Zach Edey recorded 26 points and 11 rebounds to help No. 3 Purdue get back on track with an 82-55 victory over visiting Ohio State on Sunday afternoon at West Lafayette, Ind.
Edey recorded his 21st double-double of the season for the Boilermakers (24-4, 13-4 Big Ten Conference), who bounced back after losing consecutive games for the first time this season.
The Boilermakers were still projected as a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament when the selection committee’s top 16 seeds were revealed over the weekend. Purdue inched closer to clinching the Big Ten regular-season title with three conference games remaining.
Meanwhile, Ohio State (11-16, 3-13) continued to spiral, losing its eighth game in a row and 13th in the past 14 games.
Things got more difficult for the Buckeyes as they took on Purdue without starting center Zed Key, who sat out with a shoulder injury.
Purdue made a concerted effort to get the ball to Edey, their national Player of the Year candidate. He effectively helped the Boilermakers have another dominant game inside with 16 of his points in the first half.
With the Boilermakers ahead 57-38, head coach Matt Painter had the luxury of resting Edey for the remainder of the contest.
After being outrebounded for only the third time this season against Maryland earlier this week, Purdue crushed Ohio State on the boards 44-21 and 14-5 on the offensive glass.
Trey Kaufman-Renn recorded 11 points and three rebounds off the bench.
Purdue attacked the rim as it has done all season and went 21-for-27 from the free-throw line. Mason Gillis also grabbed 10 rebounds and had seven points.
Brice Sensabaugh continued to be a bright spot for Ohio State, finishing with 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting. Sean McNeil came off the bench and scored 10 points.
–Field Level Media
