Fletcher Loyer, Braden Smith shoot Purdue basketball over No. 1 Arizona

INDIANAPOLIS − Tommy Lloyd had a plan to limit Zach Edey.

Against Purdue basketball, you pick your poison and Arizona's coach threw his tandem of 7-footers at Edey.

Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith made the Wildcats pay.

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Purdue's sophomore guard duo combined for 53 points in the third-ranked Boilermakers' 92-84 win over top-ranked Arizona at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

The Wildcats (8-1) used an 11-0 run in the second half to narrow a 15-point lead to four, but could get no closer.

It marks Purdue's first win over the No. 1 team since beating, coincidentally, Arizona in Indianapolis in 2000. Loyer, Smith and Edey became the first Purdue trio with 20 points each in a game since the Boilers' Jaden Ivey, Sasha Stefanovic and Trevion Williams all did so in a win against North Carolina in November 2021.

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It was over when

The Boilermakers (10-1) had gone 8:25 without a field goal before Edey put back a missed Loyer one-hand floater. That came with 6:44 to go.

With the lid lifted off the rim, Edey scored again, followed by 3s from Lance Jones and Smith that took Arizona out of its zone defense that had baffled Purdue. When Edey scored with 3:35 to go, putting Purdue ahead 83-73, the place came unglued as the Boilers were clearly in control.

Jones shut the door, scoring a conventional three-point play when he was fouled on a fastbreak layup with seven seconds left.

3 stars

Fletcher Loyer, Purdue: Loyer had those Maui Invitational semifinal vs. Tennessee vibes. By halftime, he'd ripped Arizona for 18 points and matched his career-high from that Nov. 21 game with 27 points on Saturday. And just as was the case against the Volunteers, it was Loyer's active defense that set him apart.

Braden Smith, Purdue: Back-to-back big scoring games on neutral courts. Smith had 26 and shot 15 times. In the last two games, Smith has taken 35 field goal attempts and Purdue won both in high-scoring affairs. It is the only two times Smith has attempted more than 13 shots in his career.

Zach Edey, Purdue: Credit the Wildcats for doing a good job on Edey, probably better than anyone else this season. That just goes to tell you how good Edey is. Purdue's 7-foot-4 center still ended up with 22 points, 9 rebounds and a career-high 5 assists.

Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @samueltking.

Purdue stats vs. Arizona

No. 4 Purdue 92, No. 1 Arizona 84

ARIZONA (8-1): Johnson 8-13 6-7 24, Ballo 6-9 1-2 13, Boswell 3-9 0-0 6, Larsson 5-7 0-0 10, Love 9-19 7-7 29, Lewis 0-2 0-0 0, Bradley 0-1 0-0 0, Krivas 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 32-62 14-16 84.

PURDUE (10-1): Kaufman-Renn 2-3 0-0 4, Edey 8-15 6-9 22, Jones 3-9 2-5 9, Loyer 11-18 0-0 27, Smith 9-15 4-4 26, Gillis 1-2 0-0 2, Morton 0-1 0-1 0, C.Furst 1-2 0-0 2, Heide 0-0 0-0 0, Colvin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 35-65 12-19 92.

Halftime—Purdue 49-38. 3-Point Goals_Arizona 6-16 (Love 4-9, Johnson 2-2, Lewis 0-1, Boswell 0-4), Purdue 10-24 (Loyer 5-9, Smith 4-7, Jones 1-6, C.Furst 0-1, Gillis 0-1). Rebounds_Arizona 26 (Johnson 8), Purdue 31 (Edey 9). Assists_Arizona 24 (Larsson 6), Purdue 22 (Edey 5). Total Fouls_Arizona 19, Purdue 14.