Boo Buie scored 31 points and dished nine assists, and host Northwestern held on for a thrilling 92-88 overtime win against No. 1 Purdue in the Big Ten Conference opener for both teams on Friday night in Evanston, Ill.
Northwestern fans stormed the court after the victory, which marked the second time in less than 10 months that the Wildcats (6-1, 1-0) pulled off a home upset over the Boilermakers. Northwestern also beat then-No. 1 Purdue on Feb. 12 in Evanston.
Zach Edey scored 35 points and pulled down 14 rebounds to lead Purdue (7-1, 0-1). Fletcher Loyer added 17 points, and Braden Smith finished with 12.
Northwestern improved to 2-19 all-time against No. 1-ranked teams, with both victories coming against Edey and the Boilermakers.
Brooks Barnhizer made one of two free throws to give Northwestern an 88-86 lead with 25.2 seconds left in overtime. Purdue used a timeout to try to draw up a game-tying or game-winning shot.
Instead, Buie stole the ball on an attempted pass to Edey.
Buie drew a foul and went to the line with 13.9 seconds remaining. He sank both free throws to give Northwestern a 90-86 advantage.
Smith made two free throws for Purdue to cut the deficit to 90-88 with 8.6 seconds to go.
Ty Berry countered with two free throws with 6.1 seconds left to push the Wildcats’ lead to 92-88 and set the stage for another unlikely upset.
The Wildcats nearly won the game in regulation.
Buie made a running layup with 3.9 seconds to go to give Northwestern a 76-74 lead. Buie’s one-handed shot sent fans into delirium and prompted Purdue to call timeout.
Edey caught an inbounds pass inside the 3-point lane and Purdue used its final timeout with 2.7 seconds remaining.
The plan worked. Edey caught the next inbounds pass under the basket, planted his feet and went up for a layup to even the score at 76-76 with 0.7 seconds to go.
Purdue led by as many as 13 points in the first half. It carried a 40-32 lead into the break.
–Field Level Media
