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Purdue knocks off Minnesota, forces 3-way tie atop B1G standings

Dustin Schutte

By Dustin Schutte

Published:

There’s a three-way tie atop the B1G.

No. 17 Purdue defeated Minnesota 73-63 at Mackey Arena on Sunday, improving to 9-2 in B1G play this season, forcing a three-way tie atop the standings. The Boilermakers now own a share of the conference lead with Michigan and Michigan State.

Center Matt Haarms provided a huge spark for the Boilermakers off the bench, recording 15 points and eight rebounds while blocking several shots defensively. In scoring, Purdue was led by Carsen Edwards who had 17 and Trevion Williams had 16. Ryan Cline and Nojel Eastern both added 11 points.

Purdue jumped out to an early 8-0 lead early in the first half, but after a quick timeout, Minnesota was able to stay within striking distance the remainder of the half, and even took a 28-27 lead into the locker room after the first 20 minutes.

Minnesota came out firing on all cylinders in the second half, building a 13-point lead on the road at 47-34. Midway through the half though, the Boilers went on a 26-4 run, taking a nine-point lead with five minutes left.

The Gophers got the game within five points at 64-59, but that’s as close as Richard Pitino’s bunch would get.

Three Gophers scored in double figures, led by Amir Coffey who had 22 points. Daniel Oturu had 19 off the bench and Jordan Murphy had a double-double, totaling 10 points and 10 rebounds in the loss.

Purdue improved to 16-6 on the season, posting its seventh straight win by beating Minnesota. The Gophers are also 16-6 on the year by 6-5 in league play.

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB