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The Purdue Boilermakers avenged their blowout loss to No. 2 Ohio State last month by defeating the Buckeyes at Mackey Arena today 76-63. The star of the game was pretty clearly E’Twaun Moore who scored a career high 38 points in the win. Moore went 7-of-10 from three point land, including a critical three just before halftime that seemed to help propel the Boilermakers to a strong second half effort.
OSU’s Jared Sullinger has 25 points. With OSU’s loss to Purdue, and Pitt’s loss to St. John’s Saturday night, it is possible current no. 1 ranked Kansas could hold on to the top spot despite their horrid loss to unranked Kansas State last week.
Today’s loss was OSU’s first of the year against the Big Ten.
Sports Network | February 20, 2011
GAME NOTES: The second-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes and 11th-ranked Purdue Boilermakers will collide this afternoon in what is sure to be a competitive Big Ten Conference affair.
Ohio State opened the 2010-11 season with 24 consecutive wins before finally tasting defeat at Wisconsin last weekend. To the credit of the Buckeyes, they were able to get back on track immediately with a 71-61 triumph over Michigan State on Tuesday. Don't expect Thad Matta's team to be intimidated today by the West Lafayette crowd, as Ohio State is 8-1 in true road games and only lost to Wisconsin by four points.
Speaking of Wisconsin, Purdue beat the Badgers on Wednesday by a 70-62 final. That triumph enabled the Boilermakers to extend their current win streak to three games, and they are now 21-5 overall, including 10-3 in Big Ten action. Clearly, a win today would put Matt Painter's team within one game of the conference lead, while a loss would crush the club's regular season title hopes.
Purdue owns an 82-76 series lead over Ohio State, but the Buckeyes won the first meeting this season by an 87-64 final in Columbus.
The Buckeyes are loaded with talent in the starting lineup, as four players are averaging double figures in scoring. It all starts with standout freshman forward Jared Sullinger, who is netting 17.8 ppg on 56.4 percent shooting from the field. More than just a scorer, Sullinger is ripping down 10.0 rpg and figures to get some consideration for Big Ten Conference Player of the Year. William Buford provides 14.2 ppg for OSU, which is getting 12.3 ppg from David Lighty and 11.1 ppg from Jon Diebler. The Buckeyes are posting 77.2 ppg on 49.5 percent field goal efficiency, and they are limiting foes to just 58.4 ppg on 42.3 percent shooting. Buford scored 23 points in the win over Michigan State on Tuesday, while Lighty and Diebler added 12 points apiece. As for Sullinger, he provided 11 points in one of his more quiet efforts of the season. The Buckeyes committed just seven turnovers in that clash while forcing 19 giveaways, and a 23-5 edge in points from the foul line was another obvious key to victory.
Only twice this season has a player other than JaJuan Johnson or E'Twaun Moore led Purdue in scoring. Johnson, a talented forward/center, paces his squad with 20.7 ppg and 7.8 rpg while shooting 50 percent from the floor. As if those numbers aren't impressive enough, he has blocked 60 shots as well. Moore checks in with 17.9 ppg on 40.1 percent shooting from three-point range for the Boilermakers, who are generating 73.6 ppg while limiting opponents to 61.0 ppg. A key for Purdue thus far has been that it has committed 105 fewer turnovers than foes. The Boilermakers committed just four giveaways in the win over Wisconsin last time out, and Johnson came through with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Moore added 19 points, and Lewis Jackson was close behind with 18 points.
This game will be much closer than the first meeting between these rivals, but the outcome will be the same. Expect the Buckeyes to complete the season sweep of the Boilermakers.
GAME NOTES: The second-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes and 11th-ranked Purdue Boilermakers will collide this afternoon in what is sure to be a competitive Big Ten Conference affair.
FACTS & STATS: Site: Mackey Arena (14,123) -- West Lafayette, Indiana. Television: CBS. Home Record: Ohio State 17-0, Purdue 14-0. Away Record: Ohio State 8-1, Purdue 5-4 Neutral Record: Ohio State 0-0, Purdue 2-1. Conference Record: Ohio State 12-1, Purdue 10-3. Series Record: Purdue leads, 82-76.
Ohio State 74, Purdue 71
E’Twaun Moore has 31 points on 12-of-17 shooting, including 6-of-9 from three point range, as Purdue has a seven point lead on Ohio State late in the second half. Jared Sullinger has 21 points for the Buckeyes.
As of this update: Purdue 68, OSU 61
No. 11 Purdue's Win Over No. 2 OSU Was Huge
When E’Twaun Moore and the 11th ranked Boilermakers walked off the court at Mackey Arena Sunday celebrating their 76-63 win over no. 2 ranked Ohio State, the victory was Purdue’s second over a top 10 ranked team in one week.
Four days ago, Purdue defeated No. 10 Wisconsin 70-62. It’s worth noting that both wins over top 10 teams were at Mackey Arena, where Purdue is undefeated.
Still, despite the wins being at home, Purdue should see a significant jump in the college rankings Monday.
Feb 20 3:24p by Brad Wells - 0 comments