Braden Smith finished with a career-high 24 points, as well as five assists and four rebounds, to lead No. 1 Purdue to an 87-73 win over visiting Iowa on Thursday night in West Lafayette, Ind.

The Boilermakers (23-2, 12-2 Big Ten Conference) got themselves back on track after a loss at Indiana last Saturday snapped a nine-game winning streak.

The Hawkeyes (15-9, 7-6) had a three-game winning streak halted.

After Kris Murray scored the game’s first points, Purdue ran off 10 consecutive points and never trailed again.

Murray led the Hawkeyes with 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting.

Smith’s performance and that of Purdue’s guards showed the team’s depth once again.

Purdue turned up its defensive intensity from the start and limited Iowa to only 29.4 percent (10-for-34) shooting from the field in the first half. The Hawkeyes made just one of their first 10 attempts from 3-point range.

Iowa shot 60 percent in the second half, however, including 4-for-8 from 3, to pull within six points with 5:39 left.

That’s when Purdue star center Zach Edey hit back-to-back shots to spark an 8-0 Purdue run that allowed the Boilermakers to seize control for good.

Iowa strategized its defensive focus on crowding Edey and did an effective job in the first half, limiting him to four points, although he had eight rebounds at the break.

Edey came on strong in the second half to help the Boilermakers stave off a late Iowa charge and put the game out of reach. Edey totaled 14 points and 14 rebounds to extend his streak of double-digit scoring games to 41 and recorded his 20th double-double in 24 games this season. Edey also blocked five shots.

Smith and Mason Gillis combined to make 4 of 7 triples for Purdue in the first half which allowed it to build a 38-21 lead by halftime. Gillis finished with 10 points off Purdue’s bench.

Fletcher Loyer scored 17 points and Caleb Furst added 11 points and 10 rebounds for Purdue.

For Iowa, Filip Rebraca had 17 points.

–Field Level Media