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Purdue started fast, stayed in control in 87-68 win over Iowa men’s basketball team
Boilermakers led 45-24 at halftime, went up by as much as 35 points after that in blowout. Zach Edey had 25 points in 24 minutes for Purdue.
Dec. 4, 2023 7:59 pm, Updated: Dec. 5, 2023 11:43 am
(This story was written in Cedar Rapids.)
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — No. 4 Purdue jumped on Iowa early and kept jumping Monday night in the Hawkeyes’ Big Ten men’s basketball opener.
The Boilermakers (8-1, 1-1 Big Ten) blasted Iowa 87-68 at Mackey Arena. That final score was as close as Iowa got after halftime. Purdue led by 35 points with 13:56 remaining.
Reigning National Player of the Year, 7-foot-4 Zach Edey, had 25 points for the Boilermakers in 24 minutes. He sat out the last 11:17. He had 12 rebounds, nine on the offensive glass. He made 9 of 10 shots, drew nine Iowa fouls and blocked three shots.
Yet, Purdue went on a 10-0 first-half run when Edey was on a 5-minute rest.
“They’re not a one-man show at all,” Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said in his postgame press conference. “With all due respect to the guy that got 25 and 12, I just think the rest of that team was really good tonight.”
The die seemed cast early in the game when Purdue had two consecutive possessions in which it took three shots, got two offensive rebounds, and made 3-pointers. That gave it a 15-7 lead, and away it went.
Iowa (5-3, 0-1) entered the game averaging 90.7 points, but shot just 31.3 percent in the first half in falling behind 45-24 at halftime. The Hawkeyes were tentative on offense, were out-rebounded 25-15 in the half, and didn’t appear terribly poised.
Purdue shot 52.3 percent from the field, Iowa 38.5.
An example of how the game went came in the first minute of the second half. In-bounding under the basket, Purdue’s Lance Jones threw the ball off the back of unaware Payton Sandfort of Iowa, grabbed the carom, and laid the ball in the hoop.
Jones scored 14 second-half points to finish with 17. Five Boilermakers scored at least 10 points. Iowa was led by Ben Krikke’s 16 points and seven rebounds.
It was Purdue’s seventh win over Iowa by 15 or more points since 2010.
“This is something you won’t see from the Hawkeyes the rest of the year,” Iowa freshman guard Brock Harding said on the Hawkeye Radio Network postgame show.
Iowa’s next game is at Iowa State (6-2) Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
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