- Purdue improved to 15-2 overall and 4-2 in the Big Ten with a 96-88, double-overtime victory against No. 17 Illinois at the State Farm Center.
- Purdue has won three straight games on the road against ranked teams, dating to last year (Michigan State, Ohio State, Illinois). Purdue has won five of its last six games against ranked teams away from Mackey Arena, dating to last year.
- The win was Purdue's 27th against a ranked opponent since the 2016-17 season, good for the seventh most in the country. Purdue is 27-25 against ranked teams during that span.
- The 15-2 record matches the best 17-game start of the Matt Painter era, also done during the 2017-18 and 2010-11 seasons.
- Purdue scored over 90 points for the ninth time this season, the most in the country. Purdue has won 111 straight games when scoring 90 or more points, dating to Nov. 24, 1987.
- Purdue's bench scored 28 points, the 12th straight game it has scored at least 25 points.
- Purdue outscored Illinois 26-12 at the free throw line. Purdue entered the game leading the country in free throws made disparity, outscoring its opponents by 124 points at the line.
- Purdue outrebounded the Illini, 46-39, holding Illinois to eight offensive rebounds and 11 second-chance points. The two teams were 2-3 in the country in rebound margin (Illinois – 2, Purdue – 3).
- Purdue's big three of Zach Edey, Jaden Ivey and Trevion Williams accounted for 53 points, 23 rebounds and 8 assists.
- Matt Painter now has 370 wins and his next victory will tie Ward "Piggy" Lambert for second on Purdue's career victories list and fifth on the all-time Big Ten list.
- Purdue won for the first time in the State Farm Center since the 2017-18 season when then-sophomore Carsen Edwards scored 40 points.
- Purdue is 53-2 since the start of the 2017-18 season when scoring 80 or more points.
- Sasha Stefanovic recorded his seventh career 20-point game and first since a 23-point performance against North Carolina. He made all five of his 3-pointers in the second half and overtime. He tied a career high with eight rebounds.
- Zach Edey scored 20 points with 8 rebounds and 2 blocked shots – his seventh 20-point game of the season. Edey has scored at least 20 points in four of the last five games. In Edey's last five games, he has 93 points and 38 rebounds in 93 minutes played.
- Jaden Ivey tallied 19 points with eight rebounds and went 13-of-15 from the free throw line.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Sasha Stefanovic scored 22 points, including a go-ahead 3 at the start of double overtime that sent No. 4 Purdue over No. 17 Illinois 96-88 on Monday.
Illinois guards Andre Curbelo and Alfonso Plummer made baskets in the final seconds of regulation and the first overtime before the Boilermakers (15-2, 4-2 Big Ten) broke away.
Purdue hit four straight shots to take an 89-83 lead with 1:03 left in double overtime. Eric Hunter Jr. had two of those baskets.Stefanovic went 5 of 8 on 3-point tries and also had eight rebounds. His last-second shot from long range fell short as the regulation buzzer sounded.
"They're the best basketball team we've played," Illinois coach Brad Underwood said. "And then I thought Sasha was elite today. We've done a pretty good job on him for the most part the last few years, and today he was the difference."
Plummer led the Illini (13-4, 6-1) with 24 points, shooting 6 of 12 on 3s. His layup with 9 seconds left in the first overtime made it 78-all.
Curbelo, who had missed 11 games after being injured, had 20 points, six rebounds and three assists. His basket with 14 seconds remaining in regulation tied it at 69.
Boilermakers center Zach Edey was effective, especially early on, finishing with 20 points on 9-for-14 shooting to go along with eight rebounds. He also helped limit Kofi Cockburn to 10 points on 3-of-9 shooting in 22 minutes before the Illinois center fouled out early in the first overtime.
"I thought (Edey) embraced the physicality of the game," Purdue coach Matt Painter said. "He didn't turn the ball over, which was great, and he was ready to play. That's the whole thing. If you can establish your big man and really get them in a bind, that helps out everything."
Purdue guard Jaden Ivey struggled to hit shots, going 3 of 10, but made 13 of 15 free throws to finish with 19 points and eight rebounds.
Illinois trailed for most of the first overtime period, but Curbelo made a turnaround jumper and Plummer had a layup to force a second overtime.
Edey was a factor early on, scoring 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting in the first half. The Boilermakers took an 11-point lead into the break, but back-to-back 3-pointers from Plummer and Da'Monte Williams helped Illinois close the deficit to 39-34 with 17:43 to play.
"This win just gives you confidence that you can go into a hornet's nest and be up against it a couple times and find a way to make a play, get a stop or get a rebound or make your free throws like we did at the end," Painter said. "Our guys hung in there."
BIG PICTURE
Purdue: Boilermakers are 3-1 this season against AP Top 25 opponents, while Illinois is 0-2 against ranked teams. ... The Boilermakers have won seven of their last eight games since an upset loss at Rutgers on Dec. 9. ... Purdue and Illinois meet again in West Lafayette, Indiana, on Feb. 10.
Illinois: The return of Curbelo was a welcome development for the Illini.His ability to penetrate and get to the hoop gives Underwood's offense more dynamism in addition to Cockburn and perimeter shooters such as Plummer and Trent Frazier, who scored 16 in the loss. ... The Illini remain in first place in the Big Ten, and there's another conference contender coming to town next week in Michigan State on Jan. 25.