No. 3 Purdue Gets Back on Track, Pounds Butler in Crossroads Classic
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — After a few bumps in the road the past two weeks, Purdue came into Saturday's game with Butler looking to remind people that they really are one of the best teams is the country.
They needed that reminder themselves, too.
Consider the reset button hit. No 3-ranked Purdue (10-1) was great from start to finish, blowing out Butler 77-48 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis the first game of the final Crossroads Classic. Indiana and Notre Dame were next up.
Purdue guard Jaden Ivey led the way with 22 points, and he made all six of his three-point attempts.
"Just taking rhythm shots and taking what the defense gives me," Ivey said. "Sometimes they play me to drive the ball, well I feel confident in my shot. I was just confident today, and I just thank my teammates for putting the ball in my hands to make plays."
Despite ascending to No. 1 in the Associated Press top-25 poll for the first time in school history, it's been a bit of a rough patch for Purdue. The Boilermakers frittered away all of a 19-point second-half lead in their Big Ten opener against Iowa before hanging on to win and then lost their first game as No. 1 at Rutgers.
Even last Sunday in Brooklyn, N.Y., the Boilermakers trailed N.C. State by double digits, only to rally and tie the game to force overtime, where they pulled away for a 10-point win despite ''playing awful for 35 minutes,'' Purdue guard Sasha Stefanovic said afterward.
So it was important to play well in its last big test before conference play re-starts. (They have nonconference games against Incarnate Word and Nicholls before hosting Wisconsin on Jan. 3.) And it was their best player — sophomore guard Jaden Ivey — who made sure the Boilermakers got back on track.
Ivey was terrific early. He hit his first three three-point attempts and also had a steal and breakaway dunk during a 20-3 Purdue run that lasted nearly 7 minutes and gave them a 34-16 lead with 2:26 left in the half.
Butler was stone-cold during the run, missing eight straight shots and turning the ball over twice. The Bulldogs (7-4) shot just 25.8 percent from the field, and made just 4-of-19 three-point attempts. Purdue led 39-21 at the break.
Ivey had 13 first-half points and 7-foot-4 center Zach Edey, who came off the bench for the first time all year, added 10.
"It doesn't really affect anything," Edey said. "I played 20 minutes today. I still played, it didn't affect my minutes or anything like that. It's just now I don't get to be on the floor when during the tip-off. It doesn't change anything."
Purdue stayed hot in the second half, going on a quick 19-4 run to blow the game open. Purdue stretched the lead to 72-36 after two more Ivey three-pointers.
Purdue made 11 three-pointers on the day, on just 22 attempts. Guards Isaiah Thompson and Sasha Stefanovic had two each, and Ethan Morton nailed a three off the bench.
Edey finished with 14 points and center Trevion Williams, who started for the first time, added 10 points in just 18 minutes of action. The Boilermakers also had decided rebounding edge, at 42-27.
Butler shot just 32 percent for the game and made only 4-of-28 three-pointers (14.3) percent. It was only the Bulldogs' second loss in six tries against Purdue in this event, which is ending this year after 11 years.
"It's obviously been a great event," Purdue coach Matt Painter said. "We'd like to win a few more games than we have, but for us we get to play two traditional NCAA Tournament teams.
"We get to play Butler and Notre Dame, who are both great programs. They've been very successful, they've had great coaches through the years. Without elaborating, I'm just befuddled that it's going away."
Related stories on Purdue basketball
- LIVE BLOG: Relive all the play-by-play of Saturday's Butler-Purdue game in real time in our live blog straight from press row. CLICK HERE
- HERE'S WHAT SASHA STEFANOVIC SAID ON SASHA LIVE! PODCAST: Purdue guard Sasha Stefanovic sat down for Episode 7 of the Sasha Live! podcast at Mad Mushroom Pizza in West Lafayette, talking about the Boilermakers' first loss of the season to Rutgers and their overtime win versus NC State. Stefanovic said Butler will also be a challenge come Saturday. CLICK HERE
- PURDUE FALLS TO THIRD IN AP TOP 25 POLL: Purdue basketball fell to No. 3 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll after being defeated on a buzzer-beater 3-pointer against Rutgers. The team nearly followed with a loss against North Carolina State but rallied for a victory in overtime. CLICK HERE
- PURDUE RALLIES PAST NC STATE IN OVERTIME: Senior forward Trevion Williams scored 22 points and registered 12 rebounds and a career-high nine assists as Purdue came back from down 13 points in the second half against North Carolina State. The Boilermakers found their first lead of the contest in overtime and avoided losing two straight games. CLICK HERE
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.