With Purdue unsure what is needed more, it finally gets a break in its schedule or it finally gets to return to Mackey Arena.

Purdue (8-4) will get both on Sunday when Toledo (6-5) comes to Mackey Arena.

Toledo is ranked No. 216 in Kenpom, a welcome change after Purdue has just played three straight games against top-10 defenses, including back-to-back neutral ground games against Auburn and Texas A&M.

Purdue has lost 3 of its last 4 games and is looking to get back to its winning ways before Big Ten play begins in earnest. Following the sixth-toughest schedule to date according to Kenpom, Purdue will look to win its third straight Big Ten title after Toledo.

As mentioned, Purdue has faced three top-ten defenses in its last three games. 8 of Purdue’s 12 games also came against top-60 defenses.

Purdue’s record and offense have suffered. Things might be different at home on Sunday evening.

Toledo was one of the worst defensive teams in the country. Toledo is ranked as the 324th best defense and boasts an astounding 57.6% shooting percentage from inside. That should be music to Purdue’s ears after he struggled to get anything going against Auburn and shot just 15 of 36 from two shots against the Tigers.

The home cooking will be good, too, as Purdue has only managed to score 80 points in a game at home once in six contests this season.

Sonny Wilson is Toledo’s primary defender and does everything he can to score points. He leads the team with 15.2 points per game while shooting 52% from the field and 39% from three. The sophomore was coming off his toughest game of the season, scoring in single digits as Houston pressured Wilson with 3 points and just 1 of 8 shooting.

Toledo is one of the least productive three-point shooting teams in the country. Sam Lewis leads Toledo with 29 three-point attempts this season and is hitting them at a rate of 48%. The 6-6 wing will be one of Purdue’s focal points defensively.

In contrast, Purdue has six players with at least 28 three-point attempts.

Toledo is shooting 34% from distance this season. Purdue is the 16th best team in the country at 39.6% as a team.

Braden Smith has carried the weight of Purdue’s grueling schedule on his back for the last two games. Against Auburn and Texas A&M, two defenses covered, doubled, swarmed and backed up Purdue’s point guard for two entire games. Two of the top two defenses in the country have beaten Smith in those games, while Purdue’s offense has struggled to get its sets going and find a rhythm in the pick and roll.

Smith has only 12 assists in the last two games despite leading the nation in assist rate. What’s even more concerning is that Smith had 11 turnovers in those two games.

Smith is also having trouble finding his own. In Purdue’s last three losses, the defense managed to deprive Smith of the points he scored. He averaged just under 10 points per game in Purdue’s last three losses, including a 3-of-12 shooting performance against Auburn and a 5-of-14 shooting performance against A&M.

Smith has a winning average of 14.3 points, but that comes in a blowout win against Marshall, where Smith matched his season low in minutes and didn’t score a point.

He has 10 points per game in Purdue’s four losses.

Will Berg sprained his ankle at practice this week and will miss the game against Toledo, Matt Painter said after practice Saturday.