Ivey Explodes in Second Half Leading Boilers to Win

Ivey Explodes in Second Half Leading Boilers to Win

by Steven Stremming

Illinois came into Mackey Arena Tuesday evening coming off a dominating victory over Indiana in Bloomington.

Purdue came into the game after posting a tough win over Michigan.

The first half of the game was simply a slugfest, as Illinois took a hard fought two-point cushion 38 to 36 into the locker rooms before a raucous sell-out crowd.

At the half, Purdue Head Coach Matt Painter made solid adjustments, including Eric Hunter, Jr., the Senior from Indianapolis, who exploded in the opening moments and posted nine points in about a two-minute segment to open the second half to give the Boilers a margin.

Though, the second half belonged to Jaden Ivey, a Sophomore from South Bend who during a second half run of seven minutes, Ivey scored or assisted on 19 of Purdue’s 21 points to take a 73-56 lead.

Ivey at times was unstoppable.

Another key to the Boilers win was the play of New Castle, Indiana Sophomore, Mason Gillis.

Gillis keeps improving and produced another solid game, as he led the Boilers with nine total rebounds and scored six points but as important as the rebounding was, he turned the ball over one time in twenty-eight minutes plus of floor action and kept Illinois’ Damonte Williams in check all game.

Not to be forgotten was the inside presence of both Zach Edey and Trevion Williams who combined posted 23 points, 11 rebounds in their combined efforts against the Illinois star Kofi Cockburn. Cockburn scored 18 points and grabbed seven boards.

Purdue received a huge lift from reserve Caleb Furst, who played substantial minutes (nearly 15) with his efforts on both ends of the court. Also contributing was Ethan Morton who scored five points and was tough on the defensive end of the floor.

For the Illini, Alfonso Plummer was lethal from outside as he scored fourteen total points on four of eight from behind the arc. Andre Curbelo scored 15 points and was a perfect six for six from the charity stripe in front of a frenzied Purdue student section.

Trent Frazier was held to an uncharacteristic two points but led the Illini with his six assists.

Next up for Purdue is Michigan on the road February 10th while Illinois comes home to take on in-state rival Northwestern.

 

 

[3] Purdue 84, [13] Illinois 68 (Postgame Notes)

Credit Source: Purdue University Athletics

• Purdue improved to 21-3 overall and moved into a first-place tie in the Big Ten race with an 84-68 win over No. 13 Illinois. The Boilermakers swept the Illini for the first time since the 2011-12 season.
• The Boilermakers have won six straight games, four of them coming by double-digits.
• Purdue’s 21 victories are the third most nationally (Auburn, Murray State – 22).
• Purdue is now 7-2 in quad-1 games, the second-most quad-1 victories and tied for the best quad-1 record (.778) among teams that have played at least seven quad-1 games.
• Purdue has won six straight games in February, five by double-figures.
• Purdue started the Big Ten season with a 1-2 record but has won nine of its last 10 games.
• Purdue has won 51 straight games when shooting at least 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from 3-point range and 70 percent from the free throw line (was 50.8, 4.09 and 72.2 percent tonight).
• Purdue has shot over 50.0 percent in 15-of-24 games and over 40.0 percent from 3-point range in 16 games.
• The Boilermakers have scored 80 or more points in six straight Big Ten games for the first time since the 1997-98 season (7 straight games).
• Since the 2016-17 season, Purdue has won 29 games against ranked teams, the fifth-most victories in the country in that span.
• The 16-point margin was the largest win at Mackey Arena between two ranked teams since Feb. 1, 2017, when No. 23 Purdue beat No. 25 Northwestern 80-59.
• It was the largest victory margin for a Purdue ranked team against a ranked opponent since a 23-point win over No. 2 Arizona on Nov. 24, 2017 (Bahamas).
• The matchup against Illinois was the first matchup between two top-13 teams in Mackey Arena since Feb. 20, 2011, and just the fifth in the Painter era. Purdue is 16-5 under Painter at home as a ranked team, and now 4-1 when both teams are ranked in the top 13.
• Purdue is 145-12 under Painter when scoring at least 80 points, including 59-2 since the start of the 2017-18 season. The Boilermakers have won 37 straight games when scoring 80 or more points.
• Purdue moves to 183-17 under Painter when shooting 48 percent or better from the field, including a 23-game win streak. Purdue shot 50.8 percent from the field, including 64.5 percent in the second half.
• Jaden Ivey led the team in points with 26, 22 of which came in the second half. Ivey also led the team in assists with 6. During a second half run of seven minutes, Ivey scored or assisted on 19 of Purdue’s 21 points to take a 73-56 lead.
• Over his last four games, Ivey is averaging 22.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game. He has 19 turnovers against 9 turnovers in that span.
• Sasha Stefanovic went 1-for-3 from the 3-point line, giving him a 3-pointer in 25 consecutive games, a mark that ties Dakota Mathias and Chris Lutz for third-most consecutive games with a 3-pointer in program history.
• Purdue’s centers of Zach Edey and Trevion Williams combined for 23 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and four blocked shots.
• The Boilermakers’ bench had 20 of Purdue’s 36 first-half points.