Boilermakers Country

LIVE BLOG: Follow Tuesday's Matchup Between No. 3 Purdue, No. 13 Illinois in Real Time; News and Analysis

Purdue basketball is searching for a season sweep against Illinois when the two teams play inside Mackey Arena on Tuesday night. A win would give the Boilermakers their sixth in a row and a share of the Big Ten lead.

D.J. Fezler

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — No. 3 Purdue basketball is battling for a shared spot atop the Big Ten standings when it tips off against No. 13 Illinois on Tuesday night at Mackey Arena. A victory would give the team its sixth straight and a season sweep of the Fighting Illini. 

The last time the two programs met, the Boilermakers came away with a 96-88 victory in double overtime on the road. Purdue enters the matchup at 20-3 on the season and 9-3 in the conference, while Illinois is 17-5 and 10-2. 

  • HOW TO WATCH: If you are interested in how to watch from home, simply CLICK HERE for television information, points spread and nuggets on the game.

The Boilermakers are 9-2 under head coach Matt Painter at Mackey Arena against the Fighting Illini, having won seven of the last eight meetings. However, Illinois won the last meeting in West Lafayette, 79-62 on Jan. 21, 2020.

Here's how our LIVE BLOG works. We'll keep you updated on everything that goes on in the game in real time, keeping you up to date on rotations, scoring plays and trends. Highlights will be included as they become available.

Let's get started, the most recent plays will be at the top.

11:14 p.m. ET, FINAL — Purdue takes down Illinois 84-68. A huge win for the Boilermakers. 

11:10 p.m. ET — Jaden Ivey up to 24 points for Purdue in the final minutes of the game. 

11:03 p.m. ET, UNDER 4 — Purdue leads Illinois 77-60 with 3:59 left to play. The Boilermakers are shooting 63% from the floor in the second half, and the Fighting Illini have missed all nine of their 3-point attempts after halftime. 

10:58 p.m. ET — Trevion Williams fouls Kofi Cockburn to pick up his fourth foul. Zach Edey comes into the game shouldering three. 

10:54 p.m. ET — Purdue on a 14-2 run to get its first double-digit lead of the night. THe Boilermakers are now up 73-56 with 8:15 to play. 

10:51 p.m. ET — Jaden Ivey hits a wide-open 3-pointer, but that was because Trent Frazier fell to the court and was holding his knee. The Illinois senior needs help making his way to the bench. 

Frazier is 1-7 from the field so far this game and has just two points for the Fighting Illini. 

10:49 p.m. ET — A really bad call gives Zach Edey his third foul of the night. The 7-foot-4 center got a clean block on Kofi Cockburn. Instead, a whistle gets blown and Cockburn makes both free throws. 

10:46 p.m. ET — Jaden Ivey isn't getting many calls to go his way against Illinois. He's being his usual self getting downhill, but he's had to fight through contact to get any looks at the rim. 

The sophomore star is up to a team-high 15 points on 5-10 shooting. He is 4-4 from the free-throw line. 

10:40 p.m. ET, UNDER 12 — Purdue leads 59-52 with 11:29 left to play in the contest. The Boilermakers have made five of their last seven shots from the floor, and Jaden Ivey has scored seven points in the half after scoring just four in the first. 

10:36 p.m. ET — Trevion Williams has three fouls now with less than 14 minutes still to play in the second half. Zach Edey back into the game sitting on two fouls himself. 

10:34 p.m. ET — Jaden Ivey has already matched his first-half scoring total in the first six minutes of the second half. He's 2-2 from the floor out of the break and now has eight points on the night. 

10:34 p.m. ET — Trevion Williams checks into the game for Purdue, Zach Edey takes to the bench after the first media timeout. 

10:30 p.m. ET, UNDER 16 — Purdue explodes on offense in the second half. The team has hit on seven of its first nine shots out of the break, jumping out to a 52-46 lead with 15:08 to play in the game. 

Boilermakers are 2-2 from the 3-point line, and Eric Hunter Jr. has scored nine of the team's 16 points to start the half.  

10:26 p.m. ET — A huge 3-point basket for Sasha Stefanovic to give Purdue a 43-40 lead early in the second half. Deep scoring was a problem in the first half, but Illinois foul trouble bailed out the Boilermakers. 

10:25 p.m. ET — Eric Hunter Jr. opens the scoring in the second half, and Kofi Cockburn answered. Illinois still leads by a pair. 

10:08 p.m. ET, HALFTIME — Illinois leads Purdue 38-36 at the break. Andre Curbelo scored just before the buzzer to take the lead. Trevion Williams leads the Boilermakers with 10 points, but Alfonso Plummer has 14 points for the Illini. 

Purdue shot just 37% from the floor in the first 20 minutes and ended the half making one of its last nine shots. 

10:05 p.m. ET — Matt Painter calls a timeout for Purdue with 21 seconds left. Boilers want a final play before the half to either tie or take the lead. Illinois up 36-34. 

10:02 p.m. ET — Alfonso Plummer has made several really tough shots already in the first half. He's up to 14 points against Purdue on 5-7 shooting. He is 4-6 from the 3-point line. 

9:56 p.m. ET, UNDER 4 — Mason Gillis hits his second 3-pointer of the game to give Purdue a 34-28 lead with 2:56 left to play in the opening half. He has six points and a team-high six rebounds for the Boilermakers. Trevion Williams leads all scorers with 10. 

