Zach Edey notches double-double as No. 3 Purdue routs Samford 98-45 on opening night
Zach Edey opened the season by scoring 16 points and grabbing 11 rebounds and Camden Heide had 13 points Monday night as No. 3 Purdue beat Samford 98-45.
Braden Smith and Fletchers Loyer each had 12 points and combined for half of the Boilermakers 16 3-pointers. Purdue tied a school record with its 25th consecutive regular season win over a non-conference foe while Edey, the defending national player of the year, posted his 40th career double-double.
The Boilermakers also had 10 blocks on college basketball's opening night.
Jaden Campbell scored 11 points and Rylan Jones added eight to lead Samford.
In Purdue's first contest since an embarrassing first-round NCAA Tournament loss to 16th-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson, the Boilermakers sent a strong, quick message: They're back and might be even better than last year's Big Ten regular season and tourney champions.
Purdue scored the first 11 points and took a 21-2 lead before the Bulldogs even made a basket, a drought that finally ended with a layup with 13:22 left in the first half — nearly three minutes before Edey took a shot.
His first basket came on a layup nearly 11 1/2 minutes into the game to make it 31-9. And then it was off to the races.
Purdue extended the lead to 51-17 and opened the second half by scoring 14 of the first 16 points to build a 65-19 cushion.
BIG PICTURE
Samford: After recording back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time in program history and winning a share of last year's Southern Conference regular-season crown, the Bulldogs have bigger aspirations this season. But they stood no chance Monday.
Purdue: The Boilermakers' last non-conference loss in regular season play came Dec. 8, 2020, at Miami, and it looks like they'll break the school record later this week in what should be another lopsided contest.
STRANGE SIGHT
It didn't take Purdue or Samford long to produce one of this season's strangest sights. Edey, the 7-foor-4 center, and 5-8 guard Dallas Graziani squared off on the opening tip. Graziani didn't even jump.
BANNER NIGHT
The Boilermakers didn't just drop another banner inside Mackey Arena on Monday. They added two — one for winning last season's Big Ten regular season championship, the other for winning the conference tournament title. But they'd like to hang an even bigger banner next November — for their first NCAA Tourney title.
UP NEXT
Samford: Visits VCU on Friday.
Purdue: Hosts Morehead State on Friday.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
