Purdue Falls To Illinois Amid Poor Shooting Performance

The Purdue men’s basketball team are ranked in the Top 25 rankings because of a top-ranked defense that has stopped almost every team that has crossed their path. This was not the case yesterday during their Big Ten matchup against the Illinois Fighting Illini, losing 84-70 in a game that could have been easily won by the ranked No. 20 Boilermakers.

The Illini had two juniors in Malcolm Hill and Kendrick Nunn score in double-digits with 30 and 22 points, respectively. Teamwise, Illinois had a 54 percent shooting percentage from the field while Purdue only had a dismal 35 percent shooting percentage. “If you can slow one of them down, I thought we would be in pretty good shape,” Purdue head coach Matt Painter said. “We just got beat tonight.”

It was a tie game of 37-37 at halftime before Nunn scored a quick nine-unanswered points and Purdue could never catch up after that. Purdue forward Caleb Swanigan and guard P.J. Thompson both had 12 points each, while the Illinois defensive stance in Michael Finke and Maverick Morgan held Purdue big men A.J. Hammons and Isaac Haas to a combined 16 points.

It was a big win for the Illini because if they were to lose, they would have been 0-4 in Big Ten play, their first time since the 2007-08 season. On the other hand, this was the Boilermakers’ first road loss of the season. The next game for each team will have Purdue hosting Penn State on Wednesday while Illinois will host Nebraska on Saturday.

PHOTO: CHAMPAIGN, IL – MARCH 4: Kendrick Nunn #25 of the Illinois Fighting Illini handles the ball against Nik Stauskas #11 and Zak Irvin #21 of the Michigan Wolverines during the game at State Farm Center on March 4, 2014 in Champaign, Illinois. Michigan defeated Illinois 84-53. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)

Article by Ryan Kappy