The Boilermakers move up to No. 12 in Saturday’s CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 after steamrolling over the Wolverines
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Last time out, earlier this week, Purdue’s 26-game winning streak inside Mackey Arena was snapped.
How would the Boilermakers respond?
That was the question heading into Friday night’s game with Michigan. We got our answer quickly when Purdue jumped to a 13-2 lead that ballooned to 29-9 (and then 44-15) in an eventual 91-64 victory over the Wolverines. It was a blowout from start to finish. The Boilermakers led wire-to-wire.
“I thought the difference in the game was having them at 29-9, and then, they never really got back to where the game was … down 10, down 12,” said Purdue coach Matt Painter. “I thought our ball-pressure [was great]. I thought C.J. set the tone.”
C.J. is C.J. Cox, a 6-foot-3 freshman who got the eighth start of his career against Michigan and finished with 11 points and three steals in 19 minutes while playing a notable role in causing the Wolverines to turn the ball over 22 times. Braden Smith headlined things with 24 points, 10 assists and four steals. Trey Kaufman-Renn added 15 points and two steals.
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Gary Parrish
Purdue is up to No. 12 in Saturday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, which caused Mississippi State to be pushed down one spot, no fault of its own. The Boilermakers are now 16-5 overall, 8-2 in the Big Ten, alone in second in the league standings, two games back of Michigan State in the loss column. Michigan is down to No. 21 in the Top 25 And 1 and is now 14-5 overall and 6-2 in the Big Ten — but just 1-2 in its past three games.
