GAME NOTES: The Purdue Boilermakers will try to continue their surprising start to Big Ten play tonight, as they host the Iowa Hawkeyes at Mackey Arena. The Boilermakers have been one of biggest surprises in the Big Ten up to this point and they are currently tied for second in the league standing at 6-1. On Saturday, Purdue showed the entire conference it was for real, knocking off nationally-ranked Wisconsin by a 60-56 score. It was the fifth consecutive victory for the Boilermakers, who improved to 15-5 overall and 11-1 at home. As for Iowa, it is also coming off a victory over the weekend, defeating Penn State, 64-49, on Saturday. The win was the team's second in three games, as it improved to 10-11 overall and 3-5 in conference play. The Hawkeyes now hit the road, where they have gone just 1-3 against league rivals. With regard to the all-time series, Purdue holds a 77-70 lead over Iowa and that includes a 67-62 triumph in an earlier meeting this month.

The Hawkeyes connected on 47.4 percent of their attempts from the field and 19-of-22 at the foul line, as they defeated Penn State over the weekend. The team knocked down 9-of-25 shots from downtown and it even held a 34-22 advantage on the boards. Jeff Peterson led the charge with 19 points and five assists, and he went a perfect 4-of-4 from the floor and 9-of-9 at the foul line. Tony Freeman finished with just five points on a poor 1-of-7 shooting from long distance, but he did hand out five assists. Despite the poor outing, Freeman still leads this team in scoring at 15.3 ppg and he is making good on 41.3 percent of his attempts from three-point range. Justin Johnson chips in with 12.9 ppg for Iowa and he is also collecting 4.8 rpg. As a team though, the Hawkeyes have relied on defense to keep them in games, holding opposing teams to just 58.0 ppg.

The Boilermakers held Wisconsin to a sub par 38.5 percent shooting effort from the floor and they won the battle on the boards, 35-32, in an upset victory this past weekend. Purdue also sank seven three-point field goals compared to just four three-pointers by Wisconsin. E'Twaun Moore led the charge with 16 points and three assists, while Robbie Hummel logged 10 points and seven rebounds. Keaton Grant was limited to eight points, but he still leads the team in scoring this season with an average of 11.4 ppg. Hummel nips at his heels with 10.6 ppg and he is pulling down a team-best 6.1 rpg, while Moore chips in with 10.3 ppg. Much like Iowa, Purdue has also made its presence felt on defense this season, limiting its foes to 60.9 ppg and forcing them into 17.6 turnovers per game.

Purdue is red-hot at the moment and its momentum, along with tenacious defense, should help it come out on top tonight.