Rutgers 68, Purdue 96 | Quick Wrap | Statement Game

On a night where Purdue's offense couldn't miss, Rutgers stood no chance when Purdue's defense got going. Purdue knocked down 7 of 12 first half threes and had four double-digit scorers by half while Rutgers went the final 6:45 without a field goal and Purdue cruised by to a 96-68 victory.

#3 Purdue, coming off just its third loss of the season and first in ten games, didn't take long to re-establish itself as one of the best teams in the country. Early, it was its point guard, Braden Smith, scoring and creating against a Rutgers defense without Mawot Mag.

Smith drove and created a lay up for reigning National Player of the Year Zach Edey on the first possession, then put in a lay up and floater in following possessions. Purdue started shooting 4 of 4 from the floor, when Smith found Lance Jones on the wing for a three.

Smith helped account for the first 9 Purdue points, but wouldn't stop there.

His back to back pull ups would give Purdue a 17-12 lead just for Noah Fernandes to respond with his second three in the half off the bench. But as Fernandes turned to celebrate the shot, he stared at Purdue's bench and drew the first of two technical fouls in the first half.

For Purdue, its bench provided a spark early when Camden Heide hit the first of three three-pointers in the half.

But in similar fashion, Heide knocked down one of his threes in front of the Rutgers bench and when he turned slightly towards them, he was also whistled for a technical foul.

But Purdue was already soaring by that point, and its defense started to assert itself on Rutgers as Zach Edey made his presence known at the other end.

Rutgers finished the half 10 of 30 from the floor while Purdue shot 17 of 27.

Rutgers missed its final 8 shots and didn't score a field goal for the last 6:45 of the half.

Four Boilers scored in double figures in the first half.

Purdue was 11 of 12 from the free throw line and 7 of 12 from three.

The second half, Purdue extended the lead and dominated at all levels.

With more than 11 minutes left in the game, Zach Edey went to the bench with 25 points on 7 of 8 shooting, a perfect 11 for 11 from the line, and 7 rebounds for the night. Matt Painter wouldn't need to send his best player back out on the floor.

Purdue's lead would swell to 81-45 with more than eight minutes left after a Caleb Furst lay up.

Purdue's bench was good for all of this one after scoring just 4 points in Purdue's loss to Ohio State.

Purdue's bench scored 37 points.

If Camden Heide goes on to have a big final stretch to his redshirt freshman season, expect this to be the turning point game.

Heide was terrific from the jump, scoring a career-high 18 points on a perfect 7 of 7 from the floor.

Heide's three for three from three first half led to the freshman getting more minutes than normal. Heide produced in those minutes. He added a lay up at the rim after pump faking from the left corner and getting to the rim later in the first half.

Then he showed his burst and creativity at the rim in the second half, taking a late shot clock possession and driving by his man before finishing with an up and under reverse lay up. Then he knocked down his fourth three of the night after a Mason Gillis offensive rebound.

He added a block on the defensive end and a steal.

If his night wasn't going well enough, Heide got to throw in one more highlight play, finishing an Ethan Morton missed jumper by flushing the put back with a two-handed jam with a couple minutes remaining.

It looked like Purdue's offense was put on boosters early in the game with Smith pushing the pace and getting Purdue quicker into its sets and attacking in transition. The two stars for Purdue both shined against one of the best defenses teams in the country.

Smith had 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists in 31 minutes of action.

Zach Edey got to take a little easy, playing just 27 minutes and putting up 25 points to go with 7 rebounds a game after setting the All-Time rebounding record at Purdue.

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