[1] Purdue 83, [9] Illinois 78 (Postgame Notes)
• No. 1-ranked Purdue improved to 14-1 overall and 3-1 in the Big Ten Conference with an 83-78 win over No. 9-ranked Illinois at Mackey Arena. The win was Purdue’s seventh straight win overall and fourth straight against the Illini.
• Purdue’s 14-1 start through 15 games marks its second straight 14-1 start and matches the best 15-game start in school history (done five other times 2021-22, 2010-11, 2009-10, 1993-94, 1987-88).
• Purdue improved to 6-4 all-time in top-10 matchups at Mackey Arena. The contest was the first top-10 game in Mackey Arena since Jan. 1, 2010, vs. West Virginia.
• Head coach Matt Painter improved to 9-4 all-time in top-10 matchups, including 4-0 this year (wins over No. 7 Tennessee, No. 4 Marquette, No. 1 Arizona and No. 9 Illinois).
• Purdue is now 43-7 over its last 50 games, tied for the best record in a 50-game stretch in school history (started with first game of 2022-23 season).
• Purdue is now 15-5 all-time as the nation’s No. 1-ranked team.
• The win was Purdue’s 11th victory against a quad-1, 2 or 3 opponent, including its nation’s-best fifth quad-1 win. Only one team, Colorado State, has even nine wins against the top-3 quads.
• Purdue is 5-0 against nationally-ranked teams this year and has the third-most wins over nationally-ranked teams since the start of the 2017-18 season (33).
• Purdue has five wins over teams ranked in the AP Top 11. No other team has more than two victories.
• Purdue owns the nation’s best winning percentage over nationally-ranked teams since the start of the 2021-22 season (14-5; .737).
• The victory was Purdue’s 10th straight in the month of January, tied for the fourth-longest streak in the country.
• Illinois entered the game ranked seventh nationally in rebound margin. Purdue outrebounded the Illini by 15 (43-28).
• Purdue is 18-of-39 (.462) from 3-point range in the last two games.
• With the win, Purdue has taken over the league’s best record over the last four years (start of 2020-21 season) from Illinois (Purdue 45-18; Illinois 44-19).
• Purdue is now 80-3 since the start of the 2017-18 season when scoring 80 or more points.
• Zach Edey recorded his 48th career double-double with 10 points, 15 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocked shots. He notched his 66th consecutive game scoring in double-figures.
• Edey became the second player in school history (Joe Barry Carroll) and 17th Big Ten player to surpass the 1,000-rebound mark for his career. Edey now has 1,006 career rebounds.
• Trey Kaufman-Renn was one point shy of a career high, scoring 23 points with four rebounds and two assists. Kaufman-Renn was 8-of-12 from the field and 6-of-7 from the free throw line.
• Over the last four games, Kaufman-Renn is averaging 12.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists, while shooting 19-of-31 (.613) from the field, 3-of-5 (.600) from long range and 10-of-12 (.833) from the free throw line.
• Braden Smith scored 14 points with six rebounds and six assists for his eighth game this year of at least 10 points, five rebounds and five assists – the second-highest total in the country (Western Carolina’s Vonterius Woolbright – 9).
• Lance Jones tied his season high with 17 points.