CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP)– The Fighting Illini held Purdue to 37 points and 25 percent shooting in a 63-37 blowout win Sunday night at State Farm Center.
Illinois needed a bounce-back win after a loss at No. 14 Michigan State, and got it Sunday. The Illini hit on all cylinders from the opening tip, jumping out to an 11-0 lead and never trailing in the game.
Alan Griffin scored 16 points and grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds for his first career double-double.
Griffin, a 6-foot-5 sophomore, continues to impress coming off the bench for Illinois (10-5, 2-2 Big Ten).
"I just try to bring positives to every game," Griffin said. "I look to be an energy boost off the bench. And I try to do that every game, just give effort."
His coach likes what he's seen so far.
"His energy and motor are just phenomenal," said Illinois coach Brad Underwood. "Alan doesn't know any other way to play."
Trent Frazier and Kofi Cockburn added 12 points each for the Illini.
Sasha Stefanovic led Purdue (9-6, 2-2) with eight points. Eric Hunter Jr. added seven for the Boilermakers.
"When you play a team with two big guys like that (7-footer Cockburn and 6-foot-9 Giorgi Bezhanishvili) who clog up the middle, it's tough to win," said Purdue coach Matt Painter. "Our defense wasn't bad tonight; we just kept missing layups and shots in close."
Illinois was 26 of 57 (46%) from the field, while Purdue shot 25% (15 of 60).
Purdue's 37 points were the fewest allowed by Illinois since Jan. 27, 2008, against Northwestern (37). The Boilermakers' shooting percentage was the lowest in program history.
"I remember a couple of years ago, we held Carson (Edwards) to 40 points here," Underwood said, referring to the former Purdue star and current Boston Celtics guard. "I'm very proud of these guys, because Purdue is one of the elite defensive teams in the country."
Illinois' bench scored 25 points to Purdue's five. Illinois also had 30 points in the paint, compared to Purdue's 14.
"I was very proud of this team tonight," Underwood said. "We showed the team nothing from the Michigan State game, not one clip. We just wanted them to move on, and they did.
Frazier was blunter after the game. "We stepped up and took shots tonight that we weren't tough enough to try on the road."
"We were very dialed in tonight," Underwood said. "I thought our pace and tempo were outstanding."
The Illini scored the first 11 points and took a 32-19 lead at halftime. Cockburn scored 10 points in the opening frame, none bigger than a thunderous two-handed dunk at 11:09 that brought the crowd to its feet. Frazier also fired up the crowd with a spectacular underhand layup late in the first half after forcing a turnover at midcourt.
The Boilermakers didn't score until Matt Haarms hit a free-throw at 13:09.
Up Next
Illinois travels to Wisconsin on Wednesday (8 pm CT on BTN) before returning home on Saturday, Jan. 11, to host Rutgers (11 am CT on BTN).
Team Notes
• Illinois won its 1,800 game in program history, becoming the 18th team to reach 1,800 wins.
• Illinois held Purdue to 25% shooting, the worst ever in the history of Purdue basketball according to Purdue's record book.
• Illinois held Purdue to 20.6% (7-34) shooting in the second half, Purdue's fourth-worst second half shooting in the last 50 years.
• Illinois' 26-point win is the eight-largest Illini win over Purdue in the 190-game series history dating back to 1906.
• Illinois held Purdue under 40 points for the first time since a 34-32 win in Champaign on March 7, 1942, a span of 122 games.
• Illinois snapped a four-game losing streak against Purdue.
• Illinois outrebounded Purdue, 46-34. The Illini have outrebounded their opponent in 11 of 15 games, and nine times by a double digits. Illinois leads the nation in rebounding margin.
• Illinois' 37 points allowed were its fewest since a 70-37 win over Northwestern 1/27/2008.
• Sunday was Illinois' second game of a stretch of four in 10 days.
Individual Notes
• Sophomore Alan Griffin had his first career double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Griffin is averaging 14.8 points (74) in 20.6 minutes (103) off the bench over the last five games, registering at least 14 in four of those five outings.
• Sophomore Ayo Dosunmu had six points and seven rebounds. He is averaging 15.3 points (92) and 6.2 rebounds (37) over the last six games.
