Men’s college basketball took center stage Sunday, and all eyes were on the Big Ten as Purdue narrowly escaped No. 5 Illinois in the first matchup of the season between those two teams.
The starting five for the Boilermakers in fifth place were Mason Gillis, Fletcher Loyer, Brandon Newman, Braden Smith and 2023 Wooden Award finalist Zach Edey. Starting Sunday, Smith and Loyer became the first freshmen to start in every regular-season game for Purdue since Russell Cross in 1981.
On the other side, the Illini were led by guard Dain Dainja, Coleman Hawkins, Matthew Mayer, RJ Melendez and star guard Terrence Shannon. Illinois is now 11-9 in conference matchups after Sunday’s loss, while the Boilermakers improved to 14-2 in home games.
It all took place Sunday at the Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Indiana – and we’ve got you covered with all the important moments from start to finish, exclusively on FOX and the FOX Sports App.
Here are the top moments!
No. 5 Purdue 76, Illinois 71
Hot start!
Purdue started on an 11-0 run and knocked out Illinois for nearly the first three and a half minutes of the game.
star power
Purdue shot 5-for-7 from the field right out of the gate to lead Illinois 11-4 at the first official TV timeout.
Newman led with five points, two steals and an early assist.
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see 3s
Trey Kaufman-Renn came off the bench for Purdue and wasted no time in making his presence known.
Exhibit A:
secret weapon?
The Illini also had a few tricks up their sleeves when Sencire Harris hit a wide-open 3 to take him off the bench to seven points in just four minutes.
Purdue led 21-13 in 9-for-12 shooting near the middle of the first half, but Illinois kept things dangerously close. By the game’s third official televised timeout, Illinois had reduced Purdue’s lead to five points, 25-20, with 7:28 left at halftime.
Denied!
Edey came up with a huge block against Dainja, whose knight missed made it a five-point game as the clock ran out.
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great contact
Smith hit the 3 for Purdue while Illinois’ Harris hit the deck after colliding with Kaufman-Renn late in the first half.
What can’t he do?
Smith continued to lead the way for the home side, conceding big before the first half came to an end.
star of the show
Purdue shot 62.1% (18 of 29) in the first half, 50.0% of which was from long range. Meanwhile, Illinois shot just 40% (10 of 25), including 12.5% (1 of 8) from the 3-point line.
The Boilermakers led 47-26 at the break after forcing 11 turnovers.
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Jump back
Dainja gave the Illini a big swing in the second half thanks to that impressive jam early in the picture.
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Late swell
It was a back and forth battle as the final minutes approached.
Shannon made a huge block late in the frame as Illinois 65-61 took four points with 3:54 to play.
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tie game!
After being as much as 24 points behind in the second half, Illinois stormed back to level things with 67 points with 1:17 left.
Securing the W
In the end, Purdue was able to hold on to the lead and secure the home win with 76:71.
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