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This is the dynamic Jaden Ivey gives Purdue, the enhanced offensive ceiling that comes with high-end talent.
With Purdue’s normally reliable interior scoring largely neutralized by Northwestern Saturday — or by the Boilermakers’ ability to merely finish around the basket at times — Ivey was the difference, as the freshman scored a career-high 20 points in the Boilermakers’ 75-70 win over the Wildcats, who lost their ninth straight.
And Purdue needed pretty much all of those points after late lapses in-bounding the ball against pressure made this game interesting longer than it should have been.
“He gives you the ability to break people down, to create a shot for himself, to get to the rim,” Coach Matt Painter said of Ivey, who remained in the starting five and played even more minutes (36) with Sasha Stefanovic back from a three-game absence. “… And when you draw two to three people, just being under control, making that next play, it’s really going to benefit your team.”
That’s exactly what Ivey did to open the second half.
Northwestern made four threes in the final 2:32 before halftime to close the half on a 12-2 run, cutting a 13-point first half deficit to just three. After Pete Nance scored to open the second half, Purdue led by just one.
Ivey then ran off a ball screen at the offensive end, Northwestern over-committed to stopping him, freeing Mason Gillis to sneak in behind him for an open three. Shortly thereafter the same happened.
Both times, Ivey gave the ball up, and Gillis made the threes — he was 3-of-3 and scored 11 points — setting a tone for a second half in which the Boilermakers would keep Northwestern at bay start to finish, albeit sometimes in spite of themselves.
Two of the many occasions in which Northwestern had the game within five, Ivey drove to the basket for responses, including the bucket with two-and-a-half minutes left that preceded the sequence in which classmate Zach Edey — standing in for the foul-plagued Trevion Williams — put the game away.
Edey’s block of Ryan Young triggered a Boilermaker fast break and a dunk for Brandon Newman, two of his 10 points. That 64-55 lead was more than enough cushion, although the Mackey Arena crowd would have started to squirm in the final minute after back-to-back in-bound turnovers. You know, had there been a Mackey Arena crowd.
Ivey’s been trending upward lately, a double-digit scorer in four of Purdue’s last five games.
This was his best game of the season, by far. Maybe not his biggest moment — Ohio State won’t be easily unseated — but his biggest game.
“I was able to get in a flow offensively early,” Ivey said of a 16-point first half. “The last couple games, I wasn’t able to get in a flow in the first half. This game, it changed, and I was able to get in a flow.”
NO SURPRISES HERE
This is what Purdue has seen from Jaden Ivey, when healthy, ever since he got to West Lafayette.
“He’s always like that,” classmate Zach Edey said, “a guy who can go for 20 any game. … He’s pretty good at basketball.”
The season hasn’t been a straight line for the talented rookie, though. A foot problem set him back earlier this season, and he’s battled frustration at times due to what he’s called slumps as a shooter.
But lately, things are coming together more and more for him, whether that’s related to the increased opportunity that came with Stefanovic’s absence or not.
Ivey played almost 36 minutes Saturday afternoon and was the game’s dominant player, as both a scorer and facilitator, finishing with three assists to no turnovers, including those Gillis threes.
“He’s been doing it all year in practices and games,” Gillis said of Ivey’s play.
The highlight: In the first half, Ivey drove to the basket, but his shot was blocked. He picked himself up, sprinted down the floor to steal it back, then sprinted back up the floor and when no one stopped him, dunked it.
“I saw the dude, I saw his eyes, and I know he thought he was open,” Ivey said. “I was already running back on defense. I saw it and stole it. After I stole it, the floor was open and no one was guarding me. … No one stopped me at the basket so I took it and the rest is history.”
EDEY AND GILLIS COME UP BIG
Williams has been playing at a first-team All-Big Ten level, but Saturday, his eight points came against four fouls, denying him a chance to make the same level of impact.
In winning time late in the second half, Matt Painter could have gone back to him.
He didn’t, speaking to the effect freshman center Zach Edey had on this game.
Edey scored 12 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked four shots in 24 minutes.
The shot he blocked with a little more than two minutes left set up Newman’s dunk.
Soon after he made four free throws on as many tries — the 7-foot-4 rookie was 8-for-8 for the game — acting on this day as Purdue’s closer.
“It’s been a big part of my growth with my game,” Edey said of his foul shooting. “I’ve struggled a little lately with my free throws, so being able to knock those down and feeling confident at the line, that’s big for me.”
Gillis was equally perfect, only from a bit further out.
The Boilermaker forward made three of Purdue’s eight threes, doing so without a miss.
“I was just ready to shoot,” Gillis said. “I had my feet set and my hands ready. I was open on the indirect and (Ivey) delivered a couple of balls on the money and I was ready to shoot.”
STEFANOVIC PLAYS 14 MINUTES
In his return from COVID exile, Sasha Stefanovic carried 14 minutes.
All four of his points came from the foul line, and he recorded two steals.
“There’s no doubt it takes a little time, a little adjustment to come back,” Painter said. “This is great that he got a game under his belt.”
Ivey said Stefanovic’s leadership was welcomed back, and that the veteran’s productivity will follow.
“I can’t wait to see what Sasha’s gonna do next game,” Ivey said. “He’s gonna go off.”
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