Ohio State 82, [8] Purdue 74 (Postgame Notes)
- Purdue lost its second straight game, falling to Ohio State 82-74 in Columbus, Ohio, on Sunday afternoon.
- The Boilermakers fell to 22-7 overall and 12-6 in the Big Ten Conference with the setback.
- Ohio State has defeated Purdue three straight times for the first time since the Buckeyes won six straight from Feb. 7, 2012, to March 13, 2014.
- Purdue is now just 5-16 all-time in Value City Arena and 3-7 as a ranked team in Value City Arena.
- Purdue was outrebounded 36-29 and had just 10 free throw attempts to Ohio State’s 32 – a season high in attempts for an opponent.
- The 32 free throw attempts by Ohio State equal the most for an opponent since Rutgers shot 36 on Jan. 28, 2020.
- Purdue’s bench scored just five points with seven rebounds, shooting 2-of-10 from the field. The five points were Purdue’s fewest off the bench since scoring four against Penn State on Jan. 10, 2026. It marked only the second time this season that Purdue was held under 10 points off the bench.
- Opponents have shot over 50.0 percent from the field in each of the last four games, combining to go 107-of-205 (.522) from the field in that span.
- Purdue is averaging just 6.6 turnovers per game over the last five contests.
- Purdue is shooting 53-of-128 (.414) from 3-point range over the last five games.
- Braden Smith scored 20 points with seven assists and two steals, surpassing 1,800 career points in the contest. He needs four points to move into the top 10 on the Purdue career scoring list.
- Smith’s seven assists give him 1,011 assists, moving past LIU Brooklyn’s Jason Brickman into fourth place on the NCAA’s career assists chart.
- Fletcher Loyer went 5-of-9 from 3-point range, scoring 15 points with four rebounds and two assists. Loyer now has 274 career 3-pointers, needing eight to pass Carsen Edwards for the school’s career 3-pointers made record.
- Purdue lost for the first time in Fletcher Loyer’s career when he makes four or more 3-pointers, falling to 23-1 when that happens.
- Since February 1, Fletcher Loyer is 29-of-59 (.492) from 3-point range.
- Trey Kaufman-Renn scored 19 points with nine rebounds on 8-of-12 shooting. Over the last five games, TKR is averaging 17.6 points and 9.0 rebounds on 37-of-64 (.578) shooting from the field.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — John Mobley Jr. scored 21 points to lead Ohio State to an 82-74 win over No. 8 Purdue on Sunday.
A crowd that included a loud contingent of Boilermakers fans watched the Buckeyes revive their fading NCAA Tournament hopes and beat Purdue for the third time in a row.
Purdue (22-7, 12-6 Big Ten) led by as many as seven in the first half, but Ohio State (18-11, 10-8) used a 14-3 run to open up a 23-19 lead on Amare Bynum’s 3-pointer with 6:44 to go.
The Buckeyes led by five at the half despite Purdue making 8 of 14 from 3-point range, a deficit Ohio State made up at the free-throw line. The Buckeyes made 8 of 11 from the charity stripe while Purdue was 1 for 2.
Ohio State took a 16-point lead on a pair of free throws by Devin Royal with 7:41 to go in the second half.
Purdue went on a 12-2 run to get within six, but Bynum hit a 3-pointer and Royal added a put-back slam to stop the bleeding and put the Buckeyes back up 11.
Thornton finished with 20 points while Bynum added 14 points and Royal finished with 12.
Braden Smith scored 20 to lead Purdue while Fletcher Loyer added 15.
Trey Kaufman-Renn had 19 points and was Purdue’s main offensive weapon in the second half as the Boilermakers went cold from the outside. They were 3 for 15 from beyond the arc in the second half, including one by Loyer just before the buzzer after OSU fans had started to celebrate.