Purdue 75, Ohio State 64: P.J. Thompson’s Opus

It wasn't pretty, but it was the type of game that Purdue is built to win. A constant stream of fouls meant that there was rarely any flow to the ballgame and Purdue struggled to shoot the basketball, but it was able to hit just enough and got another monster game from its frontline.

As big as Hammons, Haas, and Swanigan were, however, this was a win earned by P.J.Thompson. The young sophomore point guard was calm and collected. He did not turn the ball over, had three steals (including a huge one where Purdue was up three and it led to a pair of free throws and some breathing room), and finished with 12 points, 10 of which came in the second half. He hit a pair of incredibly clutch three-pointers too.

The first came with 6:20 left and doubled Purdue's lead from three to 6 at 60-54. He last steal came with 2:18 left and Purdue up 64-61, leading to the Edwards free throws. The second three was the clincher. Playing a nice inside-out game, he knocked down a huge three with a minute left to make it 69-61 and basically seal the game.

As I said, it was not the prettiest game, but it was one we have seen all season where Purdue just wears a team down, then drags them into the deep end of the pool and holds them underwater until the bubbles stop in the last 10 minutes.

Sure, there are a lot of things to hate, specifically 39% from the field and 4 of 17 from three, but Purdue won the glass and dominated inside. Caleb Swanigan had yet another double-double and even though he didn't have the best shot selection, he hit a big three to start the second half and was good at the line. In fact, everyone was good at the line with the team going 25 of 31 and Thompson was 6 of 6.

Purdue's defense also deserves some credit. After a hot start Ohio State did not hit a second half three-pointer and Kam Williams did not score after having 14 first half points.

Every win is beautiful though. Now Purdue has a chance to get right back into the Big Ten race and avenge its second half collapse at home to Iowa by getting one back in Iowa City.