Home Sports Edey ‘has his way,’ drops 33 in rout of Hoosiers

Edey ‘has his way,’ drops 33 in rout of Hoosiers

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Edey ‘has his way,’ drops 33 in rout of Hoosiers

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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Purdue center Zach Edey arrived at Indiana determined to leave a lasting impact Tuesday night.

Then he showed everyone why he is the reigning national player of the year.

The 7-foot-4 senior drew fouls, made shots and even chased loose balls, finishing with 33 points and 14 rebounds while leading the second-ranked Boilermakers to an 87-66 rout over the rival Hoosiers.

The 21-point win is Purdue’s largest at Indiana since January 1934, when the Boilermakers won by 34.

“This was my last chance to get a win here,” Edey said before handing Indiana its worst loss at Assembly Hall in this series.

Edey did it all, nearly single-handedly getting Indiana’s big men into early foul trouble. He was 11-of-23 from the field and 11-for-12 at the free throw line. He dove for a loose ball, and his shot-blocking presence had the Hoosiers out of sync. It was his second straight 30-point double-double since Purdue’s loss last week at Nebraska. According to ESPN Stats & Information, Edey is just the second Big Ten player in the past 25 years to have consecutive 30-10 games twice in his career, joining former Ohio State star Evan Turner.

Thanks largely to Edey, the Boilermakers (16-2, 5-2 Big Ten) got their first win at Assembly Hall in three seasons and erased, for a moment, the bitterness of getting swept by Indiana last season. Fletcher Loyer scored 19 points and Lance Jones added 17 for Purdue, but Edey was the catalyst.

“He causes a lot of attention, and you see when he goes 1-on-1, he’s going to draw some fouls,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said after securing his 214th career conference win to tie former Illinois coach Lou Henson for No. 5 in Big Ten history. “It’s difficult to see someone at 7-4, 300 pounds that plays hard every single point. It just kind of shows you who he is.”

The Hoosiers (12-6, 4-3) didn’t like what they saw. Trey Galloway scored 17 points and Mackenzie Mgbako had 15, but Indiana trailed for the final 37 minutes — most of that time by double digits after falling into an early 25-13 hole and a 51-29 deficit at halftime.

Indiana charged back by opening the second half on a 20-7 spurt and cutting the margin to 60-51 with about 13 minutes left. But then Purdue answered with five straight points, the final two coming on Edey’s free throws, and Indiana never got close again.

“I can’t sit here and complain about the officiating. It’s what it is. We couldn’t get to Edey quick enough,” Hoosiers coach Mike Woodson said. “I’ve got to get my two big guys a little tougher. I didn’t think we played tough enough, and Edey kind of had his way.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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