WEST LAFAYETTE, India – For Purdue coach Meta Painter, Jaden Ivy’s ability to break defenses was a difference.
Ivy scored 25 points, Zach Eddie added 15 points, and Purdue at number 5 on Sunday beat Rutgers 84-72, stopping the recent Scarlet Knights series against the ranking teams.
Rutgers has won his last four games, all against top 25 teams. The Scarlet Knights also defeated Purdue in December.
The Boilermakers stopped the line as Ivey scored most of the line, scoring 15 of 18 free throws. Trevion Williams and Sasha Stefanovich scored 11 points each, and Mason Gillis – 10 points behind Purdue (24-4, 13-4 Big Ten).
Zach Idi and Trevion Williams combined 10 of 14 from the field, and Eddie made 5 of 6 shots.
“I think the teams know that if they play us 1 on 1, there’s a good chance we’ll score,” Williams said. “The whole point is to get another team to make a decision. You will either play 1-on-1 with us or dive in and we will hand it out to our shooters. It worked for us to go inside out. ”
Paul Malkahi scored 15 points, Clifford Amarui added 14, Ron Harper Jr. scored 12 points and Geo Baker added 11 points to Rutgers (16-10, 10-6).
“We were trying to pull the lead,” Ivy said. “We didn’t want it to come at all. We just played great team basketball today. We did plays down. They put pressure on us the whole game. I felt patient and we took what they gave us. ”
Painter said balance was key.
“We had the balance to run basketball and make enough threes,” Painter said. “We had some open ones that you love to see coming down. We just kept trying to execute, we outperformed them and had less revs than they did and still lost. Tonight we bypassed them and won with less revs. If you do that, you have a chance, and it helps if you can take a few shots. Today we have done enough.
The Boys finished the first half with a series of 9-1 and led 45-36, and then opened the second half, scoring the first 11 points. Purdue kept Rutgers without points for nearly five minutes, increasing the lead to 56-36.
In the game, Purdue scored 53% and Rutgers – 51%. The big difference was that Purdue had a 19-4 advantage on points from turns. Rutgers had 11 turns, four more than Purdue. The Boilers also executed 24 of 29 free throws against 13 of 17 in Rutgers.
The big picture
Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights ended their four-game winning streak over top-ranked rivals – they defeated Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin and Illinois during the series. Despite some disappointing losses outside the conference, Rutgers returned to the NCAA tournament bubble. Rutgers was upset then – No. 1 Purdue 70-68 Dec. 9, when Harper struck a deep 3-pointer on the horn.
Purdue: The Pitmen are halfway ahead of Wisconsin (12-4) and Illinois (12-4) in the Big Ten standings. The Boilermakers are completing away games in Michigan and Wisconsin and at home against Indiana.
SUMMARY OF THE SURVEY
With number 2 Auburn lost to Florida without a rating, and № 4 Kentucky lost 16 numbers in Tennessee, and № 5 Purdue could rise in the rankings with two wins in a week.
NEXT
Rutgers: In Michigan on Wednesday.
Purdue: Michigan on Saturday.
