No. 5 Purdue Stays Undefeated With 79-69 Road Victory Against Florida State
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Facing its first true road game of the season, No. 5 Purdue basketball was tested by Florida State. But behind 25 points and eight rebounds from junior center Zach Edey, the team escaped with a 79-69 win on Wednesday night at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Freshman guards Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer stepped up for the Boilermakers as well, combining for 24 points and 11 assists in the contest. Smith also registered a team-high nine rebounds for Purdue as the team improved to 7-0 on the season.
After flying across the country in the span of two days, the Boilermakers played like a team that was burnt out. It struggled to get the ball inside to Edey in the early goings of the matchup and turned the ball over eight times in the first half.
Florida State earned 11 points off turnovers, offensive rebounds and a pair of technical fouls called on Purdue. Once the team finally got Edey going underneath the basket, he scored 13 straight points for the Boilermakers.
The Seminoles kept the game from getting away in the opening period behind 16 points by junior guard Darin Green Jr. He was 5-of-7 from the field and made three 3-pointers to lead all scorers, but Purdue went into the locker room with a 34-32 lead.
In the second half, Green and sophomore guard Matthew Cleveland quickly got the lead back for the Seminoles. They scored a combined 43 points, but Florida State only led by as many as four points in the second half before Purdue took control of the game.
Smith orchestrated a 9-0 run to take a 55-47 lead with 11:33 left to play. He followed a dunk by Edey with an easy layup on the left side of the lane. He then assisted sophomore forward Caleb Furst on back-to-back baskets, including a 3-pointer in the corner after rifling a pass across the court.
Furst had no points in the first half, but he managed seven after halftime and finished shooting 3-of-7 from the field despite playing just 15 minutes. He was among nine players to score points for the Boilermakers, who were 5-of-18 from the 3-point line on the night.
Florida State cut its deficit to as little as three points, but Purdue knocked down 12 free throws in the final 10 minutes to stay ahead. The Boilermakers earned a 46-31 rebounding advantage and dominated in the paint with 38 points.
The team will be back in action on Sunday, Dec. 4, for its Big Ten opener against Minnesota at Mackey Arena. The game is scheduled for 5 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.
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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.