Purdue Basketball beat Xavier by a final score of 83 to 71. Purdue’s leading scorers were Zach Edey with 28 points and 11 rebounds, Braden Smith with 12 points, 7 assists, and 5 rebounds, and Fletcher Loyer with 11 Points, 3 assists, and 4 rebounds.

1st Half

The Purdue Boilermakers started off the game on a 7-2 run, and the crowd was electric. The Boilers struggled a bit on transition defense and gave up a lot of wide open threes. Xavier only shot 3/13 (23.1 %) from the three-point line, and 12/33 (36.4%) in total field goal percentage. Purdue was much more efficient shooting the ball, they shot 15/31 (48.4%) from the field, and shot 4/8 (50%) from behind the arch. Purdue was leading 37-29 at half-time.

2nd Half

After a close first half, the Boilermakers showed why they are the #2 team in the country. Purdue played solid defense the entire 2nd half, while hitting threes at a great rate. Edey was dominant in the paint, causing Xavier’s center Abou Ousmane to foul out with 8 minutes to play. Myles Colvin was hitting his threes, and everyone on the court for Purdue had a huge impact. Purdue outscored Xavier 46-42 in the second half.

Player of The Game: Zach Edey

Zach Edey played like a National Player of The Year tonight, scoring 28 points while having 11 rebounds. On a night where Purdue’s role players weren’t scoring like we know they can, Zach Edey stepped up and was unstoppable in the paint. I personally think that Edey will repeat as NPOY, and lead Purdue to great things this season.

#2 Purdue plays #11 Gonzaga on Monday, November 20th at 5:00 pm EST

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