Purdue 79 Iowa 72
Braden Smith Leads 2nd Half Rally to Overcome Iowa
In a game of runs, Purdue overcame 14 lead changes and 9 ties to rally in the final 5 minutes with the help of a raucous Mackey Arena crowd. Purdue ended the game by scoring on 16 of their 17 final possessions to secure the victory.
Iowa played Purdue tightly all night, keeping the game within 5 points for the majority of the game. The Hawkeyes led or were tied for nearly 28 minutes. Their three-point shooting was particularly good, hitting 7 of 10 threes in the first half and 5 more threes in the second half.
Braden Smith came back from a rough, scoreless first half to end up Purdue’s leading scorer with 16 points.
Key Stats
Purdue and Iowa ended the game with identical fied goal shooting statistics, 27 for 51 (53%).
Purdue shot 73% from the field in the second half. They also hit 9 or their final 10 field goals in the final 5 minutes.
Iowa committed 13 turnovers and Purdue was able to capitalize on them for 16 points off turnovers.
Key Individual Performances
Braden Smith 16 points, 8 assists
Daniel Jacobson 7 points, 9 rebounds
Bennett Stirtz 19 points, 14 of which came in the second half
What it means
Purdue moves to 16-1, 6-0 in conference play, and remains tied at the top of the Big Ten with undefeated Nebraska. They next head out for their west coast trip, playing at USC on Saturday and at UCLA on Tuesday.
Purdue grabs another quality Quad 1 win and inches closer to #1 seed contention.
Iowa drops to 12-5 but still remains around a 10-11 seed projection. They have a big game on Friday at Indiana with both teams being in bubble range.
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