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No. 13 Purdue steamrolls Illinois

By Jeff Washburn, The Sports Xchange

INDIANAPOLIS - When No. 13 Purdue lost in January at Illinois, the first five minutes of the second half spelled doom in an 84-70 Fighting Illini victory.

A 19-2 Purdue run to begin the second half of Friday's 89-58 Big Ten tournament quarterfinal victory removed any chance that the No. 12 seed Illini would make it two in a row against the Boilermakers.

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Purdue centers Isaac Haas and A.J. Hammons combined for 26 points on 13 of 15 shooting, and fourth-seeded Purdue never was threatened.

Purdue advances to play eighth-seeded Michigan in Saturday's first semifinal.

Haas, who made 8 of 9 field-goal attempts, led the Boilermakers with 16 points. Vince Edwards added 14, Caleb Swanigan had 11 points and 12 rebounds, Dakota Mathias had 11 points and Hammons finished with 10.

Purdue (25-7) made 24 of its first 36 field-goal attempts, including 8 of 14 from 3-point range, building off a 45-25 halftime lead, and seizing a 60-27 advantage on point guard P.J. Thompson's 3-pointer with 15:59 remaining.

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"We said at halftime, the first five minutes of the second half are huge," Mathias said. "We didn't play hard at Illinois and wanted to come out this time and play hard. We're playing harder. The offense is flowing, and everyone is getting involved. We are tough to guard."

Purdue senior guard Rapheal Davis said his team was motivated.

"Playing a team that beat you will motivate you," Davis said. "It was a terrible feeling in that locker room after that loss."

Illinois coach John Groce said his team had no answer for Purdue this time.

"They were a buzz saw," Groce said. "I knew after watching their final regular-season game against Wisconsin that this was going to be a tough team to guard. With all that size they have, if they are hitting from the outside, it's going to be tough to beat them. We got it to 27-21, then they starting hitting 3s, and it just took off from there."

Purdue coach Matt Painter enjoyed watching Hammons and Haas dominate the interior from the beginning.

"Our guys understood how important it was for us to defend, and we knew Illinois was playing its third game in three days," Painter said. "We just couldn't let them get their heads up. Our guys nice a nice job of not letting them get easy baskets.

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"On offense, we wanted to share the ball, move the ball and take shots in rhythm. Hammons and Haas were really good."

The Boilermakers finished 35 of 60 from the field (58.3 percent).

The lopsided victory was sweet revenge for the Boilermakers, who played poorly in the 84-70 regular-season loss to Illinois in Champaign, Ill., a game which Fighting Illini guards Malcolm Hill and Kendrick Nunn combined for 52 points.

Those two combined for only 29 this time - 16 from Hill and 13 from Nunn. Maverick Morgan led the Illini (15-19) with 17 points.

The Boilermakers got 29 combined first-half points from Hammons, Haas and guard Rapheal Davis. Hammons and Haas were a combined 10 of 10 from the field during the first half, when Purdue shot 62.1 percent (18 of 29) and outrebounded Illinois 20-11.

NOTES: Illinois advanced to the quarterfinals by beating Minnesota and Iowa, making 24 shots from 3-point range in those victories. ... The Illini won the Big Ten tournament in 2003 and again in 2005. ... Before this tournament, Illinois had lost four of its final five regular season games. ... Purdue won its only Big Ten tournament in 2009, defeating Ohio State in the title game in Bankers Life Fieldhouse. ... The Boilermakers' non-starters outscored their opponents' bench in 29 of the first 31 games.

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