Purdue Basketball: Why the Boilermakers will win the Big Ten
1. Purdue is very good at getting second-chance opportunities
On the season, the Boilermakers are an average team when it comes to shooting the ball. Their 44.7% from the field is 170th in the country, but they are 63rd in 3-point percentage. But for me, the one statistic that sticks out for me is Purdue’s offensive rebounding abilities and how they are able to create second-chance opportunities for their offense. The 11.92 offensive rebounds they pull down per game is 59th in the country and in league play they are tops at 11.9 per game. Those rebounds lead to second-chance opportunities and that is a good thing for a team that is a top-15 team in the country in 3-point makes per game (10.2).
Just how good are the Boilermakers at getting those second chances on offense? Well, they have five players that have pulled down at least 35 offensive rebounds this season and they lead the Big Ten in offensive rebounding. They are also 22nd in the country in offensive rebounding percentage (33.5%) and they are seventh in the sport in extra scoring chances per game with 5.8. It’s that ability to create those chances that will allow Purdue to take advantage of their 3-point shooters.