- Purdue opened its season with a 96-67 win over Bellarmine in front of 14,804 fans at Mackey Arena. It was the first series meeting between the two teams.
- The win was Purdue's ninth straight in a season opener by a total of 254 points (28.2 points per game). The Boilermakers are now 103-21 all-time in season openers and 16-1 under head coach Matt Painter.
- Purdue is 49-6 in home openers played at Mackey Arena.
- It marked the 17th time dating to the 1982-83 opener that Purdue has won by at least 25 points in the season opener. Purdue has made the NCAA Tournament in the 16 previous occurrences of winning the opener by 25 or more points.
- Purdue has now won 18 straight games against winless teams and is 28-1 under Matt Painter against winless teams.
- Caleb Furst became the first true freshman to start a season opener since Caleb Swanigan in the 2015-16 season.
- Purdue has won 103 straight games when scoring 90 or more points, dating to Nov. 24, 1987.
- Purdue's 16 3-pointers are tied for the seventh most in a game in school history and the most in a season opener in school history. Purdue's 36 3-point attempts tied a school record (set two other times).
- Purdue's 1.43 points per possession were the most in a season opener in school history and the seventh-highest number in school history.
- Since the 2015-16 season, Purdue has won 54 games by 20 or more points, the fifth-highest total in the country.
- Purdue improved to 18-5 when ranked No. 7 in the country, having won 11 straight games.
- Sasha Stefanovic tied a career high with 23 points adding three assists and two rebounds. He was 5-of-6 from long range. He now has eight career games of 5 or more 3-pointers. Purdue is 19-5 when Stefanovic scores at least 10 points in a game.
- Isaiah Thompson added 15 points on a career-high tying five 3-pointers, with four assists.
- Ethan Morton scored five points with four rebounds, four steals and three assists in his most-extensive action of his career.
- All-American candidate Trevion Williams did not attempt a shot until seven minutes remained. He finished with four points, seven rebounds and three assists in 15 minutes, while recording a plus-25 margin in plus-minus.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Purdue's Sasha Stefanovic got in a groove from the outside. That's because of what his teammates were doing inside.
Stefanovic made 5 of 6 3-pointers and finished with 23 points to lead No. 7 Purdue past Bellarmine 96-67 on Tuesday night.
"We have a lot of credit across the board," Stefanovic said. "If they are focusing in on Zach (Edey) and Trevion (Williams) in the post, we have to be able to knock down shots and execute our game plan. Our bigs are really good passing out of the post."
Edey added 16 points, Isaiah Thompson had 15 points, Brandon Newman 14 and Jaden Ivey 11 for the Boilermakers.
C.J. Fleming and Dylan Penn each scored 14 points for Bellarmine.
Thompson scored 12 of his 15 in the first half, and 3s accounted for all his points.
"Guys were just finding me for me for open 3s," Thompson said. "It was just being ready to shoot when you know teams are going to over-help, get it (in) a good rhythm and knock it down. You want to take open shots, that's what coach (Matt) Painter preaches. He doesn't like when we take bad shots. But when you are open, he wants every shooter to shoot the ball."
Thompson said he has improved with more experience.
"I've been through two years of college basketball and a lot of ups and downs personally and as a team," he said. "I'm just more confident. I think it just comes with time and experience."The Boilermakers, who made 16 of 34 3s, led by as many as 36 points in the second half. Purdue shot 50% for the game while the Knights were held to 41%.
"A lot of our 3-pointers were rotation and moving the ball and their guys overplaying in the post" Painter said. "It was hard for us to simulate the way they play and the way they move the ball in practice. This was a great game for us to play because they are so different from everyone else. They have the same thing with our size. When you have someone like Trevion, who can pass the ball, it puts people in a bind."
Williams, who averaged 15.5 points last season, was patient. He hit his only shot and two free throws for four points. Williams added seven rebounds and three assists.
Purdue broke open the game with a 19-3 run that produced a 40-23 lead. The Boilermakers led 50-37 at half.
STAT OF THE GAME
Purdue held a 42-22 edge in rebounds, including 15 offensive rebounds. Freshman Caleb Furst and Edey each led the way with nine.
TIP-INS
Purdue will be back to full strength after Mason Gillis serves two more games in his four-game suspension, which included the team's exhibition. Gillis, a sophomore forward who started 23 games last season, was arrested for operating a vehicle while intoxicated in June. … Purdue announced before the game it plans to redshirt freshmen Trey Kaufman-Renn and Brian Waddell. Painter said it was Kaufman-Renn's decision to redshirt with Purdue's depth in the post.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
The Boilermakers likely enhanced its No. 7 ranking with a dominant performance in the second half.
UP NEXT:
Bellarmine visits Murray State on Saturday.
Purdue hosts Indiana State on Friday.