Boilermakers Country

LIVE BLOG: Follow No. 5 Purdue Basketball vs. Illinois in Real Time

No. 5 Purdue basketball (25-5, 14-5 Big Ten) tips off against Illinois (20-10, 11-8) for its final home game of the regular season at Mackey Arena. Here is our live blog, which will keep you up to date on all the news in real time, straight from press row.

D.J. Fezler

In this story:

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — No. 5 Purdue basketball plays its final regular-season home game at Mackey Arena on Sunday when it tips off against Illinois. The matchup is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. ET and will be televised on FOX. 

The Boilermakers have already secured a conference title outright and will head into the postseason as the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. They are looking for their 15th win in league play while the Fighting Illini battle for second place in the Big Ten. 

Welcome to our live blog, where we'll keep you updated in real time with all the news and views as they happen, straight from press row. We'll add highlights and opinions as well. The most recent items are on the top, so just keep refreshing.

We do this every game, so make sure you bookmark BoilermakersCountry.com, our Sports Illustrated/FanNation site that provides coverage of Purdue basketball and more. It's all free too; there is no paywall or subscription.

It's the regular-season finale for Purdue basketball inside Mackey Arena, so be sure to follow along below: 

2:54 p.m. ET, FINAL — Terrance Shannon Jr. fouls Bradon Newman on an inbound pass after a 3-pointer by Luke Goode. Shannon has fouled out, and Newman makes both free throws to go ahead 76-71. 

2:53 p.m. ET — Terrance Shannon Jr. picks up his fourth foul to send Braden Smith to the line. He makes 1-of-2 to give Purdue a six-point lead. 

2:49 p.m. ET — Fletcher Loyer puts away a pair of free throws, and Purdue leads 71-67. Illinois' Matthew Mayer airballs a 3-pointer, and Brandon Newman will head to the line with a chance to put this one out of reach. 

2:44 p.m. ET — Zach Edey gets a huge bucket for Purdue to take the lead. He has the last four points for the Boilermakers, and it was the team's first field goal since the 8:04 mark. They lead 69-67 with 57.2 on the clock. 

2:42 p.m. ET — Matthew Mayer ties the game 67-67 with 1:17 left to play by going 1-of-2 from the free-throw line. Purdue in desperate need of some offense, which has been nonexistent in the second half. 

2:40 p.m. ET — With 2:23 left to play, Purdue is in the double bonus. The team is 12-of-19 from the foul line after Zach Edey knocks down two. 

2:38 p.m. ET, UNDER 4— Purdue stands in its own way in the final minutes. The Boilermakers haven't scored in the last 3:43 and have four turnovers in the same span. They lead the Fighting Illini 65-63 with 2:35 left to go. 

2:33 p.m. ET — Illinois calls a full timeout as Purdue leads 65-61 with 4:12 left to play. The Fighting Illini are on a 6-0 run, and the Boilermakers have three turnovers in the last two minutes. 

2:28 p.m. ET — Purdue continues to struggle here in the second half. The team is 6-of-20 from the field, including 0-for-6 from the 3-point line. Illinois cuts the lead to four points. The Boilermakers haven't scored in nearly three minutes. 

2:18 p.m. ET, UNDER 8 — Purdue keeping a double-digit advantage with a 63-52 lead over Illinois. There's 7:30 left to play. The Fighting Illini have made five of their last seven, but the Boilermakers have piled on 21 points off 14 turnovers. 

2:16 p.m. ET — David Jenkins Jr. gets his first points of the game on senior night. He hits the breaks for a rhythm turnaround jumper from the elbow, a shot that's looked automatic for him as of late. 

2:10 p.m. ET, UNDER 12 — Purdue leads Illinois 59-46 with 10:52 left in the game. The Fighting Illini have outscored the Boilermakers 20-12 so far in the second half. Zero points for the Purdue backcourt since the break. 

2:05 p.m. ET — Matt Painter calls a timeout with 12:20 left to play. Purdue leads 57-44, but Illinois was on the doorstep of a big run. The Fighting Illini have outscored the Boilermakers 8-2 over the last two-plus minutes and have made 4-of-7 from the 3-point line in the second half. 

2:04 p.m. ET — Mackey Arena is begging for Zach Edey to take a wide-open shot on the perimeter. He's been left wide-open outside the paint several times this afternoon, but an obvious no-go from the Purdue coaching staff. 

1:57 p.m. ET, UNDER 16 — Purdue has a 54-36 advantage over Illinois with 15:10 left to go. Zach Edey and Mason Gillis have combined for all seven points for the Boilermakers to start the second half. 

1:56 p.m. ET — Student section chants "monster" while Illinois forward Matthew Mayer is at the line. He was reported to have caffeine poisoning that caused him to miss practice in the past few weeks as a result of drinking too many energy drinks. 

1:53 p.m. ET — A pair of wide-open 3-pointers don't find the bottom of the net, and Terrance Shannon Jr. gets a deep shot to fall on the other end. He entered the game averaging 17.2 points per game but was held to just two points in the first half. 

1:49 p.m. ET — Purdue strikes first in the second half and Mason Gillis comes down with an offensive rebound in the paint and immediately puts the ball into the basket. Illinois had a 15-12 rebound advantage in the first half. 

1:32 p.m. ET, HALFTIME — Purdue goes into the locker room leading 47-26 outscoring Illinois 18-3 over the last 4:29. Brandon Newman leads all scorers with 15 points, and Braden Smith is close behind with 14. The Boilermakers registered 17 points off 11 Fighting Illini turnovers. 

