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m e n ��� s b a s k e t b a l l purdue emphatically gets back in win column BY BRIAN NEUBERT BNeubert@GoldandBlack.com PURDUE 74, NORTHWESTERN 43 Feb. 24 ��� Mackey Arena Purdue had eight days off between its loss last weekend at No. 1 Indiana and its Sunday meeting with Northwestern. The time away paid off. ���We had a lot of good practices in a row,��� guard Terone Johnson said. ���When we got back from IU, we didn���t take a day off. We had really good, hard practices and carried that over.��� That was evident from the opening tip, as Purdue dominated the opening the same way Northwestern did in Evanston a few weeks ago, when it led 12-0 en route to a one-sided win. In this case, Purdue dominated early at both ends of the floor, leading 29-7 to start and making 5-of-6 threes en route to a 15-point halftime lead. Purdue was particularly good FLASH FORWARD Game: Iowa Location: Carver-Hawkeye Arena When: 8:30 p.m., Wednesday Notables: Iowa���s NCAA Tournament hopes took a blow Sunday with a loss at Nebraska, snapping a three-game winning streak. ... The Hawkeyes have been excellent at home, winning their last four after dropping close games to top-five teams Indiana and Michigan State early in the conference season. ... Purdue won the first meeting between these teams, 65-62 in overtime Jan. 27 in West Lafayette. ... In Big Ten games, Iowa���s the league���s fourth-highest scoring team, averaging 67 points. ... Roy Devyn Marble is the league���s 10th-leading scorer, averaging 13.8 points. He was just 2-for-11 against Purdue in the first meeting. ... Iowa scored only 16 points in the first half against the Boilermakers in Mackey Arena and shot only 31.1 percent for the game. Purdue shot 53 percent for the game. ���We had seven or eight days of practice and we mainly worked on those things offensively,��� senior D.J. Byrd said. ���Sometimes we���d get stagnant when big (A.J. Hammons) will be down in the post. We did a good job passing the ball and driving when the time was right. Most of the time, you���re Tom Campbell going to get D.J. Byrd scored 13 points, including two three-pointers, and also had a high-percentteam-high five assists in the victory over Northwestern. age shots when you do that.��� on offense, sharing the ball, passMeanwhile, ing crisply and functioning effec- Purdue stifled injury-riddled tively where it���s so often bogged Northwestern to the tune of down this season. 29-percent shooting. Key player Terone Johnson scored a game-high 22 points, making 9-of-16 shots, including a careerhigh four three-pointers on five tries when he wasn���t getting into the lane seemingly at will against a Wildcat defense that couldn���t contain him. Key stretch Purdue led big in the first half, but Northwestern closed the first half on a modest 11-4 run to put it within the same ballpark, down 40-25. But Purdue opened the second half on a 9-2 run to push its lead to 22 and essentially put the game away early. Key stat Purdue outrebounded Northwestern 48-23. It outscored the Wildcats 11-0 on secondchance points after grabbing 14 offensive rebounds. TAKEAWAYS S Purdue needed its upperclassmen to play a key role in righting the ship and Terone Johnson and Byrd did just that, as they combined to make 13-of- GoldanDBlack express ��� volume 23, express 23��� ������ 7