Boo Buie scored 26 points and had four rebounds, three assists, three steals and three blocks to lead host Northwestern to a 64-58 comeback victory over top-ranked Purdue on Sunday afternoon at Evanston, Ill.
The Wildcats (18-7, 9-5 Big Ten) watched their fans storm the court as they secured their first victory in 19 games all-time against an Associated Press No. 1-ranked opponent.
Northwestern also snapped an 11-game losing streak against Purdue (23-3, 12-3).
The Boilermakers lost for the second time in their past three games despite 24 points, eight rebounds and three blocks from National Player of the Year candidate Zach Edey.
Northwestern trailed 55-47 with under four minutes remaining before closing out the game on a 17-3 surge.
Chase Audige, who finished with 15 points, cut Northwestern’s deficit to 55-52 after hitting a three and then stealing the ball at halfcourt and quickly scoring a transition bucket with 3:15 left.
A pair of free throws from Brooks Barnhizer pulled the Wildcats within a point with 2:33 left. Barnhizer then found Audige open for another triple with 1:43 to go to give Northwestern its first lead since scoring the game’s opening points on a Matt Nicholson dunk.
Audige then stole a cross-court pass by Edey and found Barnhizer down the court for a fast break layup to put the Wildcats ahead 61-57 with 36 seconds left.
Ty Berry and Buie each hit a pair of free throws to help Northwestern put the game away.
Edey got off to a slow start for the second consecutive game despite Purdue leading for most of the game. But he turned the ball over six times and the Boilermakers finished with 16 turnovers overall, which allowed the Wildcats to rally late.
Braden Smith scored 10 points for Purdue while Mason Gillis came off the bench to hit three triples but the Boilermakers shot just 36.2 percent from the field. Berry led Northwestern on the boards with seven rebounds and Barnhizer finished with six points and five rebounds.
The Wildcats shot 41.1 percent from the floor.
–Field Level Media