'Purdue beat Purdue' | Mistakes catch up to Boilermaker basketball

EVANSTON, Illinois − Zach Edey walked off the court at Welsh-Ryan Arena covered in scratches and with a somber face that told two stories.

One about Northwestern, once 0-18 against No. 1-ranked teams until this moment, beating Purdue 64-58 as a court-storming celebration commenced as a backdrop.

The second, that game was a physical battle.

Afterwards, Edey wanted to go into detail about exactly why his body looked bruised and battered, but he held back.

"They did some things I probably shouldn’t say to the media," Edey replied. "They played very physical and played very hard."

And, perhaps, Northwestern finally provided the answer to the question many have asked.

How do you beat Purdue?

Northwestern wasn't just physical with Edey, but everyone else as well. Same as Rutgers. Same as Indiana, accounting for Purdue's three losses this season.

More:Northwestern comes back to upset No. 1 Purdue basketball

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Braden Smith had to go to the bench between foul shots to clean blood off his hand. The Purdue freshman point guard was knocked around quite a bit and his eight free throw attempts, and Purdue's 24 in total, were proof.

But that physical play, and the pressure Northwestern put on Purdue's guards, also caused 16 turnovers. Four of those turnovers came in the final 1:22 after Northwestern took a 59-57 lead.

Purdue coach Matt Painter believes the game was called different from the first half to the second, but refused to use that as an excuse.

"That’s basketball and that’s being on the road," he said. "It’s our job to adjust. We didn’t adjust and we weren’t very tough, both mentally and physically."

Purdue, which had 16 combined turnovers in blowout wins over Michigan State and Penn State in back-to-back games prior to its last three, now has 16, 17 and 16 turnovers respectively in games against Indiana, Iowa and Northwestern, with two of those being losses.

Sunday's loss, though, for as physical as Northwestern was and how well the Wildcats played down the stretch, fell on the shoulders of Purdue.

Smith knows as much.

Northwestern deserves credit, but Purdue likewise deserves fault.

"I feel like Purdue beat Purdue right there," Smith said. "I don’t feel like they beat us. I thought we beat ourselves."

Of course, Purdue was physical right back.

Northwestern, in that moment, handled it better than the Boilermakers did.

Rather than being strong with the basketball, Purdue threw it away. Unable to get good shots, Purdue forced a few that needed prayers answered to go in. And they didn't in the second half where the only non-Edey field goal was Ethan Morton taking a defender off the dribble, spinning in the paint and hitting a fadeaway jumper.

Northwestern maintained poise, even though it trailed most of the game.

Every chance Purdue had to go on a run, it couldn't create separation. Because even though Northwestern went through dry spells offensively, the Wildcats were able to be aggressive and on occasion called for a timely press, something Purdue has struggled against this season as second halves against Maryland and Iowa reference.

Purdue had 30 points with seven-and-a-half minutes to go in the first half. Then scored 28 the rest of the game.

"We’ve been kind of inconsistent in our halves," junior Brandon Newman said. "We’ve yet to put two halves together these last few games. We were on the good side of it this last game, but it can go either way."

Newman was a spark defensively, seeing extended minutes after playing just four the previous game against Iowa.

Just 12 points separates Purdue's three losses from perhaps a different outcome.

But the Boilermakers also have won their share of close games this season. In the Big Ten, every team seems beatable by any other this season.

Winning a league with this much parity means something and right now, Purdue is still in the driver's seat to do that.

What Sunday proved is that the Boilermakers are still far from a finished product.

But, they still control their own destiny and chalk up a tough road loss to a learning experience.

"We've still got bigger goals," Edey said. "We take this loss and learn from it and adjust and be a better team moving forward."

Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @samueltking.