No. 16 Ohio State is set to face a Big Ten juggernaut on the road Sunday afternoon.

The Buckeyes will take on No. 6 Purdue at Mackey Arena at noon.

Here's what you need to know prior to tip off.

No. 16 Ohio State (13-4, 6-2 Big Ten) at No. 6 Purdue (17-3, 6-3 Big Ten)

WHEN: 12 p.m.

WHERE: Mackey Arena; West Lafayette, Indiana

TV: CBS

RADIO: Ohio State Radio Network from Learfield

SERIES: Ohio State leads 70-56

KenPom Prediction: Purdue 80, Ohio State 71

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Purdue’s DNA remains the same

Purdue’s game plan hasn’t changed much over the past year.

The names from the Boilermakers’ 2020-21 team that lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in overtime to North Texas are still the same: guard Jaden Ivey, center Zach Edey, forward Trevion Williams, who is now coming off the bench.

“Purdue’s system, it can tweak probably a little bit from year to year offensively, but for the most part defensively, they look very much like the same as they did last year, just because the pieces are all there,” Ohio State assistant coach Ryan Pedon said. “It’s going to be a real challenge. They have great size, they have versatility, they are deep.”

But that’s no different for Purdue teams for the past 10-to-20 years, according to Pedon.

What makes the Boilermakers’ successful has remained: the toughness and physicality down low in the post, the ability to score at will with high efficiency. Those all have remained the same as players come and go from head coach Matt Painter’s teams, along with the addition of former Ohio State assistant coach Terry Johnson to the coaching staff,

After a seven-point loss on the road at Mackey Arena in their first meeting in 2020-21, Pedon remembers a low-efficiency meeting between the Buckeyes and the Boilermakers at the Schottenstein Center, one Purdue took by two points, later answered with an offensive showcase in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament, one won by the Buckeyes by nine in overtime.

Ohio State has an older roster that has played against Purdue multiple times, knowing what it’s like to play at Mackey Arena. According to Pedon, that can only help the Buckeyes.

“Most Big Ten games it’s important to have experience because it’s a league that values experience so much,” Pedon said. “Older teams that have these systems that replicate themselves year after year, Purdue’s DNA, their style of play and their formula for winning today is very similar to what it was 10 or 20 years ago. I think there are differences, but at the end of the day, what they hang their hat on, that doesn’t change.

“Facing that for the first time, you are either buying into the scouting report, or you are going to be taught a lesson really quick.”

Can Ohio State continue its dominant paint play?

Pedon was proud of Ohio State Thursday night against Minnesota.

The Buckeyes gashed the Golden Gophers in the paint, out-rebounding them, 48-22, recording 20 offensive rebounds along with 40 points in the paint and 27 second-chance points.

To the Ohio State assistant coach, all that is is effort. It’s will. And that’s what he’s most proud of: the ability to secure rebounds in traffic, not dying on blockouts and pursuing rebounds in their area with tenacity.

“All those things, they all travel,” Pedon said. “That can’t be a one-night thing. I think that’s going to be an important part of our growth moving forward, but at the end of the day, it comes down to effort and when you give effort like that, great things will happen for you.”

It can’t be a one-night thing against Purdue.

Led by a 7-foot-4 specimen in Edey, the Boilermakers average 40.4 rebounds per game and allow opponents to record 28.6 boards per contest: the third-lowest in the country.

But to Pedon, it’s not just size. It’s physicality, adding a 57.5% two-point field goal percentage — 10th best in the country — and accountability on the glass.

“When you play Purdue, you better be prepared for battle and for war,” Pedon said.

It’s a war Ohio State has won before, out-rebounding the Boilermakers, 41-35, in the Big Ten tournament, leading to the Buckeyes’ first win against Purdue on its third try.

That rebounding advantage leading to a win was not a coincidence, but part of a formula Purdue has used against Big Ten teams for years, something that will continue Sunday afternoon in West Lafayette.

“They are coming off a game in which they allowed (14) offensive rebounds,” Pedon said of Purdue’s most recent game against Iowa. “That was the most they have allowed all year too, so you have this sort of collision where we had our best rebounding night, they had their, on paper, worst rebounding night. I’m sure their coaching staff is drawing attention to that.”

Ohio State returns to Mackey

Ohio State’s last trip to West Lafayette is one it would most certainly like to forget.

It was the home of the lowest point in the program’s recent memory, falling, as a two-seed, to 15-seed Oral Roberts in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

“It’s human nature,” Pedon said. “You walk through those doors and the memories you carry from last March 19th, I don’t think those will ever leave us. But at the end of the day, this is a whole different chapter, a whole different year. Certainly it will probably ring a bell with you, but do I think it will have any bearing on tomorrow’s game tomorrow? Honestly I don’t.”

Ohio State hasn’t had much success against Purdue at Mackey Arena either, last beating the Boilermakers on the road Feb. 7, 2018 in a one-point upset of the No. 3 team in the country by the No. 14 team.

Since 2010, Ohio State has beaten Purdue on the road three times, winning in back to back seasons in 2012-13 and 2013-14.

However, when both Ohio State and Purdue are ranked, the Buckeyes have had the advantage recently, beating the Boilermakers in three of the last four meetings regardless of location.

If anything, Pedon said, he hopes the loss to Oral Roberts will help Ohio State Sunday.

“Hopefully that experience has galvanized us in some form or fashion and maybe gives us a sort of mental edge tomorrow or some sort of chip on our shoulder,” Pedon said.

Ohio State showed up against Minnesota, showing a dominant force in and around the paint, grabbing extra looks and converting on numerous second-chance opportunities.

That's something Purdue's just not going to give the Buckeyes.

And with Ohio State's shooting woes from deep, especially from Justin Ahrens, its going to have a hard time finding an answer to the offensive efficiency the Boilermakers bring, along with matching their size up front.

If Ohio State can get its shot going from deep, that could help tremendously, but that's what it will take to get past this Big Ten power Sunday on the road, something the Buckeyes are not truly set up to do.

No. 6 Purdue 82, No. 16 Ohio State 72