Boilers stunned by Buckeyes 73-70 to snap 26-game home streak

Purdue fans left Mackey Arena disappointed after a meltdown they hadn’t seen at home in a long time as the Boilers lost 73-70. It was a stunning loss at home to one Ohio State Buckeyes team that, while better than their record had indicated, should not have beaten this Purdue team. This is the first home loss for Purdue of any capacity since the 2023 season where Indiana Hoosiers blew out the boilers.

The game started well for Purdue as the defense once again made their opponent uncomfortable and forced OSU into tough shots. Early on, the Buckeyes weren’t hitting those shots and Purdue was largely unable to capitalize again with poor offense to start the game. TKR was able to easily get to its spots and score off its short throws, but Purdue again had almost a second half where they were unable to hit a three. Had it not been for a scramble three just before the half by Gicarri Harris, it would have been a different reality.

Braden Smith started strong for the Boilers, who controlled the offense, but picked up his first real foul trouble of the game when he picked up his second with 13:06 left in the first half. That put CJ Cox right in the crosshairs and he responded by getting an ‘And 1’ bucket en route to 9 points in the first half.

The push was a welcome sight as the Boilers actually extended their lead from 14-9 to 25-11 when he returned with 6:57 left in the first half. From there, the Boilers would continue to push their lead after TKR had a pair of free throws with just 24 seconds left in the half to push their lead to 16 at 41-25. Unfortunately, the Buckeyes would grab back the momentum heading to the locker room with a last second three from Bruce Thornton, who the Boilers held to just 11 points on 3-7 shooting, but he was able to generate 5 assists.

The made three seemingly gave the Buckeyes the push they needed as they came out to start the second half on a 17-2 run to take a 45-43 lead with 15:10 left. A massive shift in momentum that really spanned both halves for a 20-2 run, probably one of the worst runs Purdue has given up this season. It was a run that highlighted a hot shooting half in which the Buckeyes went 16-24 (66.7%) and 8-12 from behind the arc, and one in which Purdue couldn’t seem to get the stops it needed to shift momentum.

Purdue was able to counterpunch again with a 9-0 run of their own to take a 59-53 lead that was capped by another Harris three pointer from the left corner with 7:22 left. From there, it was another big Buckeye 15-0 run to take a 68-59 lead with just 2:42 left, and by then Purdue was in full scramble mode that saw them pull to within 1 point , before Mobley was able to strike. an open jumper. It was a deflating moment when the Boilers had finally put a stop together and they just weren’t able to recover.

TKR had another big day with 26 points on 11-16 shooting along with 7 rebounds, but it was the shooting struggles of Smith and Loyer, especially in the second half where the guard duo went just 5-17. Smith and Loyer chipped in 12 and 15, respectively, but got next to nothing from any other players as Heide, Colvin, Burgess and Furst all combined to go just 0-4 and 6 rebounds.

This isn’t a game that will put Purdue at risk of missing the NCAA Tournament as they continue to have one of the strongest resumes in the country, but it certainly makes winning the regular season B1G title incredibly difficult. The Boilers fall to 15-5, but 7-2 and get Michigan at home on Friday in a game they likely need to win to keep their hopes of a conference title and a top 3 seed in tact.