No. 12 Purdue Vs. No. 1 Ohio State: Buckeyes Wallop Boilermakers At Home, 87-64

Purdue Vs. Ohio State Final Score: No. 1 Buckeyes Roll To 87-64 Win

In a game that was never close, the No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes took control early and easily dispatched the No. 12 Purdue Boilermakers, 87-64. Ohio State took a 46-26 lead into halftime, and maintained the advantage throughout. The Buckeyes shot 55.2 percent from the field, led by William Buford 19 points on 6-8 shooting, including 5-6 from three-point range.

Jared Sullinger started slow, finishing the first half with just four points, but poured it on in the second half, scoring 13 of his 17 points in the final 20 minutes. Jon Diebler added 14 points and never took a shot inside the arc, hitting 3-5 three-pointers. Deshaun Thomas and Aaron Craft came off the bench to score 13 and 11 points respectively.

JaJuan Johnson and E’Twaun Moore were the only sources of offense for the Boilermakers, combining to score 40 of Purdue’s 64 points. Johnson led the way with a game-high 24 points, with Moore adding another 16. Johnson also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. Terone Johnson had nine points off the bench as the third scoring option for the Boilermakers.

The Buckeyes showed why they’re the top-ranked team on Tuesday night and improved to a perfect 21-0 on the season. Purdue fell to 17-4 with the loss, its second in Big Ten play.

Purdue Vs. Ohio State: Buckeyes All Over Boilermakers At The Half, 46-26

The Ohio State Buckeyes jumped all over the Purdue Boilermakers on Tuesday night, taking a 46-26 lead into the half. The Buckeyes started the game on fire from the field and never cooled off, shooting 57.8 percent from the field for the half, including 66.6 percent from beyond the arc. Purdue, on the other hand, shot 38.5 percent, making only one of five attempts from beyond the arc.

The Buckeyes were led by Jon Diebler’s 10 points in the first half. Diebler took just four shots, making two, all of which were beyond the arc. Aaron Craft added another nine points off the bench, with David Lighty, William Buford and Deshaun Thomas each added seven points. Jared Sullinger had just four points in the first half as the Buckeyes spread the ball around and used a balanced scoring attack to bury the Boilermakers early.

Purdue’s JaJuan Johnson was the only Boilermaker to get anything going in the half, hitting 5-8 shots for 11 points. Johnson also led the team on the boards, grabbing five of Purdue’s 10 rebounds in the half. E’Twaun Moore added seven points on 1-7 shooting.

It’s all but over at the half in Columbus with the Buckeyes up 20 on the Boilermakers.

For more on this game visit Hammer And Rails or Along The Olentangy.

Purdue Vs. Ohio State Score: Aaron Craft And Buckeyes Running Away With It Early

Purdue Boilermakers basketball came into tonight’s game against the No. 1 Ohio St. Buckeyes with a lot to prove, having just pulled off its first win of the season over a ranked team. Playing a close one on the road against the nation’s top team would be another step in the right direction, but that hasn’t happened so far. The Bucks are up 26-9 with about nine minutes left in the first half.

Ohio State guard Aaron Craft leads all players in both points and rebounds, with seven and four respectively. He’s missed only one of his shots and pitched in an assist. I would mention a leading scorer for Purdue as well, but nobody’s hit more than one shot. Well, E’Twaun Moore made a three-pointer, so there you go.

The Buckeyes are shooting 58.8 percent to Purdue’s 35.7.

For more on this game visit Hammer And Rails or Along The Olentangy.

No. 12 Purdue Vs. No. 1 Ohio State: Boilermakers Continue Brutal Big Ten Schedule

GAME NOTES: The top-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes put their unblemished record on the line tonight, as they welcome the 12th-ranked Purdue Boilermakers to Value City Arena for a Big Ten Conference showdown.

