WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Jaden Ivey scored 19 points, Trevion Williams had 13 points and 18 rebounds, and No. 2 Purdue held off a late Iowa rally to win 77-70 in the Big Ten opener for both teams.
Mason Gillis added 12 points off the bench for the Boilermakers (8-0).
With the win, Purdue will likely be the No. 1 team in the nation for the first time in school history when the polls are released next week.
Purdue took its largest lead of the game on a Jaden Ivey dunk with 9:54 left in the game to put the Boilermakers up by 19 points at 63-44. But the Hawkeyes chipped away at the lead, using a 26-5 run to close it to 70-68 with 3:08 to play.
However, the Boilermakers held the Hawkeyes scoreless over the final 2:33 to seal the win.
The Hawkeyes (7-1) were without leading scorer and rebounder Keegan Murray, who injured his ankle in Monday’s victory at Virginia. Murray is averaging 24.6 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. His twin brother, Kris Murray, started in his place.
Patrick McCaffery led Iowa with 15 points. Tony Perkins scored 14 and Murray 12 for Iowa.
Purdue's next game is Thursday, Dec. 9 at Rutgers.
