Lance Jones had 20 points and Zach Edey a double-double as second-ranked Purdue held off No. 6 Wisconsin 75 to 69 for the Big Ten lead. Edey had a game-high 13 rebounds. He scored 13 of his 18 points in the second half for Purdue.
Braden Smith added 19 points and Fletcher Loyer 12 for the Boilermakers, who led the entire second half to retain the top spot with their seventh straight win.
Tyler Wahl had a season-high 20 points for Wisconsin in which lost its second straight game. AJ Storr had 14 points, while Max Klesmit added 10 for Wisconsin, which was 3 for 19 from 3-point range, including 0 for 11 in the second half.
Purdue, which scored 34 points in the paint, also had 42-29 edge on the boards, including 14 offensive rebounds and 21 second-chance points.
Wisconsin hit 4 of 5 shots to get within 52-49, but Jones’ 3-pointer from the top put Purdue up 55-49. Purdue hit only one of its next six shots, as Wisconsin pulled within 59-57 on a second-chance layup by Wahl.
Purdue is 21-2 overall and 10-2 in the Big Ten. Wisconsin is 16-6 overall and 8-3 in Big Ten play.
Photo Credit – Andy Manis, AP
