5 Things to Know About Purdue Basketball's Next Opponent — Lipscomb
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A long home stretch is reaching its end in West Lafayette. On Tuesday, Purdue will host Lipscomb, the fourth game in a five-game home stretch for the Boilermakers. They're looking for their third straight win after starting the year 0-2.
Lipscomb will come to Mackey Arena with a 3-2 record, winning each of its last three contests after losing to Southeast Missouri and Iowa to open the year. This is a Bisons team with several scorers. They also like to push the pace and run.
What all do we know about Lipscomb before Tuesday's matchup? Here are a few things that stand out.
Five double-digit scorers
For a second straight game, Purdue will play a team that has a balanced scoring attack. Ohio entered Friday's game with six players averaging double figures. Lipscomb has five players who are scoring at least 10 points per game.
The Bisons are led by Takai Simpkins, a 6-foot-5 transfer guard from Oregon, who is averaging 17 points per contest. Devyn Martin is scoring 16 points and pulling down 8.3 rebounds per game. Titas Sargiunas, Mateo Esmeraldo and Kennedy Okpara are all scoring 10 points or more per game.
Purdue did a nice job of quieting down Ohio's scorers on Friday, but it will have to do it again on Tuesday when Lipscomb rolls into town.
Poor three-point shooting team
Lipscomb has plenty of scorers on the roster, but it doesn't have many three-point threats. As a team, the Bisons are shooting a paltry 28.8% from behind the three-point line. There hasn't even been a single game where they have torched the nets from behind the arc.
The highest three-point percentage in a game for Lipscomb this year is 33%. It has shot below 30% from long range in two games this season. It isn't a huge part of this team's offense, and for good reason.
To beat Purdue on the road, Lipscomb must be more effective from behind the three-point line. It's early in the season, but so far, the Bisons have shown no signs of doing that.
Struggling on the boards
Winning the rebounding battle is always of the utmost importance to head coach Matt Painter. The Boilers shouldn't have a major issue with that on Tuesday, playing a team that has struggled mightily on the boards.
Lipscomb has been outrebounded four times in its first four games. It ranks 287th in rebounding margin at minus-3.4 rebounds per game. As a team, the Bisons are pulling down 33.8 rebounds per contest, which ranks 288th nationally.
Purdue should have a significant advantage on the glass against a team that has struggled to collect boards through its first five games.
Fastbreaks are a strength
Getting out in transition has been a strength early in the year for Lipscomb. It's averaging 13.6 points per game on fastbreaks, but that number would be much higher if not for its game against Iowa. The Bisons scored just two fastbreak points against the Hawkeyes, causing a substantial dip in their season average.
The Bisons averaged 16.3 fastbreak points per game in their other four games, which would rank inside the top 75 nationally. They have scored at least 13 fastbreak points in each of those four contests, with a season-high 19 against Western Carolina on Saturday.
Protecting the basketball and keeping Lipscomb out of transition will be a major key for the Boilers.
Young head coach
Kevin Carroll is just in his second season at Lipscomb, leading the team to a 19-13 record last year. The Bisons also finished fourth in A-Sun play with a 12-6 record.
Carroll was the head coach at Maryville (Division II) for seven seasons and also coached at Trevecca Nazarene for two years before taking the job at Lipscomb. He had stops at Alabama-Huntsville, Air Force, Virginia Military Institute and Lipscomb as an assistant coach.
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Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.
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