WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue center Zach Edey wanted to leave Indiana with a lingering impression Saturday.
Naturally, he complied.
The reigning national player of the year scored 26 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks and his first career 3-pointer while leading No. 2 Purdue to a 79-59 victory over archrival Indiana.
“I'm the best marksman in the country,” he joked when asked about the 3. “He was big. We owed him that after last year. The seniors and I really felt like this was the last time we went out with that fire and That's what we did.”
Edey had previously gone 0-1 on 3-point attempts in his career. His 2,065 career points entering Saturday were the most by any active Division I player without a 3-point field goal, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
The 7-foot-4 Edey once again dominated the middle and had plenty of help as the Boilermakers (22-2, 11-2 Big Ten) won their eighth straight game. Braden Smith had 19 points and nine rebounds, and Mason Gillis hit three 3-pointers to finish with nine points.
It was the first time since 1993-94 that Purdue beat Indiana twice in the same season by 20 points or more.
CJ Gunn had a career-high 13 points for the Hoosiers (14-10, 6-7). Kel'El Ware added 11 points and eight rebounds, and Trey Galloway finished with 10 points and seven assists.
It was a familiar script for Purdue and Indiana coach Mike Woodson.
Indiana led for the first 6½ minutes and was still within 20-18 a little more than halfway through the first half. But the Hoosiers missed 10 of their next 11 shots and Purdue again closed out the first half with a strong final kick. That 15-1 run helped the Boilermakers take a 37-25 halftime lead.
“This was a tough game because you're on the road, playing the No. 2 team in the country in a hostile environment,” Woodson said. “I thought we played well at the beginning, but from 10 minutes until halftime, we couldn't score and we just threw the ball away a couple of times.”
However, unlike last month's game, Indiana never fought back. Instead, the Boilermakers opened the second half with 10 straight points. Indiana never challenged again. And Edey sealed it with his triple.
“Do I have the ball, like the game ball?” Edey said when asked again about the long-distance shot. “I'm going to go look for him.”
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
