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Men’s college basketball takes center stage Sunday, and all eyes are on the Big Ten as No. 5 Purdue (25-5) plays host to Illinois (20-10) in the first matchup of the season between these two squads.
Boilermakers center Zach Edey, a 2023 Wooden Award finalist, leads all major conference players in points (641), rebounds (379) and 30-plus-point games (six). Last week, he helped lead Purdue to its first outright Big Ten regular-season title since 2017.
On the other side, the Illini are led by guard Terrence Shannon, who is averaging a team-leading 17.2 points per game.
Headed into Sunday’s tilt, the Boilermakers are 13-2 in home games, while the Illini are 11-8 in conference matchups.
It’s all going down Sunday at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Indiana — and we’ve got you covered with every must-see moment from start to finish, exclusively on FOX and the FOX Sports App.
Here are the top moments!
Illinois vs. No. 5 Purdue
Setting the stage
The starting five for the fifth-ranked Boilermakers was Edey, Mason Gillis, Fletcher Loyer, Brandon Newman and Braden Smith. Smith and Loyer are the first freshmen to start every regular-season game for Purdue since Russell Cross in 1981.
Dain Dainja, Coleman Hawkins, Matthew Mayer, RJ Melendez and Shannon were the starting five for the Illini.
Hot start!
Purdue went on an 11-0 run to start, shutting out Illinois for nearly the first three and a half minutes of the game.
Star power
Purdue shot 5-for-7 from the field right out of the gate to Iead Illinois 11-4 at the first official TV timeout.
Newman led the way with five points, two steals and an assist early.
Brandon Newman drains a triple as Purdue jumps out to 11-0 lead vs. Illinois
Seeing 3s
Trey Kaufman-Renn came off the bench for Purdue and wasted no time making his presence know.
Exhibit A:
Stay tuned for updates!
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College Basketball
Purdue Boilermakers
Illinois Fighting Illini
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