No. 6 Purdue Routs Wright State 96-52 For 3rd Straight Win
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — No. 6-ranked Purdue continued to roll through the early part of its basketball schedule on Tuesday, cruising to an easy 96-52 victory over Wright State and setting the stage for a high-stakes weekend of basketball.
The Boilers are now 3-0 and have beaten Bellarmine, Indiana State and Wright State to start the season, with an average margin of victory of 40 points. Now they head off to the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament this weekend, where they'll face No. 18 North Carolina on Saturday, with No. 5 Villanova or No. 17 Tennessee waiting the following day.
"We feel like we're a really good team, and we can score the ball a lot,'' said Purdue sophomore center Zach Edey, "We feel like we can beat anyone in the country. They'll be bigger and stronger and faster than the teams we've played so far, but it's not going to change the way we play.''
The ease at which Purdue blew the game open was a little surprising because many expected a better fight out of Wright State, which went 18-6 and tied for the Horizon League regular season title with Cleveland State a year ago, going 16-4 in the league.
But Purdue was up by 11 within four-plus minutes, reeling off 14 straight points to grab a 14-3 lead.
Their lead passed 20 with another 14-point run, pushing the Boilers ahead 31-10 at the 8-minute mark and the lead hit 30 when Jaden Ivey scored off a turnover with 2:58 to go, giving the Boilers a 47-17 lead.
Purdue went to the locker with a 51-17 advantage. It was the third straight game that Purdue had scored 50 points or more in the first half. The Boilermakers shot 57.6 percent from the field in the first half, and also made 5-of-11 three-pointers.
"We were quick with our hands, and we played aggressively and actively on their guards,'' Purdue coach Matt Painter said. Wright State made only seven field goals in the half, and shot just 22.6 percent from the field. "But we still need to sharpen our pencil with our defense. There's still some lapses there.''
Purdue's two centers, the 7-foot-4 sophomore Edey and 6-10 senior Trevion Williams, each 12 points in the first half. Senior guard Sasha Stefanovic hit three three-pointers and had nine points in the half.
In the second half, the Boilers continued to pound away. The lead got to 40 at 75-35 on another three-pointer by Brandon Newman. The Boilers' biggest lead was 49 points at the 6:10 mark.
Five Boilermakers finished in double figures, with the two centers, Williams (20) and Edey (18) leading the way. Newman had 15, freshman Caleb Furst had 14 and Stefanovic had 12. Williams passed the 1,000-point mark on Tuesday.
"It was great for him. I didn't realize that,'' Painter said. "He's made a lot of clutch plays for us, and he's been even more consistent. And even coming off the bench now, he adds so much. He comes in, and he's fresh. He has one of the best feels of anyone I've been around with his passing. He's been great for us.''
Purdue has been impressive in its three blowout wins to start the season, but things get ramped up in a huge way this weekend. The Boilers are playing in the nation's toughest holiday tournament, where they will play No. 18 North Carolina on Saturday in the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-off Tournament in Uncasville, Conn.
They'll play either No. 5-ranked Villanova or No. 17 Tennessee on Sunday.
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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.