1:29 p.m. ET — Illinois leaves Brandon Newman wide open on the 3-point line in transition, and he takes advantage by absolutely burying the shot. He has a team-high 15 points, and Purdue leads 45-26 with 38.5 seconds in the half. 

1:25 p.m. ET — Brandon Newman ending the first half just as strong as he started it. He scored seven straight to kickstart an 11-0 run for Purdue to take a 40-23 lead over Illinois with 2:05 left before halftime. Newman and Braden Smith each have 12 points. 

1:23 p.m. ET — Brandon Newman gets a bucket in transition and is fouled on the play. He sinks the free throw attempt and now has eight points in the first half. He follows up with his third steal of the game, which leads to another pair of attempts from the foul line. 

1:19 p.m. ET, UNDER 4 — Things are evening out between Purdue and Illinois, but the Boilermakers lead 30-23 with 3:55 before halftime. The Fighting Illini are winning the rebounding battle 14-9 and have seven offensive boards. 

1:16 p.m. ET — Trey Kaufman-Renn sets a hard screen on Sencire Harris, and Harris has to head to the bench after being shaken up. 

1:14 p.m. ET — Zach Edey picks up his second foul, and Trey Kaufman-Renn enters the game to replace him. Kaufman-Renn has been solid with his minutes in the opening half. 

1:12 p.m. ET — Shot clock violation called on Illinois as Zach Edey swats the ball away from Dain Dainja. Edey is fouled on the other end of the floor and knocks down 1-of-2 free throws. 

1:06 p.m. ET, UNDER 8 — Zach Edey halts the Illinois scoring run with a basket inside the paint. He has seven points in as many minutes so far, and Purdue leads 25-20 with 7:28 left to go in the half. 

1:04 p.m. ET — A 12-2 run for Illinois makes it a three-point game with 8:21 before halftime. Purdue hasn't scored in more than two minutes. 

1:01 p.m. ET — Trey Kaufman-Renn has five points off the bench for Purdue. Purdue leads 23-15 with under 10 minutes to go in the half. 

12:56 p.m. ET, UNDER 12 — Purdue leads Illinois 21-13 with 11:46 still to play in the first half. The Boilermakers have made four of their last five shots and are 9-of-12 from the field. Fighting Illini guard Sencire Harris has a game-high seven points on 3-of-4 shooting. 

12:54 p.m. ET — David Jenkins Jr. checks into the game for Purdue. He is one of two seniors being honored in the team's regular-season finale. The other is walk-on Matt Frost. 

12:52 p.m. ET — Trey Kaufman-Renn pulls the trigger on the perimeter after being left open. He hits the second 3-pointer of the game for Purdue. The Boilermakers are 9-of-11 from the field and 2-of-3 from deep. 

12:51 p.m. ET — Zach Edey heads to the bench after picking up a foul. He scored the last five points for Purdue. 

12:45 p.m. ET, UNDER 16 — Purdue has an early 11-4 lead at the first media timeout. Nine of those have come as a result of four Illinois turnovers. Brandon Newman leading the way with five points and two steals so far. 

12:43 p.m. ET — What a start for Purdue in the opening minutes, especially for Brandon Newman. The Boilermakers open the game with an 11-0 run before Illinois finally gets its first shot of the game to fall. Newman has five points, two steals and an assist. 

12:41 p.m. ET — Brad Underwood calls for a timeout after Purdue takes an 8-0 lead. The Boilermakers are 4-of-5 from the floor and Illinois still has yet to attempt a shot from the field. 

12:39 p.m. ET — Brandon Newman gets a steal on back-to-back possessions to start the game, and Purdue has a quick 6-0 lead before Illinois can even attempt a shot. 

Tipoff — Zach Edey wins the tip for Purdue, and the Boilermakers do a great job moving the basketball before finding Mason Gillis underneath the basket for an easy layup. Before Illinois can cross half court, Brandon Newman gets a steal and is able to find a layup of his own. 

Purdue starters: 

  • Freshman guard Braden Smith
  • Freshman guard Fletcher Loyer 
  • Junior guard Brandon Newman 
  • Junior forward Mason Gillis 
  • Junior center Zach Edey

Related Stories on Purdue Basketball

  • How to Watch Purdue vs. Illinois: No. 5 Purdue (25-5, 14-5 Big Ten) closes its regular season schedule at Mackey Arena on Sunday with a matchup against Illinois (20-10, 11-8). Here's how to watch the game, with all your TV information, top scorers, coaching bios and more. CLICK HERE 
  • Illinois Coach Brad Underwood Previews Purdue: Illinois coach Brad Underwood met with the media to discuss the team's upcoming game against Purdue basketball on Sunday at Mackey Arena. He gave praise to Boilermakers junior center Zach Edey and offered his thoughts on their freshman backcourt duo. CLICK HERE
  • Purdue Escapes Wisconsin as Outright Big Ten Champs: After losing four of its last six, Purdue went on the road and earned a narrow 63-61 win over Wisconsin on Thursday night at the Kohl Center. The Boilermakers put the game away by sinking nine free throws in the final four minutes of play. CLICK HERE
  • Purdue Remains No. 5 in Latest AP Top 25 Poll: After losing to rival Indiana, Purdue remained at No. 5 in Monday's Associated Press Top 25 college basketball poll. The Boilermakers are 24-5 and 13-5 in Big Ten play. CLICK HERE

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Published
D.J. Fezler
D.J. FEZLER

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. 

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