GAME NOTES: The 11th-ranked Purdue Boilermakers have a ton of returning talent on the roster, and they are clearly favored in tonight's non-conference clash with the Coppin State Eagles.

Coppin State has only played one game thus far, as the team defeated Wilmington by a 94-73 final last Saturday. The club began last season with 19 losses in 23 games, but then turned the tides drastically, finishing with a 7-9 ledger in the league and a shocking MEAC championship title. Unfortunately, it will be hard for the Eagles to duplicate that tremendous run with only one starter returning.

As for Purdue, it has opened the season with three easy victories as expected. The Boilermakers have cruised by Detroit, Eastern Michigan and Loyola-Chicago in succession, and all three triumphs have come by at least 29 points. They are fresh off one of their better campaigns in recent memory, having won 25 games and earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. This season, expectations are sky high.

Purdue won its only previous meeting with Coppin State by an 86-65 final in 1999.

The lone returning starter for Coppin State is Tywain McKee, who is possibly the top player in the MEAC. The senior guard is the complete package, and he is coming off an impressive junior season in which he posted 16.6 ppg to go along with 4.4 rpg and 3.1 apg. In the opener against Wilmington, McKee and Vince Goldsberry both tallied 20 points, but they were overshadowed a bit by the play of a freshman. In his first ever regular-season game for the Eagles, Jordan Lee exploded for 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the floor, including 3-of-4 from three-point range. The fourth and final double-digit scorer for Coppin State in the win was Chuka Iloegbu with 12 points. The Eagles led by 18 points at intermission and no fewer than 16 points throughout the second half.

Through the first three games of this season, the Boilermakers have played quite well at both ends of the floor. They are scoring 82.3 ppg, while limiting the opposition to 51.3 ppg on 33.9 percent shooting from the field. The top performer for the squad is E'Twaun Moore, who is netting 16.3 ppg. Robbie Hummel, who is shooting 70 percent from three-point range, checks in with 15.0 ppg, and JaJuan Johnson adds 12.0 ppg to the mix. Purdue has dished out 59 assists, while committing a low total of 26 turnovers. By contrast, their three opponents have combined to dish out only 30 assists with 64 giveaways. In Tuesday's 78-46 win over Loyola-Chicago, Moore led five double- digit scorers with 14 points. Hummel tallied 13 points, and Marcus Green contributed 12 points and 10 boards off the bench. The Boilermakers forced 22 turnovers and limited their overmatched opponent to 29.8 percent overall shooting.

Purdue will crush Coppin State tonight, as the Boilermakers are clearly one of the most complete teams in all of college basketball. Coach Matt Painter has a special group on his hands.