Boilers led by 16 in the first half before giving up a 17-2 run to start the second half
Purdue fans left Mackey Arena disappointed following a meltdown they had not seen at home in quite some time as the Boilers lost 73-70. It was a stunning loss at home to an Ohio State Buckeyes team that, although better than their record had indicated, shouldn’t have beaten this Purdue team. This is the first home loss for Purdue of any capacity since the 2023 season when the Indiana Hoosiers blew out the Boilers.
The game started well for Purdue as the defense was again making their opponent feel uncomfortable and force OSU into tough shots. Early on, the Buckeyes weren’t not hitting those shots and but Purdue was largely unable to capitalize again with poor offense to start the game. TKR was able to get to his spots easily and score off his short rolls but Purdue again nearly had another half where they were unable to hit a three. Had it not been for a scramble three just before the half by Gicarri Harris, that would have been another reality.
Braden Smith started strong for the Boilers controlling the offense but suffered his first real foul trouble of the game as he picked up his second with 13:06 left in the first half. That placed CJ Cox directly in the crosshairs and he responded by getting an ‘And 1’ bucket on his way to 9 first half points.
The push was a welcome sight as the Boilers actually expanded their lead from 14-9 to 25-11 when he returned with 6:57 left in the first half. From there, the Boilers would continue pushing their lead to after TKR his a pair of free throws with just 24 second left in the half to get their lead to 16 at 41-25. Unfortunately, the Buckeyes would snatch the momentum back headed to the locker room with a last second three from Bruce Thornton, who the Boilers held to just 11 points on 3-7 shooting but he was able to generate 5 assists.
The made three seemingly gave the Buckeyes the push they needed as they came out to start the second half with a 17-2 run to take a 45-43 lead with 15:10 left. A massive shift in momentum that really spanned both halves to a 20-2 run, likely one of the worst runs Purdue has given up this season. It was a run that highlighted a hot shooting half where the Buckeyes went 16-24 (66.7%) and 8-12 from behind the arc and one that Purdue just seemingly couldn’t get the necessary stops to shift momentum.
Purdue was able to counterpunch again with a 9-0 run of their own to take a 59-53 lead that was punctuated by another Harris three pointer from the left corner with 7:22 left. From there, it was another big Buckeye run of 15-0 to take a 68-59 lead with just 2:42 left and at the point Purdue was in full scramble mode that saw them pull to within 1 point before Mobley was able to hit an open jumper. It was a deflating moment as the Boilers had finally strung together stops and they just weren’t able to recover from.
TKR again had a big day with 26 points on 11-16 shooting along with 7 rebounds but it was the shooting struggles from Smith and Loyer, particularly in the second half where the guard duo went just 5-17. Smith and Loyer would chip in 12 and 15 respectively but got nearly nothing else from any other players as Heide, Colvin, Burgess, and Furst all combined to go just 0-4 and 6 rebounds.
This isn’t a game that will put Purdue at risk of missing the NCAA Tourney as they continue to have one of the strongest resumes in the country but it certainly makes winning the regular season B1G Title incredibly difficult. The Boilers fall to 15-5 but 7-2 and will get Michigan at home on Friday in a game they will likely need to win to keep their hopes of a conference title and a top 3 seed line in tact.