Freshman Jaden Ivey Leads No. 24 Purdue Boilermakers to 75-70 Victory over Northwestern Wildcats

by Gabrielle Kraus, Feb. 7, 2021

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. –– Purdue freshman guard Jaden Ivey leads the Boilermakers to a 75-70 victory over the Northwestern Wildcats, securing coach Matt Painter’s 350th win with the Boilers.

Ivey put up an impressive 20 points, nailing down two 3s and a dunk off of a fast break late in the first half. Freshman teammate Zach Edey put it best, saying Ivey “is always like that, he’s a guy who can go for 20 every game. He’s a big time scoring threat. … He’s a complete player, he’s pretty good at basketball.”

Edey also showed up to play a competitive game, getting his first career double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

As a team, the Boilermakers were nearly perfect from the line, shooting 23-24. “It’s a great feeling when you’re knocking down all your free throws, making your opponent pay for fouling you,” says Painter.

Although No. 24 Purdue (13-7, 8-5 Big Ten) was able to hold off their unranked opponent in Northwestern (6-10, 3-9), the game was much closer than expected. The Boilermakers were up by 13 with 2:53 left in the first half, yet Northwestern cut that lead to 3 by the end of the half. The team drained four 3s, with sophomore guard Chase Audige making two of them.

“They’re a good shooting team, they have some guys that could knock down some shots,” says Painter of his opponent. Both teams came out strong in the second half with their shooting. Any Northwestern basket was quickly answered by a Purdue basket, keeping it at most a two possession game until Purdue guard Sasha Stefanovic made two free throws, dragging out the Boilermaker lead to 7.

Last night’s game was Stefanovic’s first since the Boilermakers played Ohio State on Jan. 19. He was 0-4 for field goals, a statistic that is very unusual for a player like Stefanovic. However, Painter is confident he will deliver soon, saying “It’s kind of what happens. I’ve rarely been around guys that have been out because of injury, and this is obviously different because of COVID, that they come back and they shoot the ball well.”

Up Next

Northwestern: vs. Indiana 2/10

Purdue: @ Minnesota 2/11

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Image shot by Jacob Hosteter

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