Purdue Basketball defeated the Tennessee Volunteers by a final score of 71-67. Purdue’s leading scorers were Fletcher Loyer with 27 points and 6 rebounds, Zach Edey with 23 points and 10 rebounds, and Trey Kaufman-Renn with 8 points and 8 rebounds.

1st Half

This game started off slow for both teams, Purdue was struggling to hit shots, and Edey started off 0 for 6 from the free-throw line. Tennessee took advantage of Purdue’s poor shooting, and took an early 9 point lead, then the fouls started pouring in. Edey was getting to the free-throw line almost every possession, and Rick Barnes (Tennessee’s Coach) was not happy with the continuous foul calls, earning himself an early technical foul. Purdue did have some bright spots though, Loyer scored a season high 17 points in the first half, and Edey scored 10 points, along with 8 rebounds. This was a very ugly first half for both teams, but Purdue was in need of a savior in the 2nd half. Tennessee led 31-30 at half time.

2nd Half

Purdue’s “two man offense” was electric in the 2nd half, Loyer scored 10 points, and Edey scored 13 points in limited game time due to his foul trouble. Speaking of foul trouble, this was one of the worst officiated games I’ve ever seen, with a total of 50 total fouls. Tennessee is THE most physical team in the country, and Purdue played along with them, with Purdue fouling 21 times, and Tennessee fouling 29 times. After a mediocre 1st half for Purdue, the Boilermakers started shooting the ball much more efficiently. TKR was dominating the paint for a few minutes, and Purdue was very efficient at grabbing and holding onto rebounds. Purdue outscored Tennessee 41-36 in the second half, and Purdue ended up winning by a score of 71-67.

Player of The Game: Fletcher Loyer

Wow! That’s all I can say after Loyer’s dominant performance over Tennessee. After a very disappointing performance against Gonzaga, where he only scored 2 points, and was 0 for 6 from the field, Loyer left everything on the court against Tennessee. Loyer had 27 points, and 6 rebounds, and he was very efficient from the free-throw line. I’m not going to lie and say that I’ve been impressed by Loyer this season, but this game changes everything. In a physical game like this, you wouldn’t think that the skinniest, and scrawniest player would have the most points, but he did. This game puts Loyer on the map for everyone in the country to see what Fletcher Loyer is all about.

#2 Purdue plays #4 Marquette on Wednesday, November 22nd at 5:00 PM EST

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