No. 2 Purdue Too Much For Indiana, Edey Scores 33 in 87-66 Win

No. 2 Purdue was able to do as it pleased early against Indiana on Tuesday night, building a big lead and then holding off a few Hoosiers rallies to win 87-66. It was their first win in Bloomington since 2021.

Tom Brew | Jan 16, 2024

No. 2 Purdue Too Much For Indiana, Edey Scores 33 in 87-66 Win /

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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana had a plan to deal with Zach Edey and the No. 2-ranked Purdue Boilermakers on Tuesday night at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, but they weren't allowed to execute it.

Indiana tried to be aggressive early, but in what turned out to be a tightly called first half, they were whistled for seven of the first eight fouls. Their two best players — freshman forward Mackenzie Mgbako and sophomore center Kel'el Ware — got in foul trouble early and Purdue built a 22-point lead by halftime then withstood a few Hoosiers runs to still with with ease, 87-66.

With the win, Purdue is now 16-2 and 5-2 in the Big Ten. Indiana is 12-6 and 4-3 in the league, and left Assembly Hall in a tough spot, trying to figure out what they could have done better against their in-state rivals. The fouls piled up too quickly, and the Hoosiers couldn't match that productivity on the other end

""I thought Ware could have done a better job defending him (Edey), but he didn't. I've got to get my two big guys to play tougher, I don't call the game, but you've still got to overcome it,'' Indiana coach Mike Woodson said. "We couldn't get to Edey quick enough.

"At the end of the day, you have to give Purdue a lot of credit. They played extremely well in the first half, and against a good team like that, when you dig a big hole like that, it's hard to get out.''

It was hard without it best pieces. Mgbako, who's been playing week this month, scored Indiana's first seven points but when then whistled for two fouls in 19 just seconds. Ware got called for two fouls just 44 seconds apart a minute later, and both had to go to the bench.

Edey, the 7-foot-4 center who's the reigning national Player of the Year, played like it. He had 33 points — with 18 of them coming in the first half that included six field goals and all six free throw attempts — and Indiana never really had an answer for him.

Indiana also missed too many easy shots, which allowed Purdue to build a double-digit lead quickly, and never look back.

''I thought in the first half we got some good looks. We chart it, and we had seven or eight good looks that we didn't make,'' Woodson said

It was 51-29 at the break. Indiana made 1-of-2 free throw attempts, and Purdue was 14-for-16 from the line over the same 20 minutes.

"Obviously they are a physical team and have a big post presence down low, but you really have to try to get stops and we didn't do that,'' Indiana senior guard Trey Galloway said. "In big games like this, you got to hang in there and try to be tough. We didn't handle it great. They had 16 free throws to what we had (two). We can't have silly fouls.''

The Hoosiers went right to work in cutting the lead in the second half, getting the margin down to nine in just a few minutes. Galloway, who had a team-high 17 points, hit two big threes and Mgbako, who finished with 15, scored five straight points, too. And when Gabe Cupps, who started at point guard and played well, hit a three-pointer with 14:36 to go, it was 58-49.

Galloway made two free throws at the 12:50 mark to make it 60-51, but the Hoosiers woujld get no closer. Purdue built the lead back up to 24 in the final minute, and won by 21.

"It wasn't over, and that was our mindset going into the second half. We got it under 10, but we just couldn't hit that second gear,'' Galloway said.

Purdue's 51 first-half points were the most allowed by Indiana this season outside of the two halves of the Auburn game, when they gave up 52 twice. Purdue has been a top-5 team for 26 straight weeks in the Associated Press poll. They're No. 2 right now, but despite that, they haven't been very good on the road so far in the Big Ten. They lost twice — at Northwestern in December and at Nebraska last week — so they came into Bloomington desperate to make a statement on. the road.

They did.

Edey, it seems, is even better this year. And that's saying a lot.

"From the defensive standpoint, you can't give him the angles,'' Woodson said. "Before, I thought our pressure on the ball was better. But once they get a good angle, it's tough to get down there to stop him. He's a lot to handle.''

Edey got help, too. Sophomore guard Fletcher Loyer had 19 points and made all four. three-point attempts. Lance Jones added 17, including three long balls. Point guard Braden Smith only had five points on 2-of-12 shooting, but he had nine assists and just two turnovers in 34 minutes.

The Hoosiers actually made more threes (8-to-7) than Purdue, but were outrebounded 42-34. Purdue finished 22-of-27 from the line, and Indiana was just 4-of-9.

It was Purdue's first win in Assembly Hall since 2021, a stretcvh of 1,096 days. For Edey, it felt good after losing here two years in a row. His only win came as a freshman, when there were no fans in the stands because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It was my last chance to get a win in this building with fans here,'' said Edey, who claimed ''this game'' as his most memorable Bloomington moment.

It doesn't get any easier for Indiana. They're off to Wisconsin next, and the Badgers are a perfect 5-0 in the Big Ten, and 13-3 overall. The Hoosiers have lost 19 straight games in Madison, dating all the way back to 1998.

The game is Friday night at 8:30 p.m. ET. It will be televised on FOX Sports 1.

"We've got to focus on our next game against Wisconsin and try to get a road win,'' Galloway said. The Hoosiers are 1-2 so far on the road in the Big Ten, winning at Michigan but losing at Nebraska and Rutgers.

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