BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Purdue center Zach Edey arrived in Indiana determined to make a lasting impact Tuesday night.
He then showed everyone why he is the reigning national player of the year.
The 7-foot-4 senior fouled out, made shots and even chased down loose balls, finishing with 33 points and 14 rebounds while leading the second-ranked Boilermakers to an 87-66 rout of their rival Hoosiers.
The 21-point victory is Purdue's biggest at Indiana since January 1934, when the Boilermakers won by 34.
“This was my last chance to win here,” Edey said before handing Indiana its worst Assembly Hall loss in this series.
Edey did it all, almost single-handedly, getting Indiana's big men into foul trouble from the start. He was 11 of 23 from the field and 11 of 12 at the free throw line. He dove for a loose ball and his shot-blocking presence threw the Hoosiers out of sync. It was his second straight 30-point double-double since Purdue's loss last week at Nebraska. According to ESPN Stats & Information, Edey is just the second Big Ten player in the last 25 years to go 30-10 in a row twice in his career, joining former Ohio State star Evan Turner.
Thanks in large part to Edey, the Boilermakers (16-2, 5-2 Big Ten) earned their first Assembly Hall victory in three seasons and erased, for a moment, the bitterness of being swept by Indiana last season . Fletcher Loyer scored 19 points and Lance Jones added 17 for Purdue, but Edey was the catalyst.
“He causes a lot of attention, and you see that when he goes 1-on-1, he's going to make some fouls,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said after earning his 214th career conference win to tie former Illinois coach , Lou Henson, ranked No. 1. 5 in Big Ten history. “It's hard to see a 7-4, 300-pound guy who plays hard at every point. It just shows you who he is.”
The Hoosiers (12-6, 4-3) didn't like what they saw. Trey Galloway scored 17 points and Mackenzie Mgbako scored 15, but Indiana trailed for the final 37 minutes, most of that time by double digits after falling into an early 25-13 hole and a 51-29 deficit in half time.
Indiana counterattacked by opening the second half with a 20-7 run and cutting the margin to 60-51 with about 13 minutes left. But then Purdue responded with five straight points, the last two coming off Edey's free throws, and Indiana never got closer again.
“I can't sit here and complain about the officiating. It is what it is. We couldn't get to Edey fast enough,” Hoosiers coach Mike Woodson said. “I've got to make my big two a little tougher. I didn't think we played hard enough, and Edey got away with it.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
