GAME NOTES: In the second half of the fourth-annual Crossroads Classic, the 21st-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish will clash with the Purdue Boilermakers at Banker Life Fieldhouse.

The Crossroads Classic serves to highlight basketball in the state of Indiana and will open on Saturday with the 23rd-ranked Butler Bulldogs taking on the Indiana Hoosiers.

Mike Brey's Irish have suffered just one defeat on the season, that coming back on Nov. 23 by a single point on the road at Providence (75-74). Since then, Notre Dame has reeled off six straight victories and moved to 10-1 on the year with last weekend's 83-63 rout of Florida State in ACC action.

Matt Painter's Boilermakers are off to a solid start to their season as well. Purdue enters this game with an 8-3 overall mark, although it has split its last four games. The Boilermakers have also been idle for a week after last weekend's 81-71 road loss at Vanderbilt.

Notre Dame holds a narrow 21-20 series lead thanks to wins in each of the last two meetings with Purdue. The Irish came out on top in Indianapolis two years ago, 81-68.

Purdue fell behind by 11 points at the half and just couldn't do enough over the final 20 minutes to prevent Vanderbilt from earning a 10-point win. The Boilermakers shot the ball at an efficient rate overall (.473), but Vandy hit nine 3-pointers in the game compared to Purdue's three. Raphael Davis led four Boilermakers in double digits with 15 points. Isaac Haas finished with 13, while Kendall Stephens Bryson Scott checked in with 11 and 10 points, respectively, off the bench.

Purdue has been solid at the offensive end this season, averaging a strong 76.7 ppg on .470 shooting. The team has also excelled on the glass, outrebounding foes by seven caroms per contest. Stephens isn't starting right now, but still leads the team in scoring at 12.3 ppg. Haas checks in at 11.5 ppg and is followed closely in the scoring column by Vince Edwards and his 10.7 ppg.

The Boilermakers will need to stay sharp offensively on Saturday, as Notre Dame has shown plenty of firepower and efficiency at that end of the floor. The Irish are seventh nationally in scoring (84.9 ppg) and lead the nation in field-goal percentage (.557), including .409 from behind the arc. Scoring depth is apparent, as four of the team's five starters are averaging double figures, led by Jerian Grant's 18.9 ppg. Grant has picked up where he left off after missing most of last season and is also the team's top facilitator, dishing out 6.0 apg. Zach Auguste can fill up the basket as well at 15.2 ppg, followed by Demetrius Jackson and Pat Connaughton with 13.3 and 12.7 ppg, respectively.

Notre Dame's 83 points against Florida State represented the team's most in an ACC contest since joining the league. The Irish were able to convert 51.7 percent from the floor and dominated down low with 46 points in the paint. Auguste was 11-of-15 from the floor and finished with a game-high 26 points. Grant and Jackson had big games as well, netting 18 points apiece.

The Boilermakers are off to a good start, but may be running into an Irish juggernaut in this one.