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Loyer, Smith lead No. 3 Purdue past No. 1 Arizona 92-84 in NCAA showdown

AJ Mast/AP

Purdue center Zach Edey (15) shoots over Arizona center Oumar Ballo (11) in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Indianapolis, Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

By: Associated Press

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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Fletcher Loyer tied a career high with 27 points, Braden Smith added 26 and No. 3 Purdue beat No. 1 Arizona 92-84 on Saturday.

Loyer was 5 of 9 on 3-pointers and Smith was 4 of 7 while falling one point shy of his career high.

Zach Edey added 22 points and nine rebounds, with the 7-foot-4 All-American handling the middle while Smith and Loyer supplied the outside firepower in the Indy Classic.

The Boilermakers (10-1) handed the Wildcats their first loss while defeating a No. 1-ranked team for the first time since beating Arizona 72-69 on Nov. 25, 2000, which also was played in Indianapolis.

Caleb Love scored 29 points and Keshad Johnson added 24 for the Wildcats (8-1). Oumar Ballo added 13 points.

The Boilermakers shot 54% while the Wildcats shot 52%. Purdue held a 32-26 rebounding edge. Each team had 13 turnovers.

The Boilermakers led 67-52 before the Wildcats answered with an 11-0 run to close the deficit to 67-63.

Loyer scored 18 and Smith 14 in the first half to help the Boilermakers take a 49-38 halftime lead. Each team shot 57% in the first half.

With the game tied at 30-all, Loyer sank two consecutive 3-pointers to start a 9-0 run.

BIG PICTURE

Arizona: The Wildcats will likely lose their No. 1 spot to No. 2 Kansas. Arizona showed fight but couldn’t climb out of 15-point, second-half hole.

Purdue: The Boilermakers have already played five teams ranked in the top 15 this season.

TIP-INS

Purdue coach Matt Painter earned his 423rd victory to tie former Illinois coach Lou Henson for fourth place on the Big Ten coaching list. … Edey moved into second place on school’s career rebounding list.