HARTFORD, Conn. – A blistering offensive display lifted No. 3 seed Purdue to an 87-61 victory over Villanova (26-10 overall) in an NCAA Tournament second round game Saturday night at the XL Center. The Boilermakers drilled nine 3-pointers in the game's first 20 minutes and kept the Wildcats in check, building a 43-24 lead at intermission.
 
A 16-0 run to open the second half further extended the Boilermakers' (25-9 overall) margin. Purdue All-American Carsen Edwards scored 42 points while forward Matt Haarms added 18 points and nine rebounds. Purdue owned a 42-24 edge on the backboards in this one.
 
The defeat concludes the legendary Villanova careers of two-time NCAA national champions Phil Booth and Eric Paschall. Paschall led the Wildcats with 19 points while Booth added 15 points in his record-setting 148^th game at Villanova, closing his career with 1,504 points.
 
"That was a really impressive effort by Purdue," stated Villanova head coach Jay Wright. "As a staff we tried to make our guys understand their ability to hit 3's and run their offense with great precision. We just did not have them ready for the start against a team like that. They got some uncontested looks at 3's and that got them going. Then they start slipping and get offensive rebounds."
 
Villanova's recent success has come largely in the half-court. But the early moments of this one belonged to the high-octane Purdue offense. The Boilermakers drained five from beyond the arc – four by Edwards – to take a 19-10 lead in the contest's first six minutes. Purdue was 7-of-11 from the field in the first 6:02, including 5-of-7 from distance.
 
In addition to the accuracy from deep, the Boilermakers leaned on a size advantage to control the glass early, collecting 11 of the game's first 15 rebounds. It added up to a 25-12 lead nine minutes into the first half.
 
The Wildcats pulled to within 27-20 on a traditional 3-point play by Paschall. However, two more 3-pointers – Purdue was 9-of-15 from deep over the game's first 15 minutes – helped extend the Big Ten co-champions advantage to 37-22 with 2:47 to play in the first half.
 
A 6-2 run to close the half allowed Purdue to take a 43-24 lead into the locker room at the break. Edwards led all scorers with 17 points and the Boilermakers held a 21-10 edge on the glass. Among those caroms were ten on the offensive boards, that helped gain the Boilermakers extra possessions.
 
Meanwhile, the 'Cats cooled and ended the half just 9-of-24 from the field (.375). After Gillespie's two early triples, VU went just 1-of-12 from beyond the arc.
 
The Wildcats forced a Purdue turnover on the first defensive possession of the second half and had a pair of open looks from distance that didn't fall. An Edwards 3-pointer and up and under bucket pushed the Purdue lead to 48-24 and then came a Ryan Cline 3-pointer that made it 51-24 after 3:23 of the second half. Another Edwards 3-ball made it 54-24.
 
"Once you find yourselves down by 19 at halftime, you're in desperation mode and have to try to play faster," noted Wright. "That plays into their hands."
 
The Wildcats kept battling, with Booth and Paschall leading the way. But Edwards and the Boilermakers were too much on this night, earning their first ever victory over the Wildcats, who had won the previous three meetings between the programs.
 
"It was just an ugly game for us," Wright stated.
 
"It's just sad knowing that this was my last game at Villanova," stated Paschall.
 
Added Booth: "Just a lot of emotions going through your head. It didn't really sink in yet. But I'm thinking about how much this University means to me, this young team, all the guys I played with here, Coach Wright and the coaching staff. I couldn't have asked for a better experience."