9:54 p.m. ET — Caleb Furst now at center for Purdue with Zach Edey and Trevion Williams each having two fouls. 

9:50 p.m. ET – Illinois calls a timeout as Purdue makes it a 19-3 run over the last 4:32. The Boilermakers are now up 31-24 with 5:42 remaining in the first half. 

9:47 p.m. ET — Kofi Cockburn called for his second foul of the game. Purdue is now in the double donus with 6:20 left in the first half as Illinois has 10 fouls. 

9:45 p.m. ET — Nine fouls now for Illinois. Trevion Williams is 4-4 from the free-throw line, and after Caleb Furst makes a pair, the team is 6-7 so far this game. 

9:39 p.m. ET, UNDER 8 — Caleb Furst drills a huge 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down to give Purdue its first lead of the game. It's a 10-0 run for the Boilermakers, and they lead 22-21 with 7:46 left to play in the first half. 

9:38 p.m. ET — Purdue is in the bonus with less than nine minutes to play. Trevion Williams is fouled and he hits both free-throw attempts. 

9:36 p.m. ET — Ethan Morton coming up big for Purdue in the last few minutes. He gets a contested shot to fall underneath the basket and draws a foul. He was unable to hit the shot after, however. Morton with a team-high five points as it stands. 

9:35 p.m. ET — Ethan Morton rattles home the team's first 3-pointer of the night. Important for the Boilermakers to see one fall. 

9:34 p.m. ET — Zach Edey picks up his second foul with 10:48 left to play in the first half. He has four points for Purdue thus far, but Trevion Williams comes in to take his place. 

9:29 p.m. ET, UNDER 12 — Illinois leads Purdue 19-12 with 11:32 to play in the first half. The Boilermakers have missed all five of their 3-pointers. The Fighting Illini have 10 points off turnovers. 

9:27 p.m. ET — Eric Hunter Jr. misses back-to-back 3-pointers, and Purdue is now 0-4 from deep. Illinois still has just a single-digit lead. 

9:25 p.m. ET — Trevion Williams with his first foul of the game. He and Zach Edey each have one. Edey checks back into the game for the Boilermakers to match up against Kofi Cockburn. 

9:24 p.m. ET — Illinois is shooting a high percentage from the field to start the game, which includes a trio of 3-pointers. 

9:17 p.m. ET, UNDER 16 — It's been nonstop offense for Illinois in the opening minutes. The Fighting Illini lead 12-6 with 15:41 left in the first half and are 5-7 from the field, including two 3-pointers. 

The Boilermakers have only made 3-7 and are 0-2 from deep. 

9:16 p.m. ET — After making its first four shots to start the game, Trevion Williams comes up with a block on Kofi Cockburn underneath the basket. 

9:14 p.m. ET — Jacob Grandison hits the first 3-pointer of the game. Purdue has yet to make a shot from deep but has just one attempt. 

9:13 p.m. ET — Zach Edey answered with the first points for Purdue, but Kofi Cockburn scored again for Illinois on its second possession. The star junior is 2-2 from the floor to open the game. 

9:12 p.m. ET — Purdue wins the tip, and Jaden Ivey is unable to hit on a 3-point attempt. Illinois does a great job of preventing deep shot, so the Boilermakers will have to adjust accordingly. 

On the other end of the floor, Kofi Cockburn scores the first basket of the game. 

PREGAME — Starting five for Purdue remains the same Tuesday night against Illinois. 

  • Sophomore forward Mason Gillis
  • Sophomore center Zach Edey
  • Sophomore guard Jaden Ivey 
  • Senior guard Eric Hunter Jr. 
  • Senior guard Sasha Stefanovic

Stories Related to Purdue Basketball

  • PURDUE A 6-POINT FAVORITE AGAINST ILLINOIS: Purdue has been in chase mode in the Big Ten for a few weeks now, and a five-game winning streak has them in position to regain a share of the lead on Tuesday night, but that will take beating league-leader Illinois at Mackey Arena to get there. Here's the opening line, with a full breakdown on both teams against the number this season. CLICK HERE
  • BIG TEN LEAD ON THE LINE: No. 3 Purdue tips off against No. 13 Illinois on Tuesday night at Mackey Arena looking for their sixth straight win and a season sweep of the Fighting Illini. A victory would give the Boilermakers a spot atop the Big Ten standings. CLICK HERE
  • KOFI COCKBURN NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Illinois junior center Kofi Cockburn was recognized as the Big Ten Player of the Week ahead of a matchup with Purdue at Mackey Arena on Tuesday. Cockburn averaged 27 points and 10 rebounds in the last two games for the Fighting Illini. CLICK HERE
  • PURDUE RANKED THIRD IN AP POLL: Following victories over Minnesota and Michigan, Purdue moved up to No. 3 in the latest Associated Press College Basketball Top 25 poll. The team is slated to tip off against No. 13 Illinois on Tuesday at Mackey Arena. CLICK HERE
  • PURDUE REACHES 1,000 WINS IN REGULAR-SEASON BIG TEN PLAY: After an 82-76 victory against Michigan on Saturday at Mackey Arena, Purdue basketball improved to 20-3 during the 2021-22 season and 9-3 in Big Ten play. The win was the 1,000th in program history against conference opponents during the regular season. CLICK HERE

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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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