East Division champion Ohio State; and non-conference visits from Missouri of the Southeastern Conference, Boston College of the Atlantic Coast Conference and Eastern Michigan of the Mid-American Conference. Last season, their combined record was 62-30 (.674 winning percentage), and six squads played in bowl games.
New customers can purchase season tickets online, by calling 494.3194 or 800.49.SPORT or by visiting the Athletics Ticket Office at Mackey Arena between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Returning season-ticket holders may renew via phone or in-person through Feb. 1. They may do so on-line beginning Feb. 2. The priority deadline is April 30.
For more information, click here.
Etcetera
Football senior linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley has been invited to play in the Senior Bowl on Jan. 27 in Mobile, Alabama. He will play for the North team, coached by the Denver Broncos staff ... Softball season tickets are on sale ... Former Purdue golfer Fernando Barco (2014-17) is competing in the Latin America Amateur Championship from Jan. 20 to 23 in Santiago, Chile. The winner earns a spot in the Masters Tournament ... Former women's basketball player Erin Lawless (2004-07) had her uniform number retired by Fenwick High School ... Two former Purdue assistant football coaches have been named offensive coordinators in the National Football League - Randy Fichtner (1994-96) with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Greg Olson (1997-2000, 2002) with the Oakland Raiders. Fichtner also played for the Boilermakers from 1982 to 1984 ... Guests on this week's Purdue Athletics Podcast are men's basketball senior Vincent Edwards and spirit coordinator/head cheer coach Steve Solberg.