INDIANAPOLIS — Jaden Ivey scored 17 points and Zach Edey had 15 to lead No. 9 Purdue past Penn State 69-61 in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals Friday night.
The third-seeded Boilermakers will face seventh-seeded Michigan State in Saturday’s semifinals.
Brandon Newman, who had been out of the rotation and hadn’t played since Feb. 10, added 12 points for the Boilermakers (26-6).
Jalen Pickett scored 16 points and John Harrar had 15 points and 12 rebounds for No. 11 seed Penn State (14-17).
Hunter sank a 3-pointer to push Purdue’s lead to 56-44 with 8:11 left, but couldn’t pull away. Penn State cut the deficit to four points at 58-54 with a 10-2 run. The lead eventually shrunk to 62-61 before Purdue scored the last seven points.
Purdue shot 50%, while Penn State shot 41%.
The Boilermakers rebounded from a sluggish start to take a 35-31 lead at halftime. Trailing 24-15 with seven minutes left, Purdue closed the half by outscoring Penn State 20-7. Newman scored seven first-half points for the Boilermakers.
The Nittany Lions scored 10 unanswered points to take a 12-2 lead early.
As the No. 3 seed, Purdue is the only one of the top four seeds to advance. It’s the first time both of the top seeds have been knocked out before the semifinals. No. 5 seed Iowa will meet No. 9 seed Indiana in the other semifinal.
BIG PICTURE
Penn State: The Nittany Lions gained some momentum for the future with a spirited performance against Purdue and two tournament wins.
Purdue: If Purdue and Indiana both advance, it would be the first all-Indiana championship game. The Boilermakers had trouble putting away Penn State, which has been an issue in recent games.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
If Purdue remains in the top 10 likely depends on how it fares against Michigan State in semifinals.
UP NEXT
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