- Purdue improved to 21-3 overall and moved into a first-place tie in the Big Ten race with an 84-68 win over No. 13 Illinois. The Boilermakers swept the Illini for the first time since the 2011-12 season.
- The Boilermakers have won six straight games, four of them coming by double-digits.
- Purdue started the Big Ten season with a 1-2 record, but has won nine of its last 10 games.
- Purdue's 21 victories are the third most nationally (Auburn, Murray State – 22).
- Purdue is now 7-2 in quad-1 games, the second-most quad-1 victories and tied for the best quad-1 record (.778) among teams that have played at least seven quad-1 games.
- Purdue has won six straight games in February, five by double-figures.
- Purdue has won 51 straight games when shooting at least 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from 3-point range and 70 percent from the free throw line (was 50.8, 4.09 and 72.2 percent tonight).
- Purdue has shot over 50.0 percent in 15-of-24 games and over 40.0 percent from 3-point range in 16 games.
- The Boilermakers have scored 80 or more points in six straight Big Ten games for the first time since the 1997-98 season (7 straight games).
- Since the 2016-17 season, Purdue has won 29 games against ranked teams, the fifth-most victories in the country in that span.
- The 16-point margin was the largest win at Mackey Arena between two ranked teams since Feb. 1, 2017, when No. 23 Purdue beat No. 25 Northwestern 80-59.
- It was the largest victory margin for a Purdue ranked team against a ranked opponent since a 23-point win over No. 2 Arizona on Nov. 24, 2017 (Bahamas).
- The matchup against Illinois was the first matchup between two top-13 teams in Mackey Arena since Feb. 20, 2011, and just the fifth in the Painter era. Purdue is 16-5 under Painter at home as a ranked team, and now 4-1 when both teams are ranked in the top 13.
- Purdue is 145-12 under Painter when scoring at least 80 points, including 59-2 since the start of the 2017-18 season. The Boilermakers have won 37 straight games when scoring 80 or more points.
- Purdue moves to 183-17 under Painter when shooting 48 percent or better from the field, including a 23-game win streak. Purdue shot 50.8 percent from the field, including 64.5 percent in the second half.
- Jaden Ivey led the team in points with 26, 22 of which came in the second half. Ivey also led the team in assists with 6. During a second-half run of seven minutes, Ivey scored or assisted on 19 of Purdue's 21 points to take a 73-56 lead.
- Over his last four games, Ivey is averaging 22.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game. He has 19 assists against 9 turnovers in that span.
- Sasha Stefanovic went 1-for-3 from the 3-point line, giving him a 3-pointer in 25 consecutive games, a mark that ties Dakota Mathias and Chris Lutz for third-most consecutive games with a 3-pointer in program history.
- Purdue's centers of Zach Edey and Trevion Williams combined for 23 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and four blocked shots.
- The Boilermakers' bench had 20 of Purdue's 36 first-half points.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Jaden Ivey and Eric Hunter Jr. provided the second-half muscle No. 3 Purdue on Tuesday night.
They didn't even need much help from their big guys.
Hunter scored all nine of his points during a game-changing run to start the second half and Ivey scored 26 points, 22 coming after he got angry, to help the Boilermakers run away from No. 13 Illinois 84-68.
"Usually when I don't get a call, or an obvious call, I usually get mad and take it out in the game," Ivey said. "That's all i can do. Eric just says keep playing and that's what I did."
Ivey was terrific on what turned into family night. He went 10 of 17 from the field, had six assists and four rebounds in front of his mother, Niele, the Notre Dame women's basketball coach. Purdue (21-3, 10-3 Big Ten) won its sixth straight to move into a share of the conference lead.
The only blemish: Ivey came up one point short of matching his career high.
Turns out, it didn't matter.
"One thing Matt's done of late is to quit screwing around, get the ball to Ivey and get everyone out of the way," Fighting Illini coach Brad Underwood said, referring ot Purdue coach Matt Painter. "Anyone who doesn't know what a pro looks like, that's what they look like."
Illinois (17-6, 10-3) was led by Kofi Cockburn, who had 18 points and seven rebounds. Andre Curbelo added 15 points as the Fighting Illini had a four-game winning streak snapped.
The hype for this game began almost as soon as the final buzzer sounded in Purdue's double-overtime victory last month and took on even more urgency when conference officials moved the game up two days from the initial schedule for a clash between conference contenders.
The rematch didn't disappoint.
A boisterous, early-arriving crowd kept the decibel level high all night — especially as the Boilermakers started pulling away midway through the second half. But it also energized Purdue, which had a slow start and endured a series of back-and-forth moments.
But after Curbelo drove the length of the floor for a buzzer-beating layup to give Illinois a 38-36 halftime lead, Hunter opened the second half with nine points during a 16-8 spurt that put Purdue up 52-46 and whipped the crowd into a frenzy. The Boilermakers never trailed again and sealed the victory with a 14-2 run.
"He just let it come to him tonight," Painter said, referring to Ivey. "He made great decisions and a couple of those pull-ups are shots he hasn't even really taken this year. He's come a long way since the start of the season."
BIG PICTURE
Illinois: Tuesday's loss is not debilitating. The Illini are tied with Purdue and No. 14 Wisconsin atop the Big Ten. But it certainly makes the championship journey more challenging, especially after getting swept by the Boilermakers. Expect Illinois to rebound quickly and in impressive fashion.
Purdue: The Boilermakers have been the Big Ten's highest-ranked team most of this season Now, after starting 1-2 in conference play, they finally have a share of the league lead. Purdue has gone 98-11 in their last 109 home games and this time did it with the kind of balanced attack it will need to make a deep NCAA Tournament run.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
With No. 1 Auburn losing Tuesday night and the Boilermakers with two more chances to impress voters this week, against Michigan and Maryland, Purdue could be in position to claim the top spot for the second time this season — and the second time in school history. The loss shouldn't hurt Illinois too much.
SCARY MOMENT
Illini guard Trent Frazier had the biggest scare of the night when he fell to the floor clutching his left knee with 8:15 to play. Replays appeared to show his knee and Ivey's knee collided. Frazier needed help to reach the bench, though he returned a short time later and finished the game.
"He wanted in so we let him back in," Underwood said. "I don't know the extent of everything yet but it was great to see him get back in."