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Undaunted by his introduction to Big Ten basketball, Carsen Edwards buried a three, dunked off a steal, then buried another three.
The Boilermaker freshman did it all in the span of less than two minutes.
Vincent Edwards later had a message for his namesake: "You're a bad man."
And in part because of him, 15th-ranked Purdue looked like a bad team Wednesday night, routing Iowa 89-67 to open conference play.
After Carsen Edwards spotted the Boilermakers an 8-0 lead, Dakota Mathias and Purdue's corps of shooters took it from there, netting five of their first seven threes and making 10 as part of a first half in which the home team opened up a robust lead in what seemed like an instant, leading by as many as 26 before halftime.
Mathias scored 16 of his 17 points in the first half, while contributing primarily to neutralizing Big Ten leading scorer Peter Jok in the decisive first half. Jok scored 13 points - he averages better than 23 - but did it on 4-of-15 shooting and only two of those points came in the first half.
While Purdue was holding down the Big Ten's top scorer, its own high-powered offense came to the forefront. It didn't matter in the first half that Player-of-the-Year frontrunner Caleb Swanigan was just 1-for-5 from the floor (though he'd finish with 11 points and 10 rebounds) or Isaac Haas barely played because of foul trouble; the perimeter corps carried this interior-driven team.
"They were really keying on Isaac and Biggie down low, especially in the first half," Mathias said. "When the ball was on one side of the floor, the weak-side guy was always in the paint. We did a good job moving the ball and finding that open guy."
Purdue led by 24 at halftime.
It probably brought back memories.
This is a different Purdue team from last season - a better one, Hawkeye coach Fran McCaffery said - and a very different Iowa team, having replaced so many key seniors with so many green freshmen.
Nevertheless, it was around a year ago at this time that Purdue built a big lead on these Hawkeyes, then wilted under the pressure of their full-court trapping and pressing.
Iowa tried it again, as it would have been crazy not to, considering the bleak reality the scoreboard reflected.
There were some uncertain moments on Purdue's part and a few turnovers even, but never anything close to a threat to its claim on the outcome.
"I thought they were great," Painter said. "We had a couple (issues) there in the second half, but we've handled the press great the whole season. We've had (only) a couple turnovers. Our guys have really done a great job."
In the second half, it was quite a luxury for Purdue, too, to have a 7-foot-2, 290-pounder to throw the ball to - and a well-rested one at that, after Haas played just four first-half minutes - against Iowa's young and undersized post players. The Boilermakers salted the game away by feeding Haas, who scored 14 of his 16 points after halftime to keep Iowa at arm's length, and then some.
Purdue's shooting certainly helped.
"I think it opened (the post) up," Painter said.
From the moments Carsen Edwards opened Big Ten play with authority, en route to a game-high 19 points, to the final horn, Purdue was barely touched in what it hopes will go down as the first step toward a championship.
"I liked our maturity and our energy to come out that first game trying to make a statement," said Vincent Edwards, who finished with 15 points, seven rebounds, five assists, two blocks and two steals. "Then, showing that maturity of being up at the half, then not letting up, playing with that same energy. If we can keep that up throughout the Big Ten, I think it's going to be a really good year for us."
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