- No. 2-ranked Purdue improved to 21-2 overall and 10-2 in the Big Ten standings with a 75-69 win over No. 6-ranked Wisconsin in Madison on Sunday.
- Purdue is 21-2 for the second straight year (22-1 a year ago) and a win on Saturday against Indiana will match Purdue's best 24-game start in school history (done three previous times).
- The win was Purdue's seventh straight win overall and fourth straight win on the road.
- Purdue now has eight Big Ten games remaining, with five at home and three on the road. Purdue (10-2) leads the Big Ten standings by a game-and-a-half over Wisconsin (8-3).
- The four straight road wins is tied for the fifth-longest road winning streak in America and is the longest among major-conference teams.
- Purdue's seven-game winning streak is now the ninth-longest streak in the country. Purdue has had three different win streaks this year of seven games.
- Purdue now has the most wins of any team in the Kohl Center all-time with seven. Matt Painter is now 7-8 against Wisconsin in the Kohl Center.
- Purdue won its first road game over a top-6 ranked opponent since March 5, 1994, a 95-94 win over No. 3-ranked Michigan. It was Purdue's first road win over a top-10 ranked opponent since Feb. 17, 2010, a 60-57 win over No. 9-ranked Ohio State.
- Purdue played its sixth game this season against an AP top-11 ranked team, now owning a 6-0 record with wins over Gonzaga, Tennessee, Marquette, Arizona, Illinois and Wisconsin.
- Matt Painter improved to 10-4 all-time in top-10 showdowns (both teams ranked in the top 10). Purdue has won six of its last seven top-10 showdowns.
- Purdue owns a 15-5 record against top-25 ranked teams since the start of the 2021-22 season – the best winning percentage of any team in America.
- Purdue won its eighth game against top-10 teams in the last three years, the third-most wins nationally and the highest winning percentage of any team (.889).
- Purdue's seven straight wins over AP top-10 ranked teams (2022-23 à Gonzaga, Duke; 2023-24 à Tennessee, Marquette, Arizona, Illinois, Wisconsin) ties the longest streak of wins over AP top-10 teams in Big Ten history (Ohio State – 2010-12; Michigan State – 2000; Ohio State 1960-61).
- Purdue's seven straight wins over AP Top-10 ranked teams is tied for the 11th longest streak in NCAA history.
- Purdue's five AP top-10 wins this year are tied for the most by a Big Ten team in the last 30 seasons.
- Purdue is now 17-10 (.630) in Big Ten road games over the last three seasons.
- Purdue now owns 15 quad-1 and quad-2 victories, including a nation's-best eight quad-1 victories. No other team in America has more than 11 quad-1 and quad-2 victories combined.
- The win was Purdue's 50th victory since the start of last year, now owning a 50-8 overall record – the fourth team to reach 50 wins since the start of last year (Houston, Florida Atlantic, UConn).
- Purdue has won 42 straight games when shooting a higher field goal percentage than its opponent (47.4 percent to 41.5 percent).
- Sixteen of Purdue's 21 wins this year have come against KenPom top-100 ranked teams. Purdue has played the nation's toughest schedule.
- Zach Edey set a school-record with his 55th career double-double with 18 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks. He scored in double-figures in his 100th career game, the second-highest total in the country.
- Zach Edey surpassed 200 career blocks in the victory and is now only the third player in NCAA history to have scored 2,000 points with 1,000 rebounds, 200 blocks and shoot at least 60.0 percent from the field (David Robinson, Patrick Ewing).
- Edey moved into sixth place on the Big Ten's all-time rebounds list (1,115), passing Ohio State great Herb Williams (1978-81).
- Lance Jones scored 20 points with six rebounds and three assists. Jones is now averaging 15.6 points in Big Ten Conference play, while shooting 38.2 percent from 3-point range (34-of-89).
- In his last two games, Jones is averaging 23.0 points and shooting 8-of-14 (.571) from 3-point range.
- Braden Smith tallied 19 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals. Smith is the only player in America averaging at least 12.0 points, 7.0 assists and 5.0 rebounds per game (12.4 PPG, 7.3 APG, 5.4 RPG). His 167 assists are already the 11th most in a season in school history.
MADISON, Wis. -- Purdue's inside-outside combination of Zach Edey and Braden Smith is a tough matchup for the Boilermakers' opponents.
Even the strongest ones.
Smith scored 19 points and Edey joined another exclusive club as the second-ranked Boilermakers beat No. 6 Wisconsin 75-69 on Sunday for their seventh consecutive victory. Purdue is 6-0 this season against teams that were ranked 11th or higher at the time of the game.
"We have an elite point guard and we have an elite center," coach Matt Painter said. "So when you go into a team, you've got to be able to game-plan for Zach Edey. It's obvious, right? But then, you've also got to game-plan for Braden Smith and his ability to pass, because they both make other people better."
Lance Jones scored 20 points for Purdue (21-2, 10-2), which took the lead for good midway through the first half and extended its Big Ten lead to 1½ games.
Wisconsin (16-6, 8-3) lost its second straight as it prepares for a two-game trip to Michigan and Rutgers.
Edey had 18 points, 13 rebounds and three blocked shots. The 7-foot-4 center has 201 career blocks, joining Patrick Ewing and David Robinson as the only players in NCAA history to combine 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 200 blocks while shooting at least 60% from the field.
"Those are elite, elite basketball players, Hall of Famers," Edey said. "Being mentioned in the same air as them is great, obviously. I kind of want to keep working. I'm not satisfied with just, 'Oh, I can tell my grandkids I did this.' I want to keep going. I want to keep becoming a better basketball player every year."
Edey has scored at least 10 points in an NCAA-leading 74 straight games. Edey broke Rick Mount's 54-year-old school record for consecutive double-figure scoring games on Wednesday by going for 30 points in a 105-96 overtime victory over Northwestern.
Tyler Wahl led Wisconsin with a season-high 20 points to go along with seven rebounds and five assists.
This marked the sixth consecutive Purdue-Wisconsin game to be decided by six points or fewer. The teams meet again March 10 at Purdue.
Purdue took the lead for good midway through the first half and extended the margin to 10 with about 14 1/2 minutes remaining.
Wahl converted an offensive rebound off his own missed 3-point attempt to cut Purdue's lead to 59-57 with 4:46 left. Edey then missed the front end of a one-and-one opportunity for the second time in the second half, but Mason Gillis got the offensive rebound to set up Jones' driving layup with 4:15 remaining.
Wisconsin trailed 66-61 when Chucky Hepburn got a midcourt steal with 1½ minutes left, but the Badgers couldn't convert the turnover into points. Jones then made a driving layup attempt with 59 seconds left to give Purdue all the breathing room it would need.
"They're really complete," Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said. "They've got a lot of pieces. We have a lot of pieces. But the difference maker obviously is Zach. You can't replicate or simulate that."
BIG PICTURE
Purdue: The Boilermakers won this one by outrebounding Wisconsin 42-29 and outscoring the Badgers 21-14 in second-chance points. Edey had six of Purdue's 14 offensive rebounds. "He's the best that I've been around at tapping the ball back," Painter said. "You always think it's over-the-back, and then you go back and watch and he's just 7 inches taller than the guy. His effort is amazing, for someone who is carrying around that kind of cargo."
Wisconsin: The Badgers hurt themselves by shooting 3 of 19 from 3-point range. Although AJ Storr scored 14 points, he shot 4 of 15 overall and 0 of 4 from beyond the arc.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Purdue figures to stay at No. 2. The Badgers may have trouble remaining in the top 10.