No. 9 Illinois’ furious late rally comes up just short in an 83 78 loss to No. 1 Purdue

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — If his team was going to lose, coach Brad Underwood wanted to make sure it was someone other than Zach Edey who beat Illinois on Friday night. So that’s exactly what Trey Kaufman Renn did. Advertisement The redshirt sophomore scored a season high 23 points, Lance Jones added 17 and No.

1 Purdue fended off a frantic late charge from the ninth ranked Illini for an 83 78 victory. “Trey Kaufman Renn, man, I just told him out there in the hall he kicked our butt,” Underwood said. “I think when you play Zach, you can’t play normal. You have to try to make other players beat you, and I think there’s some risk with that and we saw that tonight.” Advertisement Kaufman Renn made 8 of 12 shots, including a rare 3 pointer to briefly blunt Illinois as it was trying to erase a 21 point deficit in the final 13 minutes.

The Boilermakers (14 1, 3 1 Big Ten) got their seventh straight win, this one in the first top 10 matchup at Mackey Arena since Jan. 1, 2010. “I thought he was fabulous,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. “He’s probably the difference for us tonight.” Edey, the reigning national player of the year, spent the last eight minutes of each half in foul trouble.

But as much as Illinois tried to deny him, Edey still wound up with 10 points and 15 rebounds while becoming the second Purdue player with 1,000 career boards. Only Joe Barry Carroll has more than Edey’s 1,006. Marcus Domask had 26 points and Quincy Guerrier finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Illini (11 3, 2 1), who had won four in a row.

They lost for the first time since top scorer Terrence Shannon Jr. was suspended after being charged with rape in Douglass County, Kan. Chicago Tribune Sports Weekdays A daily sports newsletter delivered to your inbox for your morning commute. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy .

> The Illini never led and dropped to 0 9 against No. 1 teams on the road. But after falling behind 20 4, fighting back within three and then trailing by 21 with about 13 minutes left, Illinois made it interesting. The Illini took advantage of a flagrant foul against Jones following a replay review to cut it to 81 75.

They got within 81 78 when Coleman Hawkins made a 3 with 12.1 seconds to go, but Braden Smith answered with two free throws to seal it. Big picture Illinois: Mackey Arena has been a house of horrors for the Illini. That was still the case — even after they came in having topped 90 points in three straight games for the first time since December 1993.

Illinois is 3 16 on the road when Purdue is ranked and 1 5 when both teams are in the top 10. Advertisement Purdue: Painter’s team is ranked No. 1 for good reason — the Boilermakers had three wins against top 10 foes. Adding a fourth Friday matched the 2009 11 teams for the best 50 game stretch (43 7) in school history.

Up next Illinois: Plays hosts Michigan State on Thursday. Purdue: Visits Nebraska on Tuesday..