The Purdue Boilermakers pulled off a thrilling victory on Tuesday night, edging out the No. 9 Illinois Fighting Illini 83-78 at Mackey Arena. The Boilermakers were led by a breakout performance from freshman forward Trey Kaufman-Renn, who scored a career-high 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting.
Kaufman-Renn was a force all night, scoring in a variety of ways. He was able to get to the rim and finish through contact, he knocked down three 3-pointers, and he was a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line. He also grabbed six rebounds and dished out four assists. His 24 points were the most by a Purdue freshman since Robbie Hummel in 2007.
The Boilermakers also got strong performances from senior guard Eric Hunter Jr., who scored 19 points, and junior guard Sasha Stefanovic, who added 17 points. Purdue shot an impressive 52.2 percent from the field and made 11 3-pointers.
Illinois was led by Ayo Dosunmu, who scored a game-high 25 points. Kofi Cockburn added 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Fighting Illini, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Purdue’s hot shooting.
The win was a huge one for Purdue, who had lost four of their last five games coming into Tuesday night’s matchup. The Boilermakers are now 18-9 overall and 9-7 in Big Ten play. They will look to build on this win as they head into the Big Ten tournament next week.
Trey Kaufman-Renn’s breakout performance was the difference maker for Purdue in this game, as his 24 points helped the Boilermakers pull off the upset over the No. 9 Fighting Illini. It was an impressive showing from the freshman forward, and it will be interesting to see if he can continue his strong play as Purdue heads into the postseason.
