Using an 87-64 loss in Columbus on January 25th as motivation, the Purdue Boilermakers fed off a raucous Mackey Arena crowd and posted an impressive win over a suddenly reeling Ohio State team.
The primary reason for the 36-point turnaround between the 2 games was E'Twaun Moore. Moore, the Boilermakers' senior shooting guard, scored a career-high 38 points, and his stretch of 13 consecutive points at the end of the 1st half swung the momentum to Purdue.
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| Moore reacts after scoring 3 of his 38 points |
The Boilers' stingy defense forced 18 turnovers and never allowed Ohio State to enter into any offensive rhythm, especially following halftime.
Even though Purdue largely dominated the 2nd stanza, the Buckeyes were still able to pull within 4 at the game's 2:37 mark. However, the Boilermakers closed the contest on an 11-2 run, much to the delight of the 14,123 fans in attendance.
One of the keys to Purdue's surprising victory was Ohio State's foul trouble. William Buford and Jared Sullinger each missed large portions of the 1st half due to early foul difficulties, and Dallas Lauderdale had more fouls (4) than points (0) and rebounds (2) combined. What went right for the Buckeyes can be summed up in 1 compound sentence. Jon Diebler broke the Big Ten's career 3-point record, and Sullinger scored 25 points. Despite the defeat, OSU still leads Purdue by 1 win in the conference standings.
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