What to Watch in Purdue Basketball’s Second Exhibition Game vs. Purdue Fort Wayne

Purdue travels to Fort Wayne on Thursday to take on the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons in the Boilermakers’ second exhibition game of the preseason. After Sunday’s victory over Ball State, there are still plenty of questions and things to watch for in this matchup.

It’s just an exhibition, so the answers to these questions may not reflect Purdue’s approach during the regular season. However, this game can provide a better idea of what to expect from this team.

Advertisement

Rotation changes

Purdue Boilermakers head coach Matt Painter speaks to media ahead of a NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 game against the Texas Longhorns on Wednesday, March 25, 2026 at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Exhibition games give fans a great opportunity to get a sneak peek at the potential starting lineup and rotation. That’s what I’ll be watching closely in this one. Matt Painter likes to experiment with different lineups, but we got our first look at a potential starting five against Ball State. Omer Mayer, CJ Cox, Gicarri Harris, Caden Pierce and Daniel Jacobsen started for the Boilermakers.

Painter said nine players on this team are capable of starting, so it will be interesting to see if he makes any changes to the starting lineup. Additionally, Enzo Shahrvin was the 11th man off the bench against Ball State. Given the value he could bring to this team, keep an eye on how early he enters the game.

Advertisement

High three-point rate

Mar 25, 2026; San Jose, CA, USA; Purdue Boilermakers guard Jack Benter (14) shoots the basketball during a practice session ahead of the west regional of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at SAP Center. Mandatory Credit: Eakin Howard-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

There isn’t much of a scouting report or game film to study for these exhibitions, so Purdue’s approach won’t necessarily reflect how it plans to play during the regular season. That may have contributed to the Boilermakers’ shot selection against Ball State, but it was…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/watch-purdue-basketballs-second-exhibition-151050257.html

Author :

Publish date : 2026-10-22 15:10:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.