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Brandon Newman scored a season-high 19 points, Zach Edey added 17 and No. 5 Purdue held on to beat Illinois 76-71 on Sunday to become the first Big Ten team since 2014 to win the conference title by three or more games.
The Boilermakers (26-5, 15-5) led by 24 early in the second half before the Illini rallied to tie the score at 67 on a free throw by Matthew Mayer with 1:17 to go. Edey’s layup gave Purdue a 69-67 edge with 56 seconds left, and Illinois turned over the ball with 31 seconds left.
Purdue’s Fletcher Loyer sank two free throws to push the lead to 71-67 after an immediate foul. Mayer missed a 3-pointer and Newman made two free throws for a 73-67 lead. Luke Goode hit a 3-pointer to close the gap to 74-71 with seven seconds left, but Newman hit two free throws to seal it.
“For myself, it’s been challenging. There’s been a lot of ups and downs,” said Newman, who averaged 5.6 points entering the game and had 15 points in the first half. “I just want to help my teammates win games. I was able to get some open looks from feeding into the post.”
Purdue coach Matt Painter said Newman has earned more minutes lately with his defense.
“If he plays with that kind of effort and energy on the defensive end, you are going to stay in the game,” Painter said. “When you stay in the game, he’s a good enough offensive player he’s going to make shots. He took what the defense gave him.”
Braden Smith added 15 points for the Boilermakers. Edey, who entered the game with 23 double-doubles, finished with six rebounds. He played only eight minutes in the first half after picking up two fouls.
“It was huge because we built the lead with Zach not being in there,” Painter said.
The Boilermakers led 47-26 at halftime behind 62% shooting but dropped to 29% in the second half.
“It’s kind of been our story,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood said. “It’s a challenging first half. We gave them live-ball turnovers. We didn’t execute. Our inability to execute on the offensive side early has been real problematic.”
Mayer led the Illini (20-11, 11-9) with 16 points, followed by Terrence Shannon Jr. with 13, Sencire Harris with 11 and Goode with 10. Underwood said the team missed freshman guard Jayden Epps, who was sidelined with a concussion.
Underwood said of the second half that his team “settled in and looked like a really good basketball team and made them guard us.”
Big picture
Illinois: The Illini had won three of four coming in but struggled with turnovers and outside shooting in the first half. However, they showed fight by climbing back from the 24-point deficit.
Purdue: After a stretch of four losses of six games, the Boilermakers have gotten some momentum by winning two in a row. They allowed the Illini back into the game with costly turnovers.
On a mission
Purdue junior guard Ethan Morton said Painter has had some bad luck in the NCAA Tournament.
“Eventually water is going to find its level and he is going to have success,” Morton said. “I hope it’s why we’re here. We got this first (title). … We want to get him to the Final Four. He deserves that more than anyone in the world that is coaching.”
Poll implications
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With victories over Wisconsin and Illinois, Purdue should remain in the top five heading into the Big Ten Tournament at the United Center.
Up next
Illinois: The Illini are seeded seventh in the Big Ten Tournament and will face No. 10 seed Penn State at 5:30 p.m. Thursday.
Purdue: As the No. 1 seed, the Boilermakers will play the winner of the 8-9 game in Friday’s quarterfinals.