After a couple of challenging outings, Purdue basketball looked back to the dominant force it was to open the season.

In a last-second loss to Rutgers and overtime win vs. North Carolina State, Matt Painter’s squad struggled and looked out of synch a bit. Fortunately, the Boilermakers caught fire late vs. the Wolfpack and carried that into Saturday’s Crossroads Classic vs. Butler.

Purdue dominated almost from the jump and built an 18-point lead at halftime. After the break, the Boilermakers never slowed down, building a steady 30-point lead in the second half.

With a number of key players already sitting, Painter mercifully pulled the plug on the remaining reserves and emptied the bench with 2:19 left in the game. At that time, Purdue held a 77-44 lead. The final score would prove to 77-48, Boilermakers.

Jaden Ivey led all scorers with a brilliant 22 points on 7-for-10 shooting. Ivey was perfect from deep, shooting 6-for-6 from 3-point range. He rounded out that performance with 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal.

Trevion Williams – starting in place of Zach Edey for the day – finished with 10 points and 6 rebounds. Edey looked just fine coming off the bench, netting 14 points on 6-for-8 shooting. He completed the double-double with 11 rebounds and 2 blocks.

Purdue truly dismantled and shut down the Bulldogs while holding Butler to 32.2% shooting for the game. That included a 4-for-28 (14.3%) from 3-point range after falling in a big hole early.

Now at 10-1, Purdue will face Incarnate Word Monday evening for the final game before Christmas.