No. 3 Purdue made its case to return to the top of the polls in college basketball as the Boilermakers outlasted No. 1 Arizona 92-84 on Saturday in Indianapolis to improve to 5-0 in Quad 1 games. The trio of Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer and Zach Edey combined for 75 points as the Boilermakers built a 15-point lead and then withstood a charge from the Wildcats.
Arizona drew within four on a pair of occasions late in the second half before running out of gas and suffering its first loss of the season. Caleb Love led the Wildcats with 29 points and Keshad Johnson added 24, but they couldn't overcome the barrage brought by Purdue's sophomore guards.
The duo of Smith and Loyer combined for 32 points in the first half and scored 14 of Purdue's first 18 points in the second half as the Boilermakers extended their lead to 67-52 with 15:09 remaining. Collectively, the tandem took some pressure off star center Zach Edey.
But once the Wildcats found their footing and rallied, Purdue needed Edey to slam the door. During a long offensive lull for the Boilermakers in the second half, the 7-foot-4 reigning national player of the year accounted for eight straight points for his team.
While the trio of Smith, Loyer and Edey carried the Boilermakers, Lance Jones provided some late punch. The Southern Illinois transfer hit a clutch 3-pointer with 4:21 remaining to make it 81-73. He then converted a 3-point play with 7 seconds left to put the Boilermakers ahead 92-84.