Fans stormed the Bryce Jordan Center court in celebration of Penn State’s 81-70 victory over No. 8 Purdue on Thursday night. And for good reason. The Nittany Lions hadn’t beaten a top-10 opponent since 2019. And they didn’t just beat the Boilermakers. They dominated them on both sides of the ball to move to 8-1 on the year, the team’s best start in a decade.
Ace Baldwin Jr. led the way with 17 points and six assists, Freddie Dilione scored 14 points, Puff Johnson tallied 13 points and five rebounds, Nick Kern Jr. added 12 points and eight assists and Zach Hicks scored 11 points, giving Penn State five total players in double-digit scoring figures.
Led by Johnson’s four steals, which tied a career-high, Penn State scored an eye-opening 32 points off of 24 forced turnovers. The Nittany Lions took advantage of increased offensive opportunities, shooting 49% from the field and hitting 7-of-18 attempts from beyond the 3-point line.
Penn State led by as much as 27 points in the second half.
Without a viable big man, Purdue struggled to keep up with the relentless Nittany Lions, who grabbed 27 total rebounds and weren’t blocked once. This aggression was also evident on the offensive end, as they consistently drew fouls and made 28 of their 32 free-throw attempts.
The Boilermakers entered Thursday’s game with two ranked wins, over No. 10 Alabama and No. 23 Ole Miss, already under their belt. To knock off last year’s national runner-up and do so in blowout fashion should certainly help Penn State’s resume as it looks to return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in two seasons.
The Nittany Lions will hit the road on Tuesday for a game against a revamped Rutgers squad, led by freshmen Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey, that has lost three of its last four contests.
