One of the best college basketball games of the year is set to take place on Saturday, December 16 when #1 Arizona faces off against #3 Purdue. The Wildcats are undefeated, having beaten top 25 programs in Duke and Wisconsin. Meanwhile, Purdue has three wins against teams in the AP Poll top 12 (Marquette, Tennessee, and Gonzaga), with its lone defeat coming on the road against #25 Northwestern.
The two teams will face off at a neutral site, albeit an arena that is much closer for one team than the other. The game will take place at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN — the home of the Indiana Pacers — a mere hour away from Purdue's campus but a 25-hour drive for Arizona fans.
Can Arizona hold onto its #1 ranking in a game that is essentially a road game for the Wildcats, or will Purdue make its case for being the top team in the country? With this exciting game coming up, here are a few star players to keep an eye out for in Saturday's tilt.
Players to watch in Arizona-Purdue showdown
Zach Edey (Center), Purdue
Zach Edey is big, tall, and dominant. He is the undisputed best player in the country. But perhaps the scariest fact about him is that he is still getting better. His scoring is up 2.5 points per game from last year, his field goal percentage has improved (from 60.7% to 63%), and he is taking 4.5 more free throws per game while knocking them down at a better clip.
Edey will have his customary 25 points and 10 rebounds, but the question will be whether Arizona can prevent him from having a massive game, and if Edey's supporting cast will step up.
Pelle Larsson (Guard), Arizona
Arizona's tradition of talented European players continues with Pelle Larsson. On many teams, Larsson would be the go-to guy. Instead, the Swede is only the fifth-leading scorer on this Wildcats team. Yet Larsson has excelled in his role. He is sixth in the country with an offensive rating of 147. and is shooting an impressive 60.9% from the field as a guard. He also gets to the free-throw line at nearly the same rate as Zach Edey.
His versatility and ability to do a bit of everything make him a key cog for Arizona.
Braden Smith (Guard), Purdue
Zach Edey is the star of the show in West Lafayette, IN, but his supporting cast will decide how far this team can go come March. The secondary scoring is up all around for Purdue, and Braden Smith has shown the biggest offensive improvement this year. The sophomore is averaging 13.2 PPG — the best behind Edey — while hitting 45.5% of his three-point attempts (up from 37.6% last year).
Smith's biggest contribution might come as a facilitator. The Purdue point guard is dishing out 7.2 assists per game, and his assist rate of 41% is the sixth-best in the country. The Boilermakers will need a big game from him as a scorer and distributor if they want to knock off the #1 team in the country.
Caleb Love (Guard), Arizona
Caleb Love comes to Arizona after three very successful years at North Carolina and has fit in well amongst a plethora of scoring options. Love leads the team with 14.1 PPG and is also averaging a career-high 4.5 assists per game while recording the lowest turnover rate of his career.
With so much offensive balance, Arizona has not needed a go-to scorer this year. But if anyone on this Arizona team is going to have a big game against Purdue, the smart money would be on Caleb Love.
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