No. 1 Purdue overwhelms Penn State behind early 3-point shooting, Zach Edey's dominance
Overshadowed in Tuesday’s loss to Nebraska were the 13 3-pointers hit by Purdue during the setback.
The Boilermakers brought back the long-range shooting touch to West Lafayette on Saturday afternoon.
Top-ranked Purdue made six 3-pointers in the first nine minutes and Zach Edey dominated inside as the Boilermakers crushed Penn State 95-78 before another sold-out crowd at Mackey Arena.
Lance Jones and Braden Smith drained a pair of 3-pointers and Camden Heide and Mason Gillis added a pair as Purdue led by 15 points with 11:24 left in the first half. It was part of a 27-2 onslaught, which included 16 straight points, to quickly erase the disappointing loss to the Huskers.
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Penn State used a barrage of 3-pointers to cut into the deficit, but the Boilermakers kept stretching the lead by pumping the ball inside to Edey, who physically overwhelmed the smaller Nittany Lions.
With 1:49 left before halftime, Edey already posted a double-double and finished the first half with 19 points and 13 rebounds. He totaled 30 points – hitting 10 of 12 shots – and 20 rebounds.
Edey is the third player nationally since 2010-11 to total at least 30 points, 20 rebounds, three assists and three blocked shots. It was fitting on a day Edey was recognized for pulling down 1,000 career rebounds, he owned the boards.
Purdue hit 10 or more 3-pointers for the second straight game and for the sixth time overall this season. Six different players hit a 3-pointer, led by three from Jones and two each from Heide and Smith, who also handed out 11 assists.
Throughout the game, Edey had more rebounds than Penn State’s team but the Nittany Lions surpassed the 7-foot-4 senior’s total with four minutes to play.
“There’s a lot of guys with big arms and big shoulders that crash that glass and put a body on you all the time,” Penn State coach Mike Rhoades said. “You go through 40 minutes of that, it wears you down.”
Nick Kern led Penn State with 18 points and Kayne Clark added 16.
30 AND 20
Impressive numbers and Edey has reached those marks now twice in his career.
“This is a cool experience,” Edey said. “Not many people can say they had 30 and 20 multiple times in their career at Purdue. It’s a surreal feeling knowing where I started from. We have a lot more games to play.”
Edey also totaled 31 points and 22 rebounds against Minnesota last season.
Not that Edey needed a monster game, but the last two outings haven’t matched his standards. Foul trouble and the team’s turnovers played a role in Tuesday’s performance where he had 15 points and seven rebounds, and he collected 10 points and 15 rebounds in the victory over Illinois.
But Saturday materialized into a special performance, another example of why Edey remains the favorite for his second straight National Player of the Year honor.
“We didn’t have an answer for him,” Rhoades said.
Edey missed two field goals, both in the second half and made 10 of 14 throws to reach the 30-point mark. He was unstoppable.
“The big fella played great today – 30 and 20 – that’s Wilt Chamberlain-like numbers,” Rhoades said.
For this year’s Penn State team, it was the first time facing Edey. Watching film doesn’t prepare opponents for what they’re about to encounter.
“He’s also one of those guys that if you’ve never faced him, he’s hard to prepare for,” Painter said. “You can watch him on film, but you don’t realize how big and strong he is until you play him.”
Edey was also honored before the game after collecting his 1,000th career rebound about a week ago against Illinois. He joins Joe Barry Carroll as the only players in program history with 1,000 or more rebounds.
“It’s pretty cool. Second ever player to do it. Purdue’s basketball has been a thing for a long time, and I’m the second person to do something. It’s pretty incredible,” Edey said.
“It’s just something I’ll think about when I’m all done – I’m not trying to think about it right now, I’m trying to focus on the season ahead of us. It’s something I’ll reminisce about when I’m older.”
THE RUN
The game-deciding run didn’t offer a lot of variety from the scoring department.
It was either 3-pointers or dunks and free throws by Edey.
Heide’s 3-pointer started the rush of points and it ended with an Edey free throw and a 35-12 lead with 9:54 before halftime. Five 3-pointers were made – two by Smith and one each from Heide, Gillis and Fletcher Loyer – and the Boilermakers made 5 of 6 field goals.
Purdue scored those 27 points in a span of 5:19. During the run, the Boilermakers kept the Nittany Lions out of the paint, handled their pressure and didn’t commit turnovers.
“We were able to get past their little press right there and then we’re able to get into scoring zones and trying to get people the ball,” said Smith, who had three of his 11 assists during the stretch.
