Late-Game Turnovers Cost No. 1 Purdue in 64-58 Loss to Northwestern
EVANSTON, Ill. — Purdue had chances to close out a hard-fought matchup on the road against Northwestern, but poor shooting and costly mistakes down the stretch opened the door for a late 12-1 run by the Wildcats.
The No. 1-ranked Boilermakers led by eight points with 3:52 left to play before turning the ball over six times in the final minutes of a 64-58 loss Sunday at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
"You have to be able to get good shots right there," Purdue coach Matt Painter said. "And then if you can get good shots, obviously if you don't make it, you have a chance to rebound. Just have to show more poise and toughness than we did."
Junior center Zach Edey led the team with 24 points on 7-of-10 shooting and also made 8-of-13 from the free throw line, but the scoring efforts of Wildcats guards Boo Buie and Chase Audige fueled the late-game comeback.
The Boilermakers finished 19-of-24 from the foul line in the loss but were outscored by 13 points in the second half after shooting 2-of-13 from the field in the final 11 minutes.
Northwestern has now won three straight games and finds itself tied for second place in the Big Ten standings with an 18-7 record, including a 9-5 mark in the conference. Purdue fell to 23-3 and 12-3 in league play.
"We have yet to put two halves together these last few games," Purdue junior guard Brandon Newman said. "We were on the good side of it this last game, but it can go either way."
Northwestern looked to eliminate Edey’s presence on the offensive end of the floor early by crowding the paint, forcing Purdue to utilize its other weapons. Junior forward Mason Gillis took advantage on the perimeter, checking into the game and immediately knocking down back-to-back shots from the 3-point line.
The two baskets ignited a 9-0 run, and the Boilermakers eventually took a 26-16 lead with 9:19 left to go before halftime by starting the game 5-of-9 from deep. It ended up being their largest lead of the game.
Buie led the Wildcats on the offensive end of the court and prevented Purdue from racing to a substantial lead. He had 13 of his game-high 26 points in the first half, including a 3-pointer that came after the Boilermakers went ahead by double-digits.
Purdue went into the locker room having made just one of its final eight shots from the field, but they maximized their trips to the free throw line and knocked down 10-of-12 heading into the second half.
Edey scored the final nine points for Purdue to give the team a 37-30 halftime lead. He was just 2-of-3 from the field in the first half but went 6-of-8 on his attempts from the foul line.
"Free throws are points just the same way that field goals are points," Edey said. "There's no difference between the two. Obviously, they slowed the game down a little bit, but when teams want to play like they did today, you're going to shoot a lot of free throws."
The 7-foot-4 big man was the only offense for the Boilermakers after the break. The team shot just 6-of-21 in the final period, five of which came from Edey’s efforts on the attacking half of the floor.
Audige scored all 15 of his points in the second half for the Wildcats — finishing 6-of-16 from the field — and made four baskets in the final four minutes.
Northwestern stole the ball from Edey, and on the other end of the floor, Audige buried a corner 3-pointer to take a 59-57 lead with 1:39 left in the game. Purdue finished with 16 turnovers that resulted in 22 points.
After starting the game hot from the 3-point line, the Boilermakers were dormant on the perimeter in spite of the attention Edey was drawing down low. They missed 13 straight shots from beyond the arc, which included 0-for-8 after halftime.
"They were just real physical toward the end, and it just knocked us off," said Purdue freshman point guard Braden Smith, who had four assists but was just 1-of-7 from the field. "And we weren't able to knock down the shots."
Edey connected on five of his seven shots in the second half, but when Northwestern took away his scoring opportunities, it ultimately hurt Purdue. He had six turnovers in the game, but others weren't able to capitalize on scoring opportunities.
"We've got to be able to pass and catch," Painter said. "Nothing that they did we haven't seen before. But this is what they do, they double the post no matter if they play Zach Edey or not."
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D.J. Fezler is a staff writer for BoilermakersCountry.com. Hailing from The Region, he is from Cedar Lake in Northwest Indiana and has spent the last two years covering Purdue football and basketball.