Big First Half Helps No. 5 Purdue Basketball Survive Late Scare From Illinois

Purdue led Illinois by as many as 24 points in the early minutes of the second half of Sunday’s matchup at Mackey Arena.

The No. 5-ranked Boilermakers avoided a meltdown after the Fighting Illini tied the game with 1:17 to play. They made just one field goal in the final eight minutes but put the game away at the free-throw line to win 76-71.

Junior guard Brandon Newman, who made his second consecutive start for Purdue, led all scorers with 19 points on 5-of-10 shooting. He made three 3-pointers while also adding six rebounds, five assists and three steals.

“To start the game, it was a lot of transition. A lot of defense turning into offense,” Newman said of his performance. "And then after that, I was able to get some open looks just by feeding into the post and Zach [Edey] getting buckets." 

The team jumped to an early lead through the play of its defense, making four shots before Illinois could even get an attempt from the field. Newman capped an 11-0 opening run with a 3-pointer right after the Fighting Illini were forced to call a timeout.

Newman also recorded back-to-back steals to start the game, and the Boilermakers finished the half with 17 points off 11 Illinois turnovers.

“I thought our guys' hands were really good at that time in the last for five minutes in the first half," Purdue coach Matt Painter said. "And just being able to generate some layups, getting to the free-throw line, and then having a couple of step-in threes there really built the momentum for that lead.  ”

The Fighting Illini made their way back into the game with a 12-2 scoring surge to get within three points while the Boilermakers failed to score for more than two minutes. Junior center Zach Edey halted the run but was limited in the first half due to foul trouble.

Edey tallied just eight points and two rebounds before halftime, but redshirt freshman Trey Kaufman-Renn made the most of his extended playing time. All eight of his points came in the opening period.

Purdue took control of the game as Newman scored seven straight during an 18-3 run heading into the second half. He had 15 points at the break on 5-of-8 shooting and was 3-of-6 from the 3-point line.

Newman finished the half with three steals and added four assists in 16 minutes on the floor. He was one of six players on the team to record a steal in the contest, and junior guard Ethan Morton led the team with four.

“We take pride in guarding the best players on the other team, whether it's Illinois or any other team in the Big Ten,” Newman said. 

Freshman point guard Braden Smith had 14 of his 15 points in the first half, finishing 6-of-9 from the field and knocking down a pair of shots from deep. Purdue went into the locker room with a 47-26 lead over Illinois by shooting 62.1 percent from the field, including 6-of-12 on its 3-point attempts.

But when the Boilermakers took the floor after the break, they played like a different team entirely, getting outscored 45-29 down the stretch by going 7-of-24 from the field and 0-of-6 from the 3-point line.

“We just held the best offensive team in the country to 29 percent and no threes,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood said. "The one thing you can't do, especially in this building, is give up transition threes." 

Purdue had a scoring drought of nearly four minutes with as many turnovers in that span that opened the door for Illinois to tie the game 67-67. The Fighting Illini finished with four players scoring in double figures, led by fifth-year senior forward Matthew Mayer’s 16 points, but never took the lead.

Mayer was 5-of-14 from the field but shot just 1-of-10 from beyond the arc. After being held to just two points in the first half, senior guard Terrence Shannon Jr. ended with 13 points and made two 3-pointers. Freshman Sencire Harris and sophomore Luke Goode recorded 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Shannon had a chance to make it a one-point game in the final 30 seconds, barrelling down the right side of the lane before Morton poked the ball free. Freshman guard Fletcher Loyer was fouled on the ensuing inbounds pass, and Purdue scored its final seven points at the free-throw line the rest of the way. 

"There's only so much you can do with seven seconds," Morton said. "He's coming with a full head of steam, chances are he's probably not passing that. And if he does, Mayer is shooting a really tough, contested three in the corner." 

The Boilermakers closed the game by making nine free throws in the final 2:23 and never trailed after scoring the opening basket. Edey logged nine of his 17 points in the second half and came down with six rebounds. 

Purdue finished the regular season with a 26-5 overall record that included a 15-5 mark in the Big Ten. The team enters the postseason with the No. 1 seed and a double-bye in the conference tournament, which is scheduled to begin Friday, March 8, at the United Center in Chicago.

"All the different teams in our league are going to get you prepared," Painter said. "I think everybody in our league is battle-tested, and it's hard." 

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