No. 1 Purdue Notches Big W At Ohio State

After losing for the first time this season on Monday, a lot of people wondered how Matt Painter’s young Boilermakers would respond when they traveled to No. 24 Ohio State on Thursday.

Well, after a thrilling 71-69 win in the waning seconds, all seems good in Boiler Land.

It was anything but easy in Columbus for top-ranked Purdue.

The Boilermakers, who lost in the last seconds to Rutgers on Monday in Mackey Arena, fell behind by a dozen in the opening half and as it did against the Scarlet Knights struggled mightily shooting from the outside and turned the ball over too many times.

Purdue, however, rallied to trail only by three at intermission.

It was a hotly contest game as nearly every Big Ten contest is. The game featured seven ties and 11 lead changes.

After Buckeye guard Sean McNeil hit a three-pointer, Purdue trailed 69-66 with 41 seconds left.

Boilermaker big man Zach Edey responded with a bucket in the paint and Purdue guard Ethan Morton came up with a huge steal on Ohio State’s ensuing possession thanks to a double team in front of the Boilermaker bench. Morton anticipated the pass coming out of the double team and brilliantly picked it off.

The Boilermakers called timeout to set up what turned out to be the game’s winning play.

All eyes were on Edey thinking he would be the one taking the shot with his team down 69-68.

Fletcher Loyer dumped the ball inside to Edey and naturally Ohio State defenders collapsed only to have him kick it out to a wide open Loyer, who buried a triple, giving the Boilermakers a 71-69 lead with 11 seconds to go.

Credit Painter for calling the perfect play, not to mention calling the timeout instead of letting his team play on.

Following an Ohio State timeout, the Buckeyes Brice Sensabaugh was smothered by Purdue’s defense and couldn’t even get a shot off in the game’s final seconds.

“We’re fortunate. We’re very fortunate,” said Painter following the game. “We didn’t have a very good start to this game, and it took us a while to settle into it. Obviously we’re not better than Ohio State. In this game, we were one possession better. They obviously have a really good team, and they’re well-coached.”

The victory improved the Boilermakers’ record to 14-1 overall, 3-1 in the Big Ten. It equals Purdue’s best start in school history.

In addition, the win is Purdue’s third road victory over a top-25 team this season, which is the second-most wins away from home over top-25 competition this season.

Needless to say the Boilermakers victory was a big one. It made up for the home loss against Rutgers and was yet another great addition to their resume.

In all the mock NCAA Tournament brackets Purdue remains one of the four No. 1 seeds.

No doubt a loss in Columbus would’ve knocked the Boilermakers off that top seed line, but thanks to a solid second half, Purdue escaped with a W.

Four Boilermakers scored in double figures, led by freshman Braden Smith’s 16 points, six assists, two steals and one turnover. Think of that stat line for a second … six assists and one turnover in his first Big Ten road game against a nationally ranked team.

Needless to say, Smith continues to play beyond his years.

For the season, Smith is averaging 29 minutes per game, shooting 44.9 percent from the floor, including 42.9 from three-point range, and 87.8 percent from the free throw line. He is averaging 9.4 points per game, 5.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.9 turnovers. A two-to-one assist-to-turnover ratio is very good, almost unheard of for a first-year college player.

Edey added yet another double-double (seven in a row, 16 points and 11 rebounds to go along with a career-high four assists) and Loyer chipped in 11 and Morton had a career-high 10.

Speaking of Morton, he was stellar. Morton knocked down key shots, did his usual solid job on D and came up with one of the biggest plays of the game, heck of the season – his steal with Purdue down a point with under 30 seconds to play.

The Boilermakers also got a huge contribution from senior guard David Jenkins Jr. He came off the bench to hit all three of his three-pointers to finish with nine points.

Purdue started the game ice cold from the perimeter, but got hot as it went on. The Boilermakers finished shooting nearly 42 percent from long range (13-of-31).

A lot has been made of Purdue’s struggles from the outside, but consider this … in three games against nationally-ranked teams (Duke, Gonzaga and Ohio State), the Boilermakers are 30-of-75

Ohio State’s cause was not helped when big man Zed Key left less than four minutes into the contest with a shoulder injury. He did not return.

The Buckeyes shot 50 percent from the field for the game and nearly 43 percent from three-point territory, but it wasn’t enough.

Purdue will quickly have to put the Ohio State game behind it because another tough test awaits. The Boilermakers face 11-4 Penn State at 6 p.m. Sunday at The Palestra in Philadelphia. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.

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