WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Zach Edey scored 25 points on near-perfect shooting, Camden Heide added a career-high 18 and No. 3 Purdue routed Rutgers 96-68 on Thursday night.
Edey was 7 of 8 from the field and made 11 free throws without a miss. He also had seven rebounds. Heide was 7 for 7 from the field, making four 3-pointers, after entering the game averaging 3.0 points.
Lance Jones added 17 points for the Boilermakers (24-3, 13-3 Big Ten). Jones was 7 of 14 from the field after going 1 of 10 in a 68-60 victory at Rutgers on Jan. 28.. Braden Smith had 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Jeremiah Williams scored 12 points for Rutgers (14-12, 6-9). Noah Fernandes had 11.
Heide said Purdue point guard Braden Smith did a great job finding him.
“(Smith) tells me to be ready to shoot to get his assist numbers up,” Heide said. “When you have teammates around you that give you confidence, it’s a lot easier to play.”
Edey said no one was surprised with what Heide did.
“We all know what kind of work he puts in and what kind of talent he has,” Edey said.
Purdue coach Matt Painter said Heide gave the team a big lift, especially with his 11 points in the first half.
“He did a good job just playing to his strengths, taken what’s given him and not forcing anything,” Painter said. “He stayed with himself. He’s kept a great attitude and you see the upside there.”
Purdue’s biggest lead was 37 at 87-50. For the game, Purdue shot 59%. Rutgers shot 43%
Purdue shot 63% in the first half to take a 52-33 lead. The Boilermakers made 7 of 12 3-pointers in the opening half, including three by Heide. Leading 22-21, Purdue used an 11-1 lead to grab control.
“Early in the game we were helping them a bit giving them those transition points and offensive rebounds,” Edey said. ”Once we got half-court defence set and got stops, I don’t think they got 10 points the rest of the half.”
The Boilermakers were focused after a 73-69 loss at Ohio State on Sunday.
“We’re one of the best defensive teams in the country and today we didn’t have any answers,” Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell said. “They went inside, they made free throws, they had 3s. They’re tough here at home and after a loss, they were motivated. They were excellent and took advantage of any little mistake we made.”
Painter said a big factor was Rutgers had five offensive rebounds by the first media timeout and only two after that. The Boilermakers had a 35-22 rebounding edge.
“This is one of the best defensive teams, to put 96 points against them is something we haven’t done in a long time or at least since (Pikiell) got the program established,” Painter said.
BIG PICTURE
Rutgers: After trailing by just one point in the first nine minutes, the Scarlet Knights were completely dominated. Rutgers couldn’t make shots and couldn’t stop Purdue.
Purdue: With No. 1 UConn losing by 19 on Tuesday night at No. 15 Creighton, the Boilermakers could move in the rankings if they can top Michigan on Sunday. The Boilermakers (13-3) extended their conference lead to three games in the win column over Illinois (10-5)
UP NEXT
Rutgers: Hosts Maryland on Sunday.
Purdue: at Michigan on Sunday.
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