Iowa Knocks Off Purdue 75-66 to Win Big Ten Title
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Two of the best offensive teams in the country tangled in the finals of the Big Ten Tournament, but it was a multitude of defensive stops down the stretch that helped No. 5-seed Iowa claim the title with a 75-66 win over Purdue, the tournament favorite.
Purdue made just 2-of-8 shots in the final three minutes as the Hawkeyes, who have been the hottest team in the league pulled away. Purdue is 24-0 when scoring 70 or more points. When held under 70 points, Purdue is 3-7 now.
Iowa led most of the first half, with its largest lead reaching eight points on several occasions. But Purdue made a nice run late in the period, getting baskets from Jaden Ivey, Zach Edey and Trevion Williams. Ivey hit a three-pointer with 16 seconds left to make it 35-32 at the break. Ivey had 10 first-half points.
Iowa, which came into the game with 40 made three-pointers in its first three games, struggled from distance in the first half, making just 3-of-15 long balls. But they only had one turnover the entire half.
Purdue took the lead briefly to start the second half, going on an 8-4 run, and it remained a one possession game until the 8:20 mark when Iowa freshman guard Payton Sandfort hit back-to-back three-pointers to put Iowa ahead 57-51.
No one scored for more than two minutes until Williams scored on an offensive rebound, but Indianapolis native Tony Perkins scored again on other end to make it 59-53.
Keegan Murray was fouled at the 4:15 mark, and made both free throws to push the lead to eight at 63-55.
Williams made two free throws, and then the Purdue defense came up big, getting two straight steals from Williams. Ivey scored on a drive and then Eric Hunter Jr. hit a three-pointer from the top of the key to cut the lead to one at 63-62 with 3:09 to go.
Connor McCaffery forced a shot over Williams and scored and was fouled, and he made the free throw too to make it 66-62. On the other end, Ivey turned it over on a bad pass inside to Williams.
Purdue's Mason Gillis was fouled on an offensive rebound at 1:57, but he missed the front end of the one-and-one. Iowa failed to score, but Sasha Stefanovic missed a three on the other end and was forced to foul. Perkins made both free throws to make it 69-62.
Purdue made just 1-of-7 shots down the stretch, with Ivey making the final basket when the outcome was no longer in doubt.
This was Purdue's fifth appearance in the Big Ten Tournament championship game. They won in 2009, but have lost the other four times. It was their first final since losing to Michigan in 2018 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Both teams are clearly high seeds in the NCAA Tournament, They will learn their fate soon when the bracket is announced at 6 p.m. ET on Sunday night.
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Tom Brew is an award-winning journalist who's worked at some America's finest newspapers, including the Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and the Indianapolis Star. He also owns the book publishing company, Hilltop30 Publishing Group, and he has written four books and published 16 others.