WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Zach Edey scored 10 of his 30 points in overtime and Lance Jones had a season-high 26 to lead the No. 2 Purdue men’s basketball team past Northwestern 105-96 on Wednesday night.

Edey also grabbed 15 rebounds as the Boilermakers (20-2, 9-2 Big Ten) avoided a third consecutive loss in this series. They have won six straight overall, 12 in a row at home and are the first Division I team with 20 wins this season. Braden Smith had 11 points and 16 assists.

The Wildcats (15-6, 6-4), as usual, didn’t make it easy.

Boo Buie and Ty Berry each had 25 points for Northwestern, which led 78-73 with 2:37 left in regulation and had a chance to win it on Buie’s 15-foot runner at the buzzer. But the ball bounced off the front of the rim, and the 7-foot-4 Edey dominated in overtime.

With 1.7 seconds to go, Northwestern coach Chris Collins walked onto the court and yelled furiously in the face of an official with the ball still in play.

After being restrained by one of his players, Collins calmed down and congratulated Edey and Purdue coach Matt Painter on his way off the court. Collins gestured to the booing crowd to get louder, and the Boilermakers were given four technical free throws.

Northwestern’s harassing defense never allowed Purdue to pull away, and the Boilermakers couldn’t take advantage from the free-throw line, where they were just 29 of 46.

But in overtime, it was all Edey. He started with a short hook shot, drew a foul on a dunk, made two free throws on Purdue’s next possession and added two more dunks to give Purdue a 91-87 lead. Northwestern could only get as close as two the rest of the way.

Edey also had one block, falling two short of becoming the fourth Big Ten player with 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 200 blocks. But he did pick up another basketball for his trophy case during a pregame ceremony to celebrate him becoming the second player in school history with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.

Buie moved into second on Northwestern’s career scoring list with his ninth straight 20-point game against a ranked opponent. He now has 1,936 points.

Northwestern: Collins’ squad understands how to challenge Edey better than any other Big Ten team. But after topping the nation’s No. 1 team twice on its home court in the past two seasons, the Wildcats came up just short this time. Still, Northwestern remains one of the conference’s top teams.

Purdue: The Boilermakers protected their home court again — thanks to Edey’s late charge. They can’t rely exclusively on the reigning national player of the year, but he’s certainly a nice go-to option on an off night.

Purdue barely navigated the first of this week’s two obstacles. The trickier part comes Saturday at No. 6 Wisconsin. Win that one, and the Boilermakers won’t slide past No. 2 and could move up to No. 1.

Northwestern: Travels to Minnesota on Saturday

Purdue: Visits No. 6 Wisconsin in Sunday’s matchup between the Big Ten’s top two teams.

Originally Published: Jan 31, 2024 at 8:25 pm