- Purdue improved to 22-1 overall and 11-1 in the Big Ten with an 80-60 win over Penn State in front of the 53rd straight sellout at Mackey Arena. The win gives Purdue a three-and-a-half game lead on Rutgers and Illinois with eight games to play.
- Purdue is just the third Big Ten team since 2000 to start a season with a 22-1 record (24-0 by Ohio State in 2011; 29-0 by Illinois in 2005).
- Purdue is 11-1 in the Big Ten for just the fifth time in school history (2023, 2018, 2008, 1988, 1969).
- Purdue is now 45-13 all-time against Penn State, including 24-3 in Mackey Arena. Over the last 33 games, Purdue is 29-4 against the Nittany Lions.
- Over the last 60 games, Purdue is 51-9 (.850), the second-best, 60-game stretch in Purdue history (52-8 from Nov. 1986, to March 1988).
- Purdue's nine-game winning streak is the fifth-longest streak in the country. The Boilermakers have had two separate 9-game winning streaks in three previous seasons (2023, 2010, 1996, 1988).
- Holding Penn State to 60 points, Purdue has held all 23 opponents to 70 or fewer points.
- Purdue's 14, 3-pointers were a season high.
- Purdue averaged 1.43 points / possession for the game, including 1.67 for the second half.
- Purdue outrebounded Penn State 38-19, including 17-7 in the second half. Both teams had just seven turnovers.
- Purdue's bench outscored Penn State's bench by a 39-15 margin.
- Mason Gillis scored a career-high 29 points, making nine 3-pointers. The nine 3-pointers were the most for a Purdue player in Mackey Arena history and tied for the second most in a game in Purdue history behind Carsen Edwards (10 vs. Virginia; 3-30-19). His previous career high was 14 points.
- Gillis' 29 points off the bench were the most by a major-conference player this season.
- Zach Edey recorded 18 points and 13 rebounds in just 28 minutes for his 18th double-double of the season, tied for the second most in a season in school history (28 by Caleb Swanigan in 2017).
- Braden Smith dominated the floor game with nine points, nine assists and five rebounds with no turnovers. In two games against Penn State, Smith had 24 points, 11 rebounds and 16 assists against just one turnover.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Mason Gillis routinely demonstrates his shooting prowess at Purdue's practices.
On Wednesday night, the roaring, sellout crowd at Mackey Arena finally got a glimpse, too.
The third year forward made an arena record nine 3-pointers and finished with a career high 29 points to lead the top-ranked Boilermakers to an 80-60 rout over Penn State.
"Honestly to me, it doesn't feel like I did anything different. I just hit a couple shots and they kept falling," Gillis said. "I kind of hesitate sometimes in games, but the first couple ones went in and I said, 'I'm just going to keep taking them.'"
Nobody complained. Gillis, Zach Edey said, made his job of recording an 18th double-double this season easy. Edey had 18 points and 13 rebounds as the Big Ten-leading Boilermakers (22-1, 11-1) made a season-best 14 3s and won their ninth in a row.
But to many, Gillis' incredible game seemed to come out of the blue. Until Wednesday, he had never made more than three 3s in a game or scored more than 14 points. Then suddenly, there he was making 10 of 14 shots and nine of 12 from beyond the arc, thanks in part to the Nittany Lions' strategy of trying a zone defense to negate the 7-foot-4 Edey.
Gillis made sure the game plan backfired on his old coach.
"My opening statement is going to be very succinct," said Penn State coach Micah Shrewsberry, who was an assistant at Purdue before taking the Nittany Lions job two years ago. "Best team in the country, best player in the country, best coach in the country."
Seth Lundy had 18 points to lead the Nittany Lions (14-8, 5-6), who have lost six straight in the series and all four during Shrewsberry's tenure.
Purdue, the only Power Five team left with fewer than two losses, looked like it would run away early when it used a 9-0 run to build a 23-13 lead. But Penn State scored the final five points of the first half to close to 35-29.
Then, after Jalen Pickett opened the second half with a layup, Gillis answered with a flurry. He made three straight 3s to give Purdue a 44-31 lead, and after Penn State called timeout, Gillis made a mid-range jumper and Ethan Morton added another 3 to make it 49-31.
The Nittany Lions never recovered as Purdue pulled away and extended the margin to as much as 26.
"We're not worried about results, we're pretty process driven," Gillis said. "But it definitely felt amazing."
BIG PICTURE
Penn State: Shrewsberry was the first Matt Painter assistant to return to Mackey with a different team. It might go down as a pretty forgettable experience. But the Nittany Lions for an improving team, there are going to be some bumpy obstacles along the way.
Purdue: The Boilermakers showed just how much firepower they possess — in addition to Edey. When Edey's supporting cast plays this way, Purdue is almost unbeatable.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
The Boilermakers left nothing to doubt after becoming the first Power Five team to earn unanimous No. 1 selections in consecutive years in 20 years. Now comes the hard part — adding a win at archrival, No. 21 Indiana, the Big Ten preseason favorite, to the resume.
TEAMING UP
Shrewsberry and Painter wore T-shirts to promote Project 44, an initiative to expand bone marrow registries. It honors the late Andrew Smith, who played on Butler's two Final Four teams when Shrewsberry was an assistant there. Smith died in January 2016 at age 25 after a two-year battle with cancer and a bone marrow transplant gave Smith and his wife, Samantha, three additional months together.