PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) — Zach Edey had 26 points and 12 rebounds and became the sixth player in Big Ten Conference history to score 2,000 points and grab 1,000 boards in leading No. 2 Purdue to a tough 68-60 victory over Rutgers on Sunday. Braden Smith had his best game in a month and added 19 points to help the Boilermakers (19-2, 8-2) win their fifth straight game and end a three-game losing streak at Jersey Mike’s Arena. It was only their third win over Rutgers (10-9, 2-6) in the last eight meetings overall. Aundre Hyatt had 15 points and Cliff Omoruyi 13 for Scarlet Knights.
UNDATED (AP) — Fans storming the court after big wins in college basketball and the safety risks associated with that have received more scrutiny in the week since Iowa star Caitlin Clark collided with an Ohio State fan after the Buckeyes’ upset of the Hawkeyes in Columbus. There have been at least six more instances since the Clark incident on Jan. 21 and ESPN analyst Jay Bilas on Saturday called for an end to the tradition. Bilas wrote in a text message to The Associated Press that court storming will continue but that it is inevitable someone will get hurt.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Rebeka Mikulasikova scored 15 points, Cotie McMahon was two assists shy of a triple-double and No. 12 Ohio State held on to defeat Purdue 71-68. The Buckeyes only trailed once, for 16 seconds early in the third quarter. Their biggest lead was nine after the first basket of the fourth quarter but they didn’t secure their seventh straight win until the very end. Jacy Sheldon and Taylor Thierry made a pair of free throws at 16 and 10 seconds, respectively, for a 71-65 lead. Abbey Ellis then drilled a 3-pointer for Purdue. After Ohio State’s Celeste Taylor missed two free throws with six seconds to go, the Boilermakers, without a timeout, couldn’t get a good final look. Ellis scored 14 points for Purdue
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Mackenzie Holmes had 27 points and 11 rebounds, six Indiana players scored in double figures and the No. 14 Hoosiers routed Northwestern 100-59. Yarden Garzon scored 15 points, Sara Scalia 11 and Chloe Moore-McNeil 10 for the Hoosiers. Off the bench, Lilly Meister scored 13 and Lenee Beaumont added 11 points. Melannie Daley had 16 points off the bench to top Northwestern and Caroline Lau scored 12. Indiana led 50-24 at halftime, then hit 10 of 12 shots to open the third quarter. The onslaught included seven layups by the Hoosiers and they went on to lead 75-30 heading to the fourth quarter. Indiana’s lead reached 50 points three separate times in the final period.
