Boilermakers Country

LIVE BLOG: Follow Purdue's Game With Nicholls on Saturday in Real Time

Purdue wraps up the nonconference portion of its basketball schedule on Wednesday with a home game against Nicholls at Mackey Arena. Here's our live blog, where we'll keep you updated with news and views in real time, and highlights and opinion as well.

Tom Brew

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Welcome to center court at Mackey Arena, where the No. 3-ranked Purdue Boilermakers are taking on the Nicholls Colonels in the final nonconference game of the regular season.

Purdue is 11-1 overall and unbeaten at Mackey Arena so far this season. Nicholls is 8-5, and plays out of the Southland Conference. Purdue enters the game as a 28.5-point favorite, according to the FanDuel.com website

The game is on the Big Ten Network. Here's how to watch. CLICK HERE

If you aren't familiar with our live blog, we'll post all the big news and views from the game in real time, right here from press row. The most recent items are on the top, so just keep refreshing and you won't miss a beat. 

Let's go!

6:45 p.m. — Nicholls guard Ty Gordon is a heck of a player. The 6-foot-1 standout has 26 points already, and he's doing all he can to keep this game close. He's 8-for-12 from three. We're at the under-8 media timeout now, and Purdue leads 85-67 with 7:29 to go. 

6:40 p.m. — Zach Edey finally misses a shot after making his first seven attempts. He's got 17 points so far off the bench, tops for the Boilers. Nicholls calls timeout qith 10:27 to go, and it's just 79-63 Purdue. 

6:30 p.m. — Nicholls is trying hard to hang around here. The Colonels have made five three-pointers this half already, and have 13 made threes for the game already. Purdue leads 73-55 with 13:05 to go. 

6:20 p.m. — Purdue is making a real effort to get the ball inside this half. They've made seven straight baskets at the rim, three by Zach Edey, two by Trevion Williams and one each by Ethan Morton and Jaden Ivey. Boilers lead 69-52 with 14:05 to go. 

HALFTIME — What a shooting display by Purdue in the first half. Purdue has made 11-of-19 three pointers, 57.9 percent, and leads 55-36 at the break. Boilers played a clean half, with assists on 16-of-17 baskets, and only five turnovers. Sasha Stefanovic with 12 points at the break. Isaiah Thompson with 10, and Mason Gillis, Jaden Ivey and Brandon Newman all have seven.

5:50 p.m. — Sasha Stefanovic has four three-pointers so far today, and he's passing people on the career list. More to come.

5:40 p.m. — Here's how good Purdue is moving the ball today. They have 14 made baskets — and 14 assists. 

5:38 p.m. — Purdue point guard Isaiah Thompson hits back-to-back threes, and he's in double figures already with 10 points. The Boilers are 9-for-15 from three already, and lead 39-24 at the under-8 media timeout. On a 28-7 run.

5:32 p.m. — Purdue on a 20-0 run right now, stretching out its lead to 31-17.  That's all happened in less than four minutes. Purdue leads with 9:45 to go.

5:26 p.m. — The Boilers are answering those threes. Brandon Newman and Sasha Stefanovic go back-to-back out of the timeout, and jump out to a 23-17 lead. There's 11:32 to go, as we stop for the second media timeout. Purdue is 6-for-9 from three-point range already. 

5:23 — Purdue answers back quickly, with a three-pointer from Brandon Newman and an old-fashioned three-point play from 7-foot-4 center Zach Edey inside. Tied again at 17-17, and Nicholls calls a timeout. 12:43 to go in the half.

5:20 p.m. — Nicholls is spreading the floor well and getting good looks from three-point range. They've hit five already, with guard Ty Gordon making three of them. Nicholls leads 17-11.

5:15 p.m. — We've hit the first media timeout and Nicholls leads 8-6 with 15:27 to go. Purdue just 2-for-6 from the field so far, a pair of three-pointers from Sasha Stefanovic and Jaden Ivey. The sellout crowd at Mackey is just waiting to explode. Nothing there yet.

5:10 p.m. — Nicholls isn't a team to sleep on. The Colonels gave Wisconsin all sorts of trouble a couple of week ago, losing 71-68 on Dec. 15 in Madison. Nicholls leads 5-3 with 16:15 to go. Early subs for Purdue. Zach Edey, Ethan Morton and Eric Hunter Jr. all in.

5:05 p.m. — Purdue strikes first, with a quick three-pointer from Sasha Stefanovic on its first possession. He is shooting 43.7 percent from three so far this season. 

4:50 p.m. — Here's the starting five for today's game: It's Isaiah Thompson, Jaden Ivey and Sasha Stefanovic on the perimeter, and Trevion Williams and Mason Gillis up front.

4:40 p.m. — Purdue will be without freshman forward Caleb Furst today. He's in the health and safety protocol. Furst has played in all 12 games for the Boilers, and is averaging 6.2 points and 5.8 rebounds a game. 

xxx

Published
Tom Brew
TOM BREW

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.

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