Ivey leader: Jaden dazzles vs. Spartans
INDIANAPOLIS — Jaden Ivey gave No. 9 Purdue the production and energy it needed to reach the Big Ten tournament title game.
Now he’s in position to lead the thirdseeded Boilermakers to a championship after having missed out on one already this season.
Ivey finished with 22 points, nine rebounds and five assists, and Eric Hunter Jr. made two backbreaking three-pointers late in the second semifinal Saturday to give Purdue a 75-70 victory over seventh-seeded Michigan State.
“Tomorrow’s a big game for us,” Ivey said. “We didn’t win a regular-season championship. That was a goal of ours, and we fell short. Tomorrow we have a chance to win a championship and take it home.”
The Boilermakers will play for the tournament title Sunday against No. 24 Iowa (25-9).
For Ivey, it was a sensational day inside the building his mother, Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey, once called home as a member of the WNBA’s Indiana Fever.
He went 7-for-14 from the field, hit two three-pointers and made six of eight free throws. Ivey frequently converted nifty drives into points. The result: Purdue (27-6) has won three in a row to reach its first Big Ten title game since 2018.
Ivey also elicited gasps from a noticeably favorable crowd when he fell hard to the court off-balance on the game-sealing breakaway layup that made it 69-59 with 1:50 left. He stayed down briefly and appeared to be rubbing his tailbone before getting up and finishing the game.
But the Spartans (22-12) fared far worse in the injury department.
Starting point guard Tyson Walker left in the first half with what appeared to be a sprained ankle and did not return.
His replacement, sophomore A.J. Hoggard, turned his ankle on the next possession.
Hoggard also left but returned and finished with 17 points and 10 assists, though the injuries left Michigan State precariously thin.