How To Watch No. 4 Purdue Vs. No. 11 Illinois With Tv Info, Key Stats And Preview

The temperatures whitethorn beryllium plummeting crossed nan country, but nan title for a Big Ten title is conscionable starting to power up. A large crippled is connected nan docket connected Saturday, arsenic No. 11 Illinois travels to West Lafayette to play No. 4 Purdue.

Both teams are successful nan heavy of nan title for a Big Ten championship, and some could amended their resumé pinch a triumph connected Saturday. This is simply a crippled that features 2 of nan champion offenses successful nan state and should beryllium an entertaining matchup.

Here's everything you request to cognize astir Saturday's conflict betwixt nan Boilermakers and Fighting Illini.

#4 Purdue (17-2, 7-1) vs. #11 Illinois (16-3, 7-1)

• What: Big Ten Conference game
• Date: Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026
• Tipoff time: 3 p.m. ET
• Location: Mackey Arena successful West Lafayette, Ind. (14,876 capacity)
• TV: FOX
• App: FOX Sports
• Announcers: Kevin Kugler (play-by-play), Miles Simon (analyst)
• Radio: Purdue Global Radio Network — WAZY 96.5 FM (Lafayette); WKJG 100.9 FM (Fort Wayne); WNDE 1260 AM (Indianapolis); WGBF 1280 (Evansville); Sirius XM 85; View each listings: CLICK HERE
• Radio announcers: Rob Blackman (play-by-play), Bobby Riddell (analyst), Wes Scott (producer).
• Live stats: Purdue.StatBroadcast.com
• All-time series: Purdue leads nan all-time bid vs. Illinois 107-91
• ESPN Matchup Predictor: Purdue has a 64.2% chance to conclusion Illinois

Rankings

Purdue Boilermakers

• Associated Press — Purdue is classed No. 4
• Coaches — Purdue is classed No. 4
• KenPom — Purdue is classed No. 7
• NCAA NET — Purdue is classed No. 5

Illinois Fighting Illini

• Associated Press — Illinois is classed No. 11
• Coaches — Illinois is classed No. 11
• KenPom — Illinois is classed No. 8
• NCAA NET — Illinois is classed No. 9

Team Stats

Key Players

Purdue Boilermakers

• Braden Smith, G — Smith is good known for his expertise to pass, precocious becoming nan Big Ten's all-time assistance leader. However, he's besides been connected a scoring tear recently, averaging a team-high 14.5 points per crippled to spell on pinch 9.1 assists per contest. He was peculiarly bully successful nan Boilermakers' triumph complete Penn State connected Jan. 10, scoring 26 points and dishing retired 14 assists.

• Fletcher Loyer, G — Loyer's three-point percent has dropped successful caller weeks, but he's still considered 1 of nan champion shooters successful assemblage basketball. He's hitting astatine a 37.5% clip and is averaging 13.0 points per game. He's been connected a spot of a roller coaster complete nan past 7 games, but Loyer is tin of shooting nan lights retired of nan shot astatine immoderate fixed moment.

• Trey Kaufman-Renn, F — Kaufman-Renn continues to make a large effect for nan Boilermakers successful some nan scoring and rebounding departments. He struggled successful past Saturday's triumph complete USC, finishing that crippled pinch conscionable 5 points and 3 rebounds, but he's still a unit successful nan post. For nan year, nan elder guardant is averaging 12.5 points and 8.9 rebounds per contest.

• Oscar Cluff, C — Cluff is astir apt nan subordinate who has made nan biggest leap for Purdue this season. The Boilers knew he could nutrient astatine a precocious level, but he sewage disconnected to a spot of a rocky start. But 19 games into nan season, Cluff is averaging 11.9 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. He's 1 of nan astir businesslike violative players successful assemblage hoops and is shooting astatine a 75.6% clip.

Illinois Fighting Illini

• Keaton Wagler, G — Wagler has played for illustration nan Big Ten Freshman of nan Year this season, avearging 15.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. As a 6-foot-6 guard, his size makes him reliable defend, particularly since he tin return opponents disconnected nan dribble and besides sound down catch-and-shoot threes. In Wednesday's triumph complete Maryland, he astir recorded a triple-double, scoring 13 points, dishing retired 8 assists, and grabbing 7 boards.

• Andrej Stojakovic, G — A transportation from Cal, Stajakovic has added moreover much size to Illinois' defender position. He's presently nan team's second-best scorer, averaging 14.4 points per contest. Stojakovic has battled consistency astatine time, but has demonstrated nan expertise to capable up nan stat sheet. He scored 30 points against Maryland, and has deed nan 20-point people 5 times this season.

• Tomislav Ivisic, C — Ivisic is simply a mobile large man who stetch retired opposing teams and thief Illinois abstraction nan level connected nan violative end. He's not a awesome rebounder for his 7-foot-1 size, but he's still pulling down astir 5 boards per game. His expertise to people from aggregate areas connected nan level makes him a difficult subordinate to defend.

• David Mirkovic, F — Much for illustration Wagler, Mirkovic is simply a big-bodied freshman tin of doing everything connected nan hoops court. He's averaging a team-high 8.4 rebounds per game, arsenic good arsenic 12.2 points and 2.6 assists per contest. Everyone connected Illinois' squad is tin of rebounding, but he takes a batch of pridefulness successful that portion of his game. In a November triumph complete Colgate, Mirkovic vanished nan title pinch an unthinkable 27 points and 21 rebounds.

The Coaches

Matt Painter, Purdue

Painter is successful his 21st play astatine Purdue and his 22nd twelvemonth wide pinch nan Boilermakers. In that time, he's led nan programme to 5 Big Ten regular play championships, 2 Big Ten Tournament titles, 16 NCAA Tournament appearances, and a travel to nan National Championship Game successful 2024.

A batch of Purdue's occurrence has travel successful nan past decade, pinch nan Boilers adding 4 Big Ten championships to their postulation since nan commencement of nan 2016-17 season. Painter has had 4 different players triumph nan Big Ten Player of nan Year Award 5 times: JaJuan Johnson (2010), Caleb Swanigan (2017), Zach Edey (2023, 2024), and Braden Smith (2025).

Painter is simply a Purdue alum, playing nether legendary coach Gene Keady from 1989-93. After his playing profession ended, he jumped correct into coaching, moving arsenic an adjunct astatine Washington & Jefferson (Division III) and Barton (Division II) earlier getting a occupation astatine Eastern Illinois (1995 to 1998). Painter past joined erstwhile Purdue adjunct coach Bruce Weber astatine Southern Illinois arsenic an adjunct from 1998 done 2003. Painter past became caput coach of nan Salukis for nan 2003-04 season.

In 2004, Painter returned to Purdue arsenic nan subordinate caput coach alongside Keady earlier taking complete nan programme for nan 2005-06 season. In a triumph complete Akron connected Nov. 16, 2025, Painter won his 500th profession crippled arsenic a caput coach.

• Overall record: 513-222
• Record astatine Purdue: 488-217

Brad Underwood, Illinois

Underwood is successful his 13th play wide and his ninth twelvemonth astatine Illinois. He sewage his commencement astatine nan organization assemblage level, coaching Dodge City CC from 1988 done 1992 and Daytona Beach CC from 2003 until 2006. He spent nan 11 years successful betwixt astatine Western Illinois arsenic an adjunct coach.

Following his clip astatine Daytona Beach, Underwood was an adjunct coach nether Frank Martin and yet followed Martin to South Carolina for nan 2012-13 season. After that, Underwood sewage his first Division I caput coaching opportunity astatine Stephen F. Austin.

The Lumberjacks won 3 Southland Conference titles and 3 convention tourney championships erstwhile Underwood coached nan programme from 2013 done 2016. The squad made nan NCAA Tournament each twelvemonth and went 89-14 pinch a 53-1 convention record.

After spending nan 2016-17 play astatine Oklahoma State, Underwood accepted nan occupation astatine Illinois. In 9 seasons pinch nan Fighting Illini, he's led nan programme to 2 Big Ten Tournament titles (2021, 2024) and regular-season convention title (2022). Illinois has made 5 consecutive trips to March Madness.

• Overall record: 290-131
• Record astatine Illinois: 181-104

Preview

If you emotion businesslike offense, you'll want to beryllium tuned successful for Saturday's matchup betwixt Purdue and Illinois. The crippled features nan 2 astir businesslike offenses successful nan state via KenPom, pinch nan Fighting Illini presently No. 1 and nan Boilermakers astatine No. 2.

As bully arsenic Purdue has been offensively, it was held beneath 70 points successful back-to-back games against USC and UCLA. Additionally, nan Boilers dropped their first Big Ten crippled of nan season, losing a heartbreaker to nan Bruins.

Meanwhile, Illinois comes into nan crippled riding an eight-game winning streak, and has scored 75 points aliases much successful each but 1 crippled this year.

Illinois shoots much than 30 three-pointers per crippled and is comfortable shooting those astatine a precocious volume. The Fighting Illini besides person a squad afloat of value rebounders, averaging much than 42 boards per game. The solid has been a spot for Purdue, but that has been dominated by Cluff, Kaufman-Renn and Daniel Jacobsen. It's going to return a full squad effort from nan Boilermakers connected Saturday connected nan boards.

This sounds simplistic, but Saturday's crippled whitethorn travel down to shot-making. If Purdue tin deed nan three-ball astatine a precocious clip, it will beryllium successful awesome style to amended to 8-1. But if nan Boilers struggle from nan perimeter, Illinois is tin of stealing a crippled successful Mackey Arena.

Get apical Boilermakers stories, master analysis, and can't-miss moments consecutive to your inbox for free by signing up for the Purdue Boilermakers connected SI newsletter!

Related stories connected Purdue basketball

5 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT ILLINOIS: No. 4 Purdue will big No. 11 Illinois astatine Mackey Arena connected Saturday afternoon. What do nan Fighting Illini bring to nan tribunal and really tin they origin problems? CLICK HERE