GAMEDAY Mens Basketball
Purdue 76, Illinois 71
(AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
By MARK AMBROGI
Associated Press
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Brandon Newman scored 19 points and Zach Edey added 17 as No. 5 Purdue held on to beat Illinois 76-71.
Braden Smith added 15 points for the Boilermakers (26-5, 15-5 Big Ten). It is the first time a team has won the league title by three or more games since 2014..
Edey, who entered the game with 23 double-doubles, finished with six rebounds. He was slowed by playing just 8 minutes in the fist half after picking up two fouls.
The Boilermakers led by 24 early in the second half before the Illini rallied. Matthew Mayer led the Illini (20-11, 11-9) with 16 points. Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 13, Sencire Harris 11 and Luke Goode 10 points.
The Illini tied the game at 67 on a free throw by Mayer with 1:17 to go. Edey’s layup gave Purdue a 69-67 edge with 56 seconds to go. Illinois turned the ball over with 31 seconds left.
Purdue's Fletcher Loyer sank two free throws to push the lead to 71-67 after an immediate foul. Mayer missed a 3-point shot and Newman hit two free throws to push the lead to 73-67 with 16 seconds left.
Goode hit a 3-pointer to close the gap to 74-71 with 7 seconds left. Newman hit two free throws to seal it for Purdue with 5 seconds left.
Newman scored 15 points in the first half to help the Boilermakers to a 47-26 halftime lead.
The Boilermakers shot 62% in the first half. but just 29% in the second half.
BIG PICTURE
Illinois: The Illini had won three of four game coming in but struggled with turnovers and outside shooting in the first half. However, the Illini showed fight by climbing back from a 24-point deficit early in the second half to tie it late.
Purdue: Following a stretch of losing four of six games, the Boilermakers have gotten some momentum by winning two in a row. Purdue allowed the Illini back into the game by costly turnovers.
March 5, 2023
| Illinois | ||||||||||||
| Player | Pos | Min | FG-FGA | FT-FTA | 3P-3PA | OR-TR | Ast | Blk | Stl | TO | PF | Pts |
| M. Mayer | F | 32 | 5-14 | 5-7 | 1-10 | 0-6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 16 |
| C. Hawkins | F | 30 | 2-5 | 1-4 | 1-3 | 1-4 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| D. Dainja | F | 17 | 3-4 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 7 |
| T. Shannon Jr. | G | 33 | 4-7 | 3-3 | 2-3 | 0-1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 13 |
| R. Melendez | G | 28 | 1-5 | 5-6 | 0-1 | 3-4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 7 |
| T. Rodgers | 22 | 0-1 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | |
| S. Harris | 21 | 5-8 | 0-1 | 1-3 | 3-5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 11 | |
| L. Goode | 16 | 4-6 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 1-3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 10 | |
| B. Lieb | 2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | 201 | 24-50 (.480) |
16-24 (.667) |
7-22 (.318) |
10-30 | 13 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 23 | 71 | |
| Purdue | ||||||||||||
| Player | Pos | Min | FG-FGA | FT-FTA | 3P-3PA | OR-TR | Ast | Blk | Stl | TO | PF | Pts |
| M. Gillis | F | 17 | 2-4 | 3-4 | 0-2 | 2-3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| Z. Edey | C | 27 | 6-13 | 5-7 | 0-0 | 3-6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 17 |
| B. Newman | G | 34 | 5-10 | 6-8 | 3-8 | 2-6 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 19 |
| B. Smith | G | 31 | 6-9 | 1-2 | 2-2 | 0-1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 15 |
| F. Loyer | G | 26 | 0-4 | 4-4 | 0-3 | 0-0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| C. Furst | 23 | 1-3 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 4-6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | |
| E. Morton | 20 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1-3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | |
| T. Kaufman-Renn | 13 | 3-4 | 1-2 | 1-1 | 0-2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | |
| D. Jenkins Jr. | 9 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Totals | 200 | 25-53 (.472) |
20-28 (.714) |
6-18 (.333) |
13-29 | 15 | 2 | 11 | 11 | 17 | 76 | |
