GoldandBlack.com Analysis and Wrap Video: Purdue's win over Illinois

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Purdue won a classic Big Ten slugfest Monday afternoon, as the fourth-ranked Boilermakers took down No. 17 Illinois 96-88 in double overtime.

Our post-game analysis and Wrap Video.

With this hard-fought win, Purdue seems have continued its upward trending since the Wisconsin loss. This win does give the Boilermakers of a bit of a reset In the Big Ten race, knocking Illinois down a peg and getting a win out of what might have been the most daunting game on the schedule.

Yes, It's probably disconcerting to see Purdue again not be able to close out a win in regulation, but this was no meltdown. The Boilermakers executed OK offensively and got Trevion Williams the shots Trevion Williams has made scores on times In his career. For whatever reason, the ball didn't go for him In the final 10 minutes. Had they, this game never gets to OT.

Two games in a row, Purdue's taken haymakers from the opponent on their home floor and steadied things and won. While this was probably a cardiac episode-in-the-making for most Purdue stakeholders, there's considerable positive in them dominating that second OT after so much happened just to get to that point.

These are moments where you expect the most from your best and oldest players, and to the front end of that, Zach Edey was fantastic and Jaden Ivey great when it mattered most, and to the back half of that equation, Sasha Stefanovic and Eric Hunter came up big against an opponent they owed one to, which says nothing of Purdue running offense through Williams in the second OT and him delivering.

This was an enormous win for Purdue, particularly in light of the circumstances. Its now the centerpiece of the Boilermakers' NCAA Tournament résumé and maybe — just maybe — the day the worm really turned for Purdue in the Big Ten after that slow start.

For the first time in Kofi Cockburn's college career — probably his basketball career, period — he was not the physical alpha on the floor.

Zach Edey didn't just not back down from the Illinois big man, he took it to him and won decidedly head to head against a player who's seemed to get between Purdue's ears at times during his time at Illinois.

Along the same lines as the things that have turned for Purdue since Wisconsin is just that: Edey playing with that edge to open games that maybe he didn't at times earlier this season, including Rutgers and Wisconsin.

There was a gap there to start games, an important one, because Purdue relies so much on the post to open games. Its ability to start games well lies in its centers' hands.

That's one thing; exorcising the Cockburn demons another.

Whether Purdue thought of It this way, who knows? But Illinois was a hump this program did need to get over, and to do so it needed to be tough and be physical, because Illinois certainly has been and would be.

Edey drove that in Champaign and ought to the player everyone in college basketball is taking about today, the way they were talking about Jaden Ivey In Connecticut. Edey was already excellent but this was his moment.

He put himself in the national conversation today, probably earned some notice from pro-basketball kingmakers and most Importantly, carried his team to a really significant win.

He took a big step today.

So much happened afterward that the importance of Purdue's 17-0 run late in the first half was sort of washed away, but that was central to this outcome.

Illinois missed some shots, yes, but nevertheless, Purdue held the Illini scoreless for 6:50 en route to an 11-point halftime lead, before Andre Curbelo sucker-punched it in the second half and the Illini shooters started getting hot. (Purdue couldn't have known that Curbelo would play this much or this well after sitting out the past two months, and there was only so much pre-injury frame of reference to go around.)

Purdue's getting better defensively, another residual from Wisconsin, and that first half burst put a face on it, while the second half put a face on how much room there still is to improve.

Look, Zach Edey outplayed Kofi Cockburn, but he did not stop Cockburn by himself. He had a lot of help, and that help represented Purdue carrying out a defensive game plan very effectively, which is not something that happened regularly prior to Wisconsin.

Kofi Cockburn is a totally different player from the guards who've roasted Purdue this season, but this was one of the few games where the Boilermakers cut off the proverbial head of the snake.

Maybe that was the problem.

Illinois may have been more effective smaller.

Nevertheless, Purdue will take it.

But it's important to note, too, that Purdue executed well on offense against one of the better and most aggressive defensive teams it's seen this season, and stable offense did lead to sound defense.

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