Fletcher Loyer, Braden Smith, late surge help No. 3 Purdue take down top-ranked Arizona

INDIANAPOLIS – It was the Fletcher Loyer show during most of the first half.

Then Braden Smith carried third-ranked Purdue into the second half with plenty of momentum.

And Zach Edey helped bring the marquee victory home.

Edey – with some help from Smith and Lance Jones – took over down the stretch as the Boilermakers toppled No. 1 Arizona 92-84 before a sold-out Gainbridge Fieldhouse in what will likely be the best neutral court environment in the nation this season.

Loyer and Smith combined for 53 points, hitting 9 of 16 from 3-point range, and seven steals and delivered enough knockout punches to send the Wildcats home with their first loss of the season. Edey scored 13 of his 22 points in the second half.

PDF: Purdue-Arizona statistics

More: Analysis | Wrap Video | Stat Blast | Final Thoughts | Pod

It was Purdue’s first victory over a No. 1 ranked team since 2000 when it beat Arizona in Indianapolis. History does repeat itself.

The Boilermakers could find themselves back in the top spot in next week’s poll, even though No. 2 Kansas won at Indiana on Saturday.

“Yeah, for sure,” senior Ethan Morton said. “I don’t know what they’re thinking. Either way, it was a great win for us in a great environment.”

Loyer scored 18 of the Boilermakers’ first 41 points from a variety of spots on the floor. Meanwhile, Smith totaled 10 of his team’s last 13 points before halftime as Purdue held a 49-38 advantage.

Loyer’s 3-pointer at the 15:09 mark gave Purdue its biggest lead (67-52).

But here came the Wildcats, using an 11-0 run – after a basket interference call was overturned against the Boilermakers – to pull within 67-63 with 10:22 to play. Purdue, though, survived a nearly nine-minute drought without a field goal and leaned on its 7-foot-4 center to earn another victory to add to its solid body of work.

Edey scored eight points over a four-minute stretch to increase the lead. But it wasn’t until Jones and Smith drained 3-pointers in a span of less than a minute to allow the Boilermakers to feel comfortable.

Caleb Love had 29 points to lead the Wildcats.

DYNAMIC DUO

The stars from Saturday were Loyer and Smith.

They’ve scored at a high level before during their brief tenure with the program but nothing like this, especially against a high-level opponent.

They controlled most of the first half with their play on the offensive end and continued to dictate terms in the second half as the Boilermakers built their biggest lead with about 15 minutes to play.

They were a combined 20 of 33 from the field. The seven steals were just as important as the nine 3-pointers they drained.

“Just being aggressive and going in with a different mindset,” said Loyer, who finished with 27 points. “Just going in and getting ready to go and just being aggressive. I missed my first one and, without thinking twice, shot the next one.”

Said Smith: “We just knew how they were playing ball screen D, and me and Fletch watched some film and saw some tape. PJ (Thompson) told us a lot of what to expect with that deep drop.”

Smith totaled 12 of his 26 points in the second half, including a jumper and a 3-pointer that pushed the lead out before Arizona started to chip away.

“Incredible,” Morton said of the pair. “Not surprising since they’ve done it so much. Both of them play their best in the biggest moments.”

It’s no secret that Loyer and Smith have a burning desire to win, no matter what the stats say. They feed off each other in that regard, not afraid to challenge one another to reach the end game of securing another victory.

“Me and Fletch hold each other accountable,” Smith said. “We kind of had a little moment in the game before where I got on him and he yelled at me and snapped and looked at me and said, ‘I understand why you’re like that – you want to win.’ He’s the same way.”

DEFENSE STEPS UP

The final numbers don’t suggest the Boilermakers played well on the defensive end. Overall, that’s correct, and it’s hard to feel good about giving up 84 points and 51.6% shooting, but Arizona is solid on the offensive end.

However, there were moments and none bigger than early in the game when Purdue took over from a defensive standpoint. Down 17-11 and trading baskets, the Boilermakers became active on the defensive end.

Loyer’s steal led to a layup on the other end for the sophomore. Edey collected a steal, allowing Mason Gillis to score a layup. Another steal by Loyer didn’t lead to a basket, but it clearly brought the game, momentum, and partisan crowd to Purdue’s side.

“It was a huge moment,” Gillis said. “We got points off it and got them into a lull and got our energy up.”

While the Boilermakers didn’t increase the lead until a pair of 3-pointers late in the first half, the sequence set the tone to watch the advantage grow into the second half.

“Everybody was great. Everybody was really locked in, had the right energy and mindset for the game and it showed,” Gillis said.

The Wildcats committed 13 turnovers, but Purdue had 10 steals, a sign of the aggression and anticipation on the defensive end. The Boilermakers scored 12 points off those steals on the ensuing possession.

“Scout team was good preparing us this week,” Ethan Morton said. “I thought Fletcher was incredible off the ball just knowing where to be. We’ve done a good job with our starts and helping on the defensive end when we can.”

While Matt Painter acknowledged his team has to be “better on the defensive end,” but it’s hard to deny what the Boilermakers did in longer stretches to keep the Wildcats down as long as possible.

“I think when they went on the run and they got back in the game, we gave them some fastbreak points they didn’t have in the first half,” Morton said. “They make some tough shots, they got some flip-ups.

“When you’re playing a team of that caliber, you’ll never have everything perfected. You go back and if you see them again, you make a few adjustments. For the most part, I thought we made them earn a lot of it.”