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ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Purdue University men’s basketball team claimed a share of the 2023-24 Big Ten Conference championship with its 80-74 victory over Michigan State at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Indiana, on Saturday night. The victory improved the Boilermakers to 15-3 in conference play and established a two-game lead over Illinois with two games left.
This is Purdue’s second consecutive Big Ten title and 26th overall, four more than Indiana for the most in conference history. The repeat marks the first for the program since it lifted three consecutive crowns in 1994, 1995 and 1996.
Trailing 26-19 with 8:44 left in the first half, Purdue went on a 19-4 run to build an eight-point cushion with 1:15 left in the period, before taking a 38-35 lead into the half. halftime. Purdue’s lead grew to 54-39 after a three-point play by Zach Edey at the 14:26 mark of the second half. Minutes later, a three-pointer by AJ Hoggard capped an 8-0 Michigan State run that brought the Spartans within three, but the Boilermakers responded with a 7-2 run, pushing their lead to seven. The visitors would not get closer than five points in the last nine minutes of the game.
Purdue will travel to Champaign to take on Illinois on Tuesday at 7 p.m., a matchup that will be broadcast on Peacock. The Boilermakers will close their regular season on Sunday with a visit to Wisconsin (12:30 pm on FOX), while the Illini will visit Iowa at 7 pm (FS1) in their regular season finale.
He 2024 TIAA Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament will take place March 13-17 at the Target Center in Minneapolis. All 14 Big Ten programs will compete in this year’s tournament, with the winner receiving automatic Big Ten qualification to the NCAA Tournament.
Fans are also encouraged to visit the official Big Ten men’s basketball tournament website (bigten.org/MBBT) and follow Big Ten Men’s Basketball on X (formerly Twitter) (@B1GMBBall).
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