Purdue 80, Eastern Kentucky 53- Quick Game Wrap

#1 Purdue becomes the first Big Ten team to sweep its non-conference schedule for three straight seasons, after Purdue beats Eastern Kentucky, 80-53.

Purdue's historic streak started three seasons ago, included a sweep of the Phil Knight Invitational in Portland and went all the way through the Maui Invitational this season. It included knocking off the #1, #3, #7, and #11 team this season alone.

It took a second for Purdue to shake off the Christmas break from its game against Eastern Kentucky, but then its offense got going.

Lance Jones hit an off-balanced floater on a drive as Purdue built a 19-10 lead while making 8 of its last 10 field goals.

Then Jones' turned defense into more offense, and broke the game apart, getting a steal and taking it the length of the court to score on a lay up just over halfway into the first half to give Purdue a 24-11 lead.

Coming into the game, Eastern Kentucky was giving up 45% shooting from three.

Fletcher Loyer knocked down two of three first half attempts from three, and his 12 first half points paced the way for the #1 Boilers.

Purdue didn't just have the edge on the perimeter, Purdue out rebounded Eastern Kentucky 21-12 in the first half. Mason Gillis sparked Purdue's big men effort, coming off the bench and grabbing five rebounds in his first four minutes of action.

It was one of Gillis' better stat lines of the season, going for 10 points and grabbing 9 rebounds in 17 minutes of action.

In Purdue's final warm-up before Big Ten action started in earnest, Painter was able to slow his starters into it, and get his bench extended run with Trey Kaufman-Renn the last starter in the game, going to the bench with nearly 8 minutes of action still left.

Purdue's second half extended its lead from the first early with Purdue finding the highlight tape early and often.

In just a few minutes, Smith showed off his synergy with Edey in the pick and roll, finding the cutting big in the pick and roll with a behind the back bounce pass that Edey finished with a monstrous two-hand jam.

A few plays later, Smith running in transition found redshirt freshman Camden Heide soaring in the air. Smith lobbed the ball up and Heide finished it with a reverse two-hand dunk.

When Edey's last field goal attempt happened from outside the three-point line, it was time for Painter to put his National Player of the Year to the bench and let his bench get some valuable minutes in the final ten minutes. It was Edey's first and only three-point attempt in his career and he missed it just long.

Despite Eastern Kentucky being the worst three-point defending team in the nation, Purdue didn't have a particularly fruitful game from three. Purdue shot 6 of 21 from the three-point line.

But from inside the arc, Zach Edey and company dominated. Purdue outscored Eastern Kentucky 46 to 18 in points in the paint.

Purdue also controlled the glass, out rebounding Eastern Kentucky 46-25.

Purdue will now move into the rest of its Big Ten schedule, heading to Maryland next week where it lost last season.

Long rumored, often-talked about, Zach Edey attempted his first three-point shot of his collegiate career with a little over one half of the second half to play. It was from the right corner, just in front of Purdue's bench, and looked good for a long time. A little too long, as it bounced just off the back of the rim and into the hands of Mason Gillis who gathered the miss and put it back in for two points.

With Big Ten play starting in earnest after Purdue's contest against Eastern Kentucky, it's unclear if Edey's green light will extend into conference play, so this might have been his one and only shot at it.

Purdue, showcasing its depth, also showcased its starting five's potential to score at every position.

Braden Smith and Lance Jones were the only two players to not get into double-digits, but Smith had 7 points on just 6 shots and Jones had 9 points on just 5 field goals.

Zach Edey had 13 points, Fletcher Loyer had 13 points, and Trey Kaufman-Renn had 10 points. No Boilermaker played more than 26 minutes with the game out of hand early in the second half.