#BoilerNotes
- Purdue improved to 34-12 all-time against Penn State, including 19-2 at Mackey Arena ... Purdue has won 10 straight games against Penn State at Mackey Arena.
- Purdue is 16-4 overall for the 13th time in the last 38 years (since 1979-80), including for the second straight year and the fifth time under Matt Painter.
- Purdue has now scored 75 points in 12 of the last 13 games.
- Coupled with Purdue's 23-point win over Illinois on Tuesday night (91-68), Purdue won consecutive Big Ten games by 20 or more points for the first time since Jan. 31 - Feb. 7, 1998.
- Penn State's 52 points were the fewest allowed in Big Ten play since Feb. 12, 2015, vs. Rutgers (61-51 win).
- Purdue has shot over 55.0 percent in back-to-back games after shooting 60.4 percent vs. Illinois and 56.6 percent vs. Penn State.
- Purdue had 23 assists on 30 made field goals ... seven players had between two and four assists.
- Purdue won its 11th game by 20 or more points -- third most nationally (Kentucky - 13; Gonzaga - 12).
- Purdue held Penn State 20.8 points below their pregame scoring average (72.8) ... it marked the 11th time (in 19 games) that Purdue held its opponents more than 12.0 points under their pregame scoring average.
- Purdue went 6-of-13 from the 3-point line in the first half and is now 41-of-83 (.494) from long distance in the first half of Big Ten play ... Purdue is just 21-of-75 (.280) in the second half.
- Purdue improved to 123-4 under Painter when holding foes to 59 or fewer points.
- Caleb Swanigan recorded his NCAA-best 16th double-double of the year with 19 points, 12 rebounds and four assists ... Swanigan has led the team in rebounding in all 20 games this year ... the 16 double-doubles are tied for the seventh most in a season in school history ... the 16 double-doubles are tied with Ohio State's Evan Turner (2009-10) for the fifth most by a Big Ten player since the 2009-10 season ... Swanigan has scored in double figures in 11 straight games ... Swanigan surpassed the 700-point plateau for his career in the win.
- Carsen Edwards tallied 13 points, his second straight double-figure scoring game ... Purdue is now 10-0 this year when he scores 10 or more points ... over the last two games, Edwards is 11-of-15 from the field and 4-of-7 from 3-point range.
- Vincent Edwards netted 10 points with seven rebounds and three assists ... Purdue is 12-3 this year and 34-10 for his career when Edwards scores 10-plus points.
- Dakota Mathias had 10 points with four rebounds and four assists ... Mathias was 2-of-4 from deep, making Purdue 29-8 during his career when he makes two or more 3-pointers ... over the last three games, Mathias has 14 assists against one turnover.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) - he way it played this week, No. 21 Purdue is acting like a team that is determined to be in the race for the Big Ten championship all the way to the end of the regular season.
Caleb Swanigan had 19 points and 12 rebounds, Purdue built an 18-point halftime lead and coasted to a 77-52 victory over Penn State on Saturday, four days after shooting 60.4 percent in a 91-68 victory against Illinois.
Against Penn State, the Boilermakers (16-4, 5-2) got 13 points from freshman guard Carsen Edwards and 10 each from Dakota Mathias and Vince Edwards.
''I would just say we were coming out ready to play,'' said Vince Edwards, who added seven rebounds and three assists. ''Our goal is to win the Big Ten. Our focus is to take care of business.''
Josh Reaves led Penn State (11-9, 3-4) with 12 points. The Nittany Lions made only 20 of 64 field goal attempts (31.3 percent) and were outrebounded 39-30. Purdue shot 56.6 percent (30 of 53).
''I think we just knocked them out of their rhythm early,'' Mathias said. ''I think that was the key from the start.''
The Boilermakers used runs of 15-0 and 13-0 to lead 41-23 through 20 minutes and then had an 8-0 run in the second half when it led by at least 20 points.
''Those runs obviously are a combination of getting stops and scoring the basketball at the same time,'' Purdue coach Matt Painter said. ''Getting stops is what we always talk about, whether it's a drill or not. You've got to get three stops in a row and score three times in a row. Normally, one team will get a run on the other, and it ends up being the difference in the game.''
Purdue had great first-half balance, getting nine points each from Swanigan and Carsen Edwards and eight each from Vince Edwards and Mathias.
For Penn State coach Patrick Chambers, who is 2-8 all-time against Purdue, it was not the game he was hoping for after a heartbreaking 78-75 Wednesday night loss to Indiana, which won on a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
''I was looking forward to seeing how we would respond,'' Chambers said. ''We responded early to their first run, but we never responded again late in the first half. We knew Purdue was one of the toughest teams in the league. We've known that for six years.''
The game marked the return to Mackey Arena of former coach Gene Keady, who was honored with a bobble head promotion. Keady coached the Boilermakers for 25 seasons.
BIG PICTURE:
Purdue: The Boilermakers' balanced scoring helped them build an 18-point halftime lead and show why they should be in the race for the Big Ten championship until the very end, likely battling Maryland and Wisconsin for the regular-season title.
UP NEXT
Purdue: The Boilermakers play at Michigan State on Tuesday.