Purdue vs. Ball State: 2018-19 college basketball game preview

Purdue and Ball State are both coming off season-opening wins as they approach an in-state clash in the first week of the new campaign.

TV Schedule: Saturday, Nov. 10, 8 p.m. ET BTN

Arena: Mackey Arena, West Lafayette, IN

No. 24 Purdue opened the season by defeating Fairfield at home while posting a 90-spot offensively. Their Player of the Year candidate, Carsen Edwards, also didn’t take long to look in midseason form. He hit seven 3-pointers en route to 30 total points. That’s impressive no matter who the competition is.

Ball State also had a nice victory on opening night as well. It was a classic MAC vs. Missouri Valley matchup with Indiana State. The Cardinals won 86-69. After winning 19 games last season, Ball State returns their top four leading scorers. Tahjai Teague and Taylor Persons didn’t take long to start making shots, either. It was a nice win to set themselves up for the Boilermakers this weekend.

Purdue had a major overhaul in players from last season but still managed to find a spot in the AP preseason top-25. That has a lot to do with Edwards and head coach Matt Painter. I believe Painter is starting to get the national recognition he deserves. Senior Ryan Cline quickly took over a starting guard role as well. He’s sized like a wing but can function as a creator as well.

Purdue also went small and gave freshman Eric Hunter Jr. and senior Grady Eifert the start over Matt Haarms and Evan Boudreaux. The top recruit from last season, Nojel Eastern was also part of the starting five. Even as a reserve, Haarms picked up where he left off last season. He dropped in nine points, hauled in eight boards, and blocked three shots. Sounds like his typical stat line. Boudreaux, a transfer from Dartmouth, put in a solid 10 points with two rebounds.

Hunter scored in double-figures in his Boilermaker debut while Eifert really turned some heads. In fact, Eifert came one point short of a double-double. The senior could be in for a breakout year as he finishes up his collegiate career. And their opponent on Nov. 10 had four guys really go off the other night. Ball State is going to need big things from Teague and Persons in order to be competing for a MAC Title.

Teague was the guy who broke out the most. He dropped 21 points while hauling in seven boards. Persons, on the other hand, left off where he was last season as the point guard. He dished out five assists to go with 16 points. The third leading scorer from last season, Trey Moses, didn’t have that great of an offensive night, but produced on the defensive end, coming up with four blocks. Brachen Hazen and K.J. Walton both scored very nicely by putting in 15 points apiece. Hazen is a transfer from Arkansas and Walton came over from Missouri.

The clear difference between the teams from a very small sample size is that Purdue shoots more 3-pointers. No Cardinal made over two 3-pointers in the season opener. The Boilermakers had three guys make two or more. In fact, Edwards made as many outside shots as Ball State made as a team. Obviously, not many teams in the country have a guy that can shoot as well as Edwards. He’s a special scorer and will cause fits for just about every opponent the Boilermakers face this season.

The guard play no doubt favors the No. 24th ranked team in the country. Purdue, though, didn’t get as much scoring from their frontcourt in comparison to Ball State in their respective openers. Two out of the three leading scorers for the Cardinals are at least 6-foot-8. Because of this, Ball State will need to control the paint early in the game, especially if Haarms doesn’t get the start again. Ball State doesn’t have anyone that can match the size of Haarms.

This game doesn’t look favorable for the Cardinals as they have to travel to Mackey and play a powerhouse in the Big Ten. But it will be a good learning experience. It was nice to see Ball State get a good victory with four guys leading the charge in a big way. It won’t be a total blowout, but the experience, talent, and depth of the Boilermakers will be enough to pull away in the second half.

Prediction: Purdue 82, Ball State 69