Wisconsin loses to Purdue, marking their 7th consecutive victory
Zach Edey #15 of the Purdue Boilermakers defends AJ Storr #2 of the Wisconsin Badgers going up for a shot in the first half of the game at Kohl Center on February 04, 2024 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images)
MADISON, Wis. - Lance Jones scored 20 points, Zach Edey joined another exclusive club and No. 2 Purdue beat No. 6 Wisconsin 75-69 on Sunday for its seventh consecutive victory.
Purdue (21-2, 10-2) took the lead for good midway through the first half. It extended its Big Ten lead to 1½ games as Wisconsin (16-6, 8-3) lost its second straight.
Braden Smith added 19 points for the Boilermakers.
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Edey had 18 points, 13 rebounds and three blocked shots. The 7-foot-4 center has 201 career blocks, joining Patrick Ewing and David Robinson as the only players in NCAA history to combine 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 200 blocks while shooting at least 60% from the field.
This marked the NCAA-leading 74th straight game in which Edey scored in double figures. Edey had broken Rick Mount’s 54-year-old school record in that category Wednesday by scoring 30 points in a 105-96 overtime victory over Northwestern.
Tyler Wahl scored a season-high 20 points for Wisconsin and also had seven rebounds and five assists. AJ Storr added 14 points on 4-for-15 shooting.
Smith scored seven points and Jones added five during a 12-3 Purdue run that turned a 17-14 deficit into a 26-20 advantage, putting the Boilermakers ahead for good. Purdue extended the lead to 10 with 14:35 left when Edey dunked on a lob from Fletcher Loyer.
Wahl converted an offensive rebound off his own missed 3-point attempt to cut Purdue’s lead to 59-57 with 4:46 remaining. Edey then missed the front end of a one-and-one opportunity for the second time in the second half, but Mason Gillis got the offensive rebound to set up Jones’ driving layup with 4:15 remaining.
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Wisconsin trailed 66-61 when Chucky Hepburn got a midcourt steal with 1½ minutes left, but Hepburn missed a layup attempt and Connor Essegian missed a deep 3-point attempt.
Jones then made a driving layup attempt with 59 seconds left to give Purdue all the breathing room it would need, though the Boilermakers got some good fortune in the last 30 seconds.
Smith appeared to commit a turnover right around the time he got fouled, leading to two free throws with 27 seconds left. Loyer later appeared to travel on an inbounds pass that resulted in an Edey dunk, but no violation was called.