Purdue is an impressive 17-3 on the season, and six of its seven conference games thus far have resulted in victories. The Boilermakers, who have a 4-2 record in true road games this season, have won back-to-back bouts against Penn State (63-62) and Michigan State (86-76) to build up a head of steam as they attempt to derail the No. 1 team in the land.

Ohio State is a perfect 20-0, giving head coach Thad Matta his 11th straight 20-win campaign. The Buckeyes are 14-0 at home, and they are 31-1 in Columbus over the past two seasons. Ironically, the lone loss in that span came against Purdue in a 60-57 final last year -- the Boilermakers' first win at Value City Arena in 10 tries. Ohio State won at Illinois this past Saturday, taking a 73-68 decision despite being outshot and outrebounded in the game.

The all-time series between these two conference rivals currently stands at 82-75 in favor of Purdue, and the Boilermakers have won three of the last four meetings.

Purdue continues to ride the coattails of arguably the best duo in the Big Ten in JaJuan Johnson and E'Twaun Moore, as they combine to average more than half (38.6 ppg) of the team's total scoring output on the season (75.0 ppg). They are the only two averaging double figures for the season, but two others, Ryne Smith and Lewis Jackson have joined them in conference games, netting 11.7 and 10.4 ppg, respectively in the seven league tilts played thus far. Moore poured in 26 points, and Johnson added 20 more in Purdue's 10-point win over Michigan State on Saturday. Jackson pitched in with a career-high 19 points for the Boilermakers, who shot 58 percent from the field against a group of Spartans who came into the clash allowing just 40 percent efficiency to the opposition for the season. Purdue drained 6-of-12 three-point attempts in the game, and a 22-10 edge in points from the foul line certainly played a role in the final outcome. The 76 points put up by MSU was something of an anomaly as the Boilermakers yield just 59.4 ppg on the year and had allowed an opponent to score in the 70s just one other time (70 points by Minnesota).

Led by freshman sensation Jared Sullinger (17.9 ppg, 10.2 rpg), Ohio State is hoping to run the table in the Big Ten and make a strong push toward a possible national title. Sullinger doesn't have to do it alone though, as the Buckeyes also get considerable contributions from guys like William Buford (13.4 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 3.4 apg), David Lighty (12.8 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.7 apg) and Jon Diebler (11.7 ppg). As a team, OSU is knocking down just shy of 50 percent of its total shots en route to 78.9 ppg. Diebler, Lighty and Buford are all shooting better than 40 percent from beyond the arc, helping the team knock down 40.2 percent of their shots from long range. When they have their backs to the basket, the Buckeyes yield a mere 57.2 ppg on typical shooting outputs of 41.3 percent overall and 31.9 percent on three-point attempts. OSU also owns favorable margins in rebounding (+5.4) and turnovers (+6.4). Sullinger put forth another stellar effort in the Buckeyes' recent win over Illinois, scoring 27 points and grabbing 16 rebounds, while Diebler tallied 15 points on the strength of a 3-of-5 showing from downtown. A commanding 24-8 edge in points from three free-throw line played a major role in Ohio State staying undefeated on the season.

Don't expect the Boilermakers to be intimidated in this matchup, as coach Matt Painter's club has the talent to knock off the Buckeyes in their own building for the second straight time. That said, expect Ohio State to get the job done as a balanced offensive attack will be the key.

GAME NOTES: The top-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes put their unblemished record on the line tonight, as they welcome the 12th-ranked Purdue Boilermakers to Value City Arena for a Big Ten Conference showdown.

FACTS & STATS: Site: Value City Arena (18,809) -- Columbus, Ohio. Television: ESPN. Home Record: Purdue 11-0, Ohio St. 14-0. Away Record: Purdue 4-2, Ohio St. 6-0. Neutral Record: Purdue 2-1, Ohio St. 0-0. Conference Record: Purdue 6-1, Ohio St. 7-0. Series Record: Purdue leads, 82-75.

Ohio State 72, Purdue 66