Purdue vs Ohio State Player Stats and Box Score, February 18, 2024 | College Basketball Season 2023-24

The game between Ohio State and Purdue held on Sunday was a pivotal Big Ten Conference matchup featuring two teams in contention for selection in the NCAA March Madness.

Bruce Thornton and the Buckeyes want to win their remaining games to sneak into the Big Dance.

On the other hand, Zach Edey and the Boilermakers wanted to cement their status as one of the top teams in the nation and prove that the NCAA Tournament selection committee was right in picking them as the early favorite to be the No. 1 overall seed during March Madness.

Also, it was the first game of Ohio State interim coach Jake Diebler, who was appointed to call the shots in the remainder of the Buckeyes' season after Chris Holtmann was fired on Wednesday.

Purdue is visiting an Ohio State team looking to prove that their late-season coaching change was the right decision.

The Boilermakers opened with an early 8-0 run, with Trey Kaufman-Renn and Lance Jones scoring three points each. It took two minutes and 29 seconds before the Buckeyes tallied their first two points, courtesy of Thornton.

Ohio State tied the game at 16 with 10:27 left in the first half as Roddy Gayle Jr dunked the ball with authority. The Boilermakers responded with six consecutive points to retake a six-point advantage.

The Buckeyes took the lead for the first time at 29-28 thanks to an 8-0 spurt sparked by twinners from Gayle, Zed Key, Austin Parks and Thornton's charities. Ohio State closed the first half with a 6-0 run for a 35-30 edge.

Both teams traded baskets early in the second half but Purdue had the better of the exchanges as they were able to cut the deficit to three, 41-38. All of a sudden, Jamison Battle drilled three triples for Ohio State. It sparked a 9-0 run that gave the Buckeyes a 50-38 lead with 14:22 remaining in the game.

The Boilermakers regrouped and tied the game at 65 following a Jones triple with 1:39 left. But Battle scored four straight points to give the Buckeyes a 69-65 cushion with 34 seconds remaining.

Edey and Smith tried to make the game close but Thornton and Battle were able to close it out to secure a stunning win.

With the win, Ohio State improved to 15-11 (5-10 in Big Ten) while Purdue fell to 23-3 (12-3 in Big Ten).

The Boilermakers lorded it over in rebounds (36-23) and points in the paint (32-24) but the Buckeyes had more active hands with a 9-3 advantage in steals. \

Ohio State took care of the ball better, turning it over just six times as compared to Purdue's 14.

Purdue v Ohio State

Purdue vs Ohio State College Basketball Season 2023-24 stats and box scores

Purdue stats and box score

Four players scored in double-figures for the Boilermakers. Edey led the team's attack with 22 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks. Jones, Kaufmann-Renn and Smith added at least 12 points.

Purdue's bench only contributed four points.

PLAYER	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	FG	3-PT FG	FT
Trey Kaufmann-Renn	12	3	2	0	0	1	5-6	0-0	2-2
Zach Edey	22	13	3	0	3	6	7-11	0-0	8-8
Braden Smith	12	5	7	0	1	3	5-11	0-2	2-2
Fletcher Loyer	6	1	0	2	0	1	1-7	0-1	4-4
Lance Jones	13	4	0	0	0	1	3-11	3-5	4-4
Camden Heide	2	0	0	0	0	0	1-1	0-0	0-0
Caleb Furst	0	5	0	1	0	0	0-3	0-0	0-0
Mason Gillis	2	2	0	0	0	1	1-3	0-1	0-0
Myles Colvin	0	0	0	0	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0
Ethan Morton	0	3	1	0	1	1	0-0	0-0	0-0

Ohio State stats and box score

Thornton and Battle carried the fight for the Buckeyes as they combined for 41 points.

Ohio State's bench made the difference as they tallied 26 points, led by Zed Key's nine markers and five steals. Dale Bonner contributed seven more off the bench.

PLAYER	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	FG	3-PT FG	FT
Jamison Battle	19	4	0	0	0	1	6-8	3-5	4-4
Felix Okpara	0	0	0	0	1	0	0-2	0-0	0-0
Evan Mahaffey	2	3	1	1	2	1	1-4	0-1	0-0
Bruce Thornton	22	4	3	0	0	2	8-17	1-4	5-5
Roddy Gayle Jr.	4	3	4	1	0	1	2-6	0-2	0-0
Devin Royal	5	3	2	0	0	0	2-4	0-2	1-2
Zed Key	9	1	1	5	0	0	4-7	1-2	0-0
Austin Parks	2	0	0	0	0	0	1-1	0-0	0-0
Scotty Middleton	3	2	1	0	0	0	1-5	1-3	0-0
Taison Chatman	0	0	0	0	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0
Dale Bonner	7	2	1	2	0	1	3-4	1-2	0-0