Purdue Boilermakers at Northwestern Wildcats

Edwards scores 21, No. 11 Purdue beats Northwestern 70-57

Carsen Edwards scored 21 points and No. 11 Purdue clinched a share of the Big Ten regular-season championship with a 70-57 victory over Northwestern on Saturday.

Edwards, the Big Ten's leading scorer, made just 6 of 18 shots. Nojel Eastern scored a career-high 15, and Purdue bounced back from a loss at Minnesota on Tuesday to win for the 17th time in 20 games.

It's quite a turnaround after a 6-5 start. The schedule early on wasn't easy and there were some tight losses along the way.

"We just saw what we had," center Matt Haarms said. "We saw how good (we could be). We saw the offensive potential. We saw how if we worked on defense, there were things we could do that could be special. Maybe others didn't realize that because they weren't around us all the time."

Northwestern's Vic Law scored 13 before getting carried off the court with a right knee injury in the second half.

The senior went down when his knee hit Edwards' right shin as he curled toward the top of the key off a screen near the Wildcats' basket.

The collision left Law clutching his cut right knee as he pounded the court in pain. He was tended to for several minutes before being carried off the court as the crowd gave him a loud ovation.

Coach Chris Collins said he wasn't sure of the extent of the injury. He said Law was going for more tests, though he was able to walk.

"The most concerning thing is it was a pretty good cut," Collins said. "It kind of broke open. That was the tough part of the thing. If there's a way for him to keep playing, he will."

A.J. Turner scored 14. The last-place Wildcats (13-18, 4-16) lost for the 11th time in 12 games.

DOWN THE STRETCH

Purdue had trouble putting this one away after building a 15-point lead in the second half. Northwestern got within 63-55 with 4:10 remaining on back-to-back 3's by Turner.

But Edwards answered with a 3 and Eastern hit two free throws to make it a 13-point game.

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BIG PICTURE

Northwestern: As if the Wildcats needed more bad news this season, they might have to get by without their leading scorer. Law came in averaging 15.1 points. He missed the 2015-16 season because of a torn labrum in his left shoulder.

UP NEXT

Purdue: Plays Friday in the Big Ten Tournament in Chicago.

Northwestern: Plays Wednesday in the Big Ten Tournament.

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