Braden Smith leads No. 1 Purdue past Iowa 87-73

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Braden Smith scored a career-high 24 points to lead No. 1 Purdue to an 87-73 victory over Iowa on Thursday night.

Smith, a freshman guard, shot 8 of 10 — including 4 of 5 from 3-point range. Zach Edey scored 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting. Edey, who was averaging 22.4 points entering the game, had just four points until the final 8 1/2 minutes. Edey grabbed a team-high 14 rebounds, and Caleb Furst added 10 rebounds as Purdue held a 43-23 edge.

Fletcher Loyer scored 17 points, Furst 11 and Mason Gillis 10 for the Boilermakers (23-2, 12-2 Big Ten).

Kris Murray led Iowa with 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting, and Filip Rebraca had 17 for the Hawkeyes (15-9, 7-6).

The Boilermakers led by as many as 21 points early in the second half. Purdue was ahead 68-51 when the Hawkeyes went on a 13-2 spurt to close the deficit to 70-64 with 5:39 remaining.

Edey, who had been quiet most of the game, sank a hook shot and made a dunk to give Purdue a 74-64 edge.

Purdue took a 38-21 lead at halftime on Smith’s jumper with 3 seconds left. Smith led Purdue with 10 points in the first half. The Boilermakers took the lead at 4-2 on a basket by Loyer and led the rest of the game.

Purdue shot 44% in the first half while holding Iowa to 29%. For the game, Purdue shot 55%, while Iowa shot 45%

Purdue coach Matt Painter won his 250th game at Mackey Arena, improving his home record to 250-43.

BIG PICTURE

Iowa: After being dominated for the first 30 minutes, the Hawkeyes woke up offensively and got as close as six points. Iowa is seeking to lock up an NCAA Tournament bid with a strong finish in the final six Big Ten regular-season games.

Purdue: The Boilermakers rebounded from its loss at Indiana with a dominating performance for most of the game, holding Iowa to a mere 21 points in the first half. The Hawkeyes were averaging 81.5 points per game.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

The Boilermakers stayed on course to remain No. 1 with an easy home victory with a game Sunday at Northwestern.

UP NEXT

Iowa: At Minnesota on Sunday.

Purdue: At Northwestern on Sunday.

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