COLUMBUS, Ohio — Purdue basketball was going to stumble at some point.
That day came Sunday afternoon at Value City Arena.
Behind a stifling defense that took away the Boilermakers’ 3-point shooting and limited Zach Edey, Ohio State upset No. 2 Purdue 73-69.
It’s Purdue’s first loss in more than a month and snaps a nine-game winning streak and made a major winner of Ohio State interim coach Jake Diebler in his debut.
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It also opens the door in the Big Ten race for Illinois, which remains one loss back of the Boilermakers in the standings.
Purdue started strong, scoring the first eight points.
Trey Kaufman-Renn’s seven early points gave the Boilermakers (23-3, 12-3) a 12-6 lead, but the Buckeyes managed to hang around long enough for Purdue to hinder itself with a blend of poor shooting, turnovers and Edey being sidelined with two fouls.
Ohio State’s defense held the Boilermakers to a season-low nine 3-point attempts and their second-lowest scoring total of the season.
It was over when
Six-foot-10, 250-pound freshman Austin Parks doesn’t much see the floor for Ohio State and he checked in as a big body. Edey checked out with two fouls and Parks scored an open layup on his first career field goal attempt to give the Buckeyes a 29-28 lead.
That bucket ignited the home crowd. Ohio State rode that momentum to a 35-30 halftime lead that spilled into the second half, where, eventually, three straight 3-pointers by Jamison Battle pushed the Buckeyes (15-11, 5-10) ahead by 12.
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Purdue spent the rest of the second half chasing, eventually tying the game at 65 on Lance Jones’ 3 with 1:39 to go.
Battle responded with a contested jumper, then was fouled after a Purdue turnover, sinking two free throws with 34 seconds to go.
Zach Edey watch
Foul trouble limited Edey in the first half, but Ohio State swarmed Purdue’s 7-foot-4 center every time he touched the ball and created six turnovers.
Otherwise, it was another typical massive game for Edey, who had 22 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks.
3 stars
Bruce Thornton, Ohio State: Simply put, Purdue couldn’t defend the sophomore guard. Thornton scored Ohio State’s first eight points on his way to 22. Thornton’s two free throws with 8 seconds left essentially sealed the game.
Jamison Battle, Ohio State: His 3-point shooting in transition turned Purdue miscues into Ohio State points. Battle finished with 19 points and made 3 of 5 3s. The 6-foot-7 fifth-year senior was clutch when the Buckeyes needed it.
Braden Smith, Purdue: Edey is Purdue’s best player. Smith is the Boilermakers’ most valuable. Purdue needed every bit of the sophomore point guard just to have a chance. Without his 12 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds things would have been much worse.
Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @samueltking.