It’s been a long time since the Purdue Boilermakers played a string of three straight road games against opponents ranked in the nation’s top 15. But after facing their third of the three on Saturday night, against No. 15 Illinois, they fared no better than in 1989, the last time it happened.
The Fighting Illini (8-3) defeated the Boilermakers, 66-58, at State Farm Center in Champaign. In ‘89, Purdue lost to Ohio State (15), Indiana (13) and Michigan (13) in three straight on the road.
Less than five minutes into the second half, Purdue (7-5) grabbed its biggest lead, 39-33, after starting out the half with a 16-0 run. At the end of the first half, Aaron Wheeler connected on a three-pointer to cut the Illini’s halftime advantage to ten, 33-23. But Illinois responded with a 20-5 run of its own, after Purdue built its lead, to take command in the game.
“When we got in that run, our execution was better, and with everything it helps when the ball goes in,” said coach Matt Painter following the game, “And then we started turning the ball over again and so we weren’t giving ourselves as many cracks at it because we were turning the ball over.”
The Illini grabbed the lead for good at the 12:50 mark, 43-42, on a layup by Kofi Cockburn, who led them in scoring with 14 points. During the Illini’s run, freshman point guard Andre Curbelo sparked it with four of his eight points on the night, a steal and two of his six assists.
Curbelo’s only steal of the game led to his slam dunk on the other end. In all, the Illini forced 14 turnovers by the Boilermakers and converted them into 17 points.
Boilermaker co-scoring leaders, junior Trevion Williams and freshman Brandon Newman who each scored 14, combined to account for 13 of Purdue’s 16 points during its run to open the second half. But they couldn’t keep the momentum going down the stretch.
The Boilermakers were looking for their first win over a top-15 team on the road since 2012.
Purdue has not beaten a top 15 team on the road since 2012, but the Boilers will welcome Nebraska for its first home game since Christmas. Then it’s back on the road against, you guessed it, another ranked opponent when they travel to No. 17 Michigan State.
