COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith gave No. 12 Purdue a commanding lead with an early 3-point barrage, and the Boilermakers snapped a three-game losing streak with a 93-63 victory over Maryland on Sunday.
Loyer scored 21 of his 29 points in the first half, when he Smith went a combined 9 of 12 from beyond the arc. The Boilermakers (18-4, 8-3) led 49-28 at halftime. Smith finished with 19 points. He needs one more to become the first player in Big Ten history to reach 1,000 career points and 500 assists in conference games.
Andre Mills scored 18 points for Maryland (8-13, 1-9), which continues to struggle under new coach Buzz Williams. This was the most lopsided defeat for the Terrapins in this arena, where they started playing in 2002.
Purdue was ranked No. 4 in the country before losing in succession to UCLA, Illinois and rival Indiana. But the schedule eased a bit with this game against Maryland and a matchup next weekend with an Oregon team that’s also near the bottom of the Big Ten.
Purdue raced out to a 10-2 lead against the Terps, with Loyer making two 3-pointers. Then Smith made a couple of 3s during an 11-0 spurt that made it 25-7.
NO. 8 IOWA STATE 95, KANSAS STATE 61
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Joshua Jefferson scored 19 points to lead five players in double figures as Iowa beat Kansas State.
The Cyclones (20-2, 7-2 Big 12 Conference) got 18 points from Milan Momcilovic, 16 from Tamin Lipsey, 13 from Killyan Toure and 11 from Nate Heise en route to their fourth consecutive win.
They handed the Wildcats (10-12, 1-8 Big 12) their worst loss under coach Jerome Tang, who was hired ahead of the 2023 season.
Iowa State used two big runs in the first half to build a 29-point lead at the break. The second was a suffocating 25-4 run that covered nearly five minutes.
The Cyclones held the Wildcats to a season-low 21 points in the first half. The Wildcats shot just 31% from the field and matched their largest halftime deficit of the season. It swelled to 39 points in the second half.
NO. 9 ILLINOIS 78, NO. 5 NEBRASKA 69
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Keaton Wagler scored 28 points and Illinois won its 11th straight game, beating Nebraska in the first matchup of top-10 teams the Cornhuskers have hosted.
The Fighting Illini (19-3, 10-1 Big Ten), who haven’t lost since falling 83-80 at home to Nebraska on Dec. 13, held the Huskers to four field goals in the first 13 minutes of the second half.
Nebraska (20-2, 9-2) lost its second straight after a 20-0 start. The Huskers were beaten on the road Tuesday by another top-10 opponent, No. 3 Michigan.
Jake Davis finished with 13 points for Illinois, Tomislav Ivisic scored 12 and David Mirkovic had 10.
NO. 19 FLORIDA 100, NO. 23 ALABAMA 77
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Alex Condon scored 25 points, Thomas Haugh added 22 and Florida handled Alabama and Charles Bediako.
Florida’s fifth consecutive victory in the series came a little more than a week after Gators coach Todd Golden said “we’re gonna beat ’em anyways” in response to a judge’s decision to allow Bediako to return to college.
This one was so one-sided that 7-foot-9 Olivier Rioux, the world’s tallest teenager, played the final minute and scored Florida’s last basket.
Boogie Fland chipped in 15 points, eight assists and a career-high eight steals for the defending national champion Gators (16-6, 7-2 Southeastern Conference). Fland dominated his matchup against the league’s leading scorer, Labaron Philon. Fland’s eight steals matched the program record set by Clifford Lett in 1989.
Philon, who entered the game averaging 22 points, finished with 14. Aden Holloway led the Crimson Tide (14-7, 4-4) with 19 points.
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