PORTLAND, Ore. — Purdue’s combination of big man Zach Edey and the shooters surrounding him solved whatever defense Duke threw at the Boilermakers on Sunday.
Led by Edey’s 21 points, No. 24 Purdue led by as many as 18 points in the first half before rolling to a 75-56 win over the eighth-ranked Blue Devils in the Phil Knight Legacy tournament championship game at Moda Center.
Duke’s man-to-man defense had made it one of the stingiest teams in the country, allowing 54.4 points per game, this season.
Purdue (6-0), though, had a unique weapon in the 7-4 Edey, whose production in the first half caused Duke to switch to a zone defense in the second half. That zone had the desired impact at first as Purdue scored on just two of 12 possessions, allowing Duke to slice a 17-point deficit to 62-55 with 9:12 to play.
But Duke went cold on offense, scoring just one point over the final nine minutes of the game. Fletcher Loyer hit 3-pointers at 5:01 and 3:19, pushing the Purdue lead back up to a comfortable 71-56.
A freshman guard, Loyer finished with 18 points while hitting 4 of 8 3-pointers.
Duke shot a frigid 23% in the second half to finish at 36% for the game. The Blue Devils missed all 11 of their 3-pointers after halftime and finished at 2 for 19 in the game.
Prior to switching to the zone, Duke had no defensive answer Edey. Duke’s triumvirate of big men — Dereck Lively, Kyle Filipowski and Ryan Young — all picked up two fouls in the first half. Lively and Filipowski both fouled out of the game.
Purdue dominated the rebounding, another area in which Duke had been strong this season. The Boilermakers finished with a 42-31 edge, including 14 offensive rebounds. The Boilermakers are the first team to score 70 or more points against Duke this season.
Duke had an injury scare in the first half when Jeremy Roach limped to the locker room with a right foot injury. But the junior guard — and lone returning player from last season’s Final Four team — returned to play the second half. He finished with 14 points.
