Zach Edey scored a career-high 38 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead No. 1 Purdue to a 77-61 victory over visiting Michigan State on Sunday afternoon in West Lafayette, Ind.
The Boilermakers (21-1, 10-1 Big Ten) won their eighth consecutive game and swept the season series against the Spartans (14-8, 6-5), who lost for the fourth time in six games.
Purdue’s record is the best through 22 games by a Big Ten team since Ohio State started 24-0 in 2010-11.
The 7-foot-4 Edey eclipsed his previous career high of 32 points set against the Spartans on Jan. 16 in East Lansing, Mich.
Edey made 15 of 24 shots from the field and 8 of 12 from the free throw line, adding three steals and three assists in his 17th double-double of the season.
The Boilermakers concluded the first half on an 18-5 run to take control.
David Jenkins Jr.’s 3-pointer at the first-half buzzer gave Purdue a 40-22 lead at halftime. Jenkins was Purdue’s only other double-digit scorer of the game with 11 points off the bench.
Michigan State cut the deficit to 53-43 with 11:45 left in the second half as A.J. Hoggard scored five points during a 7-0 Spartans run.
After trading a couple of scores, Purdue once again found Edey inside. He scored six consecutive points to balloon the Boilermakers’ lead back to 16.
Thanks largely to Edey’s dominance, Purdue outscored Michigan State 42-24 in the paint and shot 50 percent from the field (29 for 58).
Purdue was also efficient with the basketball, finishing with 21 assists and committing only nine turnovers.
Hoggard led the Spartans with 20 points, six assists and four rebounds. Jaden Akins added 12 points. Michigan State shot 58.3 percent (14 for 24) in the second half, but it did little to change the outcome.
The Spartans committed 14 turnovers and lost the rebounding battle, 37-26.
Edey had a chance to hit the 40-point mark but missed his final three shots from the field.
–Field Level Media
