Earlier last week, a couple of the 2022 NBA Mock Drafts had Purdue guard Jaden Ivey going ahead of G-League guard Jaden Hardy. Ivey has improved his game massively in just the last few months. He’s averaging 15.4 points per game (ppg) while shooting 52% from the field. Ivey also has gotten his three-point percentage up to over 43%, and he is also grabbing over six rebounds per game and dishing out nearly four assists per game. He’s absolutely looking like a high-end lottery pick, and last night proved it for the Purdue basketball program.
Purdue Basketball Drops 48 in First Half
In the first game of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, the Boilermakers came out on fire versus Florida State, Ivey in particular. He came out in the first eight minutes of the game and hit his first three deep balls. After that, the Boilermakers slowly pulled away from Leonard Hamilton and the Seminoles. Zach Edey, the Boilermaker’s 7-4 center from Canada, also had a good first half, including a huge and-one play early in the second half. The Seminoles just didn’t know how to deal with the maturity and size of Purdue. However, they were able to force some turnovers into easy buckets to keep the distance between the two teams under 20 going into the second half.
In the second half, Florida State got within nine of Purdue just before the 12:00 official timeout. However, coming out of the timeout, Matt Painter’s team scored 12 straight points to increase the lead to 71-51. Even though the Seminoles have some of the best athletes in the country on their team, they just couldn’t stop the multi-pronged attack of Purdue. The final score was 93-65. It was a huge statement win for Purdue, and Ivey had this to say after the game.
“I think it just comes from all the hard work we put in in practice and buying in to what the coaches tell us,” Ivey said. “Then when the game comes, it’s executing perfectly. I think it we do that we can be a really good team. We already are.”
Jaden Ivey, Purdue Guard (ESPN)
Edey finished with 12 points for the Boilermakers, while senior guard Isaiah Thompson had 12 points as well. Ivey led the Boilermakers with 18 points and six rebounds at the end of the game. On the Florida State bench, Caleb Mills led all scorers with 22 points, while seven-foot freshman John Butler added in ten points.
Will Duke Loss, Purdue Aims For Top Spot
After the Boilermakers win, their conference rivals, Ohio State, took on top-ranked Duke at home. The Buckeyes trailed by 13 at the half. However, Duke’s shooting went ice cold and the Buckeyes took advantage. Ohio State would end up pulling out a 71-66 win over the Blue Devils. With that result, it’s likely that Purdue will make a claim for the top spot in both polls come next week.
Up next for Purdue is an undefeated Iowa team. Painter and his squad will end a three-game homestand vs the Hawkeyes on Friday night. The Hawkeyes no longer have Luka Garza, but they do have Keegan Murray who is a handful, to say the least. He’s averaging nearly 25 ppg and pulling down nine rebounds a night. Edey will have to neutralize the big man, but if the Boilermakers can win, it would be shocking if they weren’t the number one team in the country next